Ducks lose
Losses continue to mount as the Ducks fall to the Avalanche before today’s trade deadline.
ANAHEIM » The Ducks played the 42nd game of their lost 2020-21 season Sunday afternoon, losing 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche at Honda Center. It remained to be seen if their roster would still be intact when they returned to the ice tonight to face the Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose.
Trade deadline day loomed today, and there were plenty of reasons to believe a breakup of the current roster was at hand. Ducks general manager Bob Murray hoped to be busy in the hours leading up to the deadline, as he attempted to remake his roster with a series of moves.
There was a report that Murray had discussed a trade that would send left wing Nicolas Deslauriers to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Deslauriers remained with the Ducks and played his customary hardnosed role Sunday against the Avalanche, winning a first-period fight with Liam O’Brien.
Facing the Avalanche kept the Ducks occupied for most of the afternoon, but then came the inevitable questions about what happens next.
“Whenever someone is plucked from your team, it’s a difficult time,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “Everyone knows this day is coming. It’s part of the game. It’s so cliche to say, but you just have to deal with what happens. We obviously have no control over it as players.”
Coach Dallas Eakins agreed. “You shouldn’t worry too much about it,” Eakins said. “But that does not discount — when you’re in a group like this, whether it’s players, management or staff — you’re all in this together and you grow a great fondness and a love for each other. You never like to see anyone leaving your dressing room.
“The ‘but’ is, that’s what we do, that’s our job, that’s what comes with pro sports.”
Sunday’s loss, the Ducks’ second in a row to the Avalanche after a rousing victory last Tuesday over San Jose, underscored the vast difference between a Stanley Cup contender and a team on the verge of a last-place finish. The Avalanche were in jeopardy for only a matter of minutes.
No question, the Ducks fought the good fight, but they simply were no match for the Avalanche. Andre Burakovsky, Gabriel Landeskog (power play), Ryan Graves and Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado, and Jonas Johansson made 24 saves for his second straight win over the Ducks.
Rookie defenseman Jamie Drysdale cut the Ducks’ deficit to 2-1 at 12:37 of the final period, but Graves pinballed a shot off first Troy Terry and then Ryan Getzlaf to make it 3-1 at 14:13. MacKinnon then extended it to 4-1 by extending his point streak to nine consecutive games.
Not that the Avalanche needed any help, but the Ducks gave them some with a first-period giveaway that led to Burakovsky’s goal. A questionable tripping call on Max Jones then led to a five-onthree power play.
With Deslauriers already in the penalty box for hooking, teammate Max Jones was whistled for tripping Nazem Kadri, giving Colorado a two-man advantage that led to Landeskog’s goal that made it 2-0. The Ducks were upset with the call, believing Kadri guilty of embellishment.
“It looks like (Kadri) is trying to play the puck with his skate and kind of toe-picks himself,” Shattenkirk said. “That was one we’d maybe like not to be called. It’s a quick game and (the referees) are trying to make the right calls. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”