Ducks gain confidence through straightforward play in 4-game point streak

IRVINE, Calif. – What a difference a week can make in the National Hockey League.

Going into the finale of a six-game homestand on Nov. 15, the Anaheim Ducks had lost seven of nine games and were dead last in the NHL in goals scored.

However, that stretch of negative results wasn’t without a positive run of form. Anaheim’s two best possession games came in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago (66.43% of all-situation shot attempts) and a 5-2 loss to Minnesota (59.72%), and the Ducks got timely goals in a win over Columbus and played tight at even-strength against Vegas (45.37%).

Anaheim felt it was playing the right way in Ducks coach Greg Cronin’s system–playing straight ahead, getting the puck in deep and getting shots on net–but goals and wins remained elusive.

“There’s a fine line between finding the happy medium and knowing it’s a results-based business,” Ducks forward Ryan Strome said on Nov. 14. “I’ve been around long enough that you don’t win, you don’t score and someone’s taking your job. 

“I think we’re still in the stage of trying to find the small victories and keep improving and pushing each other. We have a very motivated group, but at some point, it’s got to come down to getting results.”

Starting with the homestand finale against Detroit, the results started coming up Ducks.

Anaheim won three straight games, including a sweep of a road back-to-back, and now has earned points in four straight games, falling in overtime to Buffalo on Friday.

The Ducks scored four goals in the third period of a 6-4 win over the Red Wings, jumped out to a 3-0 lead at Dallas, scored twice in the third period at Chicago and led 2-0 against the Sabres.

Anaheim is playing confident in its system, taking the puck deep into their opponents zone and, while the team’s top scorers remain snakebit, putting pucks in the net.

“It’s crazy what winning will do,” Ducks forward Alex Killorn said on Thursday. “When you’re not producing, even sometimes when you’re playing well and you don’t produce, it can be tough. You get paid to produce in this league. 

“Once you start producing with confidence, the puck just feels a little better on your stick and you gain momentum from it. It’s crazy how that happens.”Killorn snapped a four-game point streak on Friday, but he was instrumental to the Ducks comeback in Chicago on Tuesday. Killorn scored the game-tying goal on a fantastic feed by Trevor Zegras behind the net, and the veteran assisted on Leo Carlsson’s game-winner.

Carlsson’s goal wasn’t a snipe from the circles or a show-stopping deke around the defender. Those aren’t the goals that are coming for Anaheim. Carlsson drove the crease and got inside the Blackhawks defender to deflect in his fourth game-winning goal of the season.

“A lot of times when you look at great players around the league, you think they’re just scoring from the outside,” Killorn said. “You look at (Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston) Matthews’ goals this season, all of them are coming from right in front of the net. 

“That’s a good thing for young guys to learn. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. You’re going to score more goals if you go to the net.”

The embodiment of this straightforward success for Anaheim has been Brett Leason.

Leason is a hard-working bottom-six forward who didn’t score his first goal of the season until the win over Columbus. From there, he put up seven points over five games, including a three-point night in Dallas.

“I think we’re playing the right way. We’re playing fast,” Leason said on Thursday. “A lot of guys are getting points. A lot of guys are contributing in ways that help the team gel and mend together and be a strong team in this league.”

In Dallas, Leason played downhill against the Stars and got to work down low.

He scored by storming through the neutral zone, chipping around the Dallas defender and putting a shot farside and in. 

“That’s a big factor in it. Playing quick,” Leason said. “It doesn’t give teams a chance to set up. When we’re coming down full speed, it’s harder to defend any player in this league. We’re just playing quick. I think that’s what’s going for us right now.”

He assisted on Cutter Gauthier’s first power play goal with a zinging pass from beside the net, and Leason got the helper on Jackson LaCombe’s insurance goal by finding the puck off the end boards and feeding the crashing defenseman.

“I think we’re still working as hard as we have been all year,” Leason said. “We’re being more efficient, more precise with hits, with sticks, right positions, getting off the boards first, getting to the net. I think we’re all in our spots right now, and it’s clicking pretty well.”

Anaheim’s blue-liners are finally starting to hit the score sheet, as well.

Olen Zellweger has continued his rapid ascent with two goals and five points over the last four games. Drew Helleson has come up from AHL San Diego to tally three points, including a goal against Buffalo. LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov scored goals on the road trip.

Additionally, the Ducks were phenomenal defensively on the two-game road trip. 

Dallas had scored 16 goals in its previous three games before Anaheim held them off the scoreboard until the third period. Chicago generated just eight five-on-five shot attempts in the third period, as the Ducks closed off the road back-to-back.

Lukáš Dostál posted 34 saves in Dallas and leads the league in goals saved above expected. Anaheim has earned points in John Gibson’s four starts (3-0-1) since returning from a preseason appendectomy.

Now, it’s still not all roses for Anaheim through 18 games.

Leading scorer Troy Terry has scored one goal in his last 10 games and only two points in the last seven games. Despite four points in his last four games, Zegras has yet to score a five-on-five goal this season, with his only goal against a goalie coming on the power play against Detroit. Last season’s leading scorer Frank Vatrano has one five-on-five goal.

However, the Ducks are gaining overall team confidence through its other contributors as Anaheim grinds out some positive results.

“You can talk about systems and this until you’re blue in the face,” Strome said, “but winning, scoring goals, that creates confidence. It creates team confidence, individual confidence. Hopefully, that all starts clicking at once, until then, we have to keep working through it.”