The Olympic break didn’t slow down the surging Anaheim Ducks, and they will try to continue their push to the top of the Pacific Division when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
Anaheim has won five in a row, including coach Joel Quenneville’s 1,000th career victory, and is a point behind Vegas in the Pacific. The Ducks have played one fewer game than the Golden Knights and can leapfrog them with a win over Colorado and a Vegas loss at Buffalo on Tuesday.
In addition to the overall winning streak, Anaheim has won eight straight home games. The Ducks trailed entering the third period in each of the past three games but rallied to win each one.
“We’re ready to play 60 minutes,” goaltender Lukas Dostal said. “We are always there, always ready to play for a whole 60 minutes, and we have young legs, young guys. So that’s been our strength, I believe.”
Anaheim has relied on a balanced attack to put together its impressive run. Since going 2-11-2 from Dec. 11 to Jan. 10, the Ducks have won 12 of 14 games. In their latest victory, a 3-2 shootout win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday, Cutter Gauthier had two goals to increase his team-leading total to 28. His 52 points also lead the club.
Beckett Sennecke (19 goals, 30 assists) and Leo Carlsson (20 goals, 29 assists) are tied for second with 49 points each, and Jackson LaCombe has 34 assists, tops among the Ducks.
Anaheim had a day off while Colorado played Monday at Los Angeles. The league-leading Avalanche, who beat the Kings 4-2 for their second straight win and fourth in the past five games, have a fortunate back-to-back. The two arenas are just 30 miles apart.
Colorado’s Monday win was costly because second-line winger Artturi Lehkonen left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and didn’t return.
Coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game that Lehkonen will not play against the Ducks and will “miss some time.”
The Avalanche do have Nathan MacKinnon, who continues to play at an MVP level. MacKinnon scored his NHL-leading 41st goal and added an assist to push his point total to 99, which is second in the league to the 103 of Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.
MacKinnon has logged two points in three straight games after sitting out against the Utah Mammoth in the Avalanche’s first game following the Olympics. MacKinnon helped Canada win a silver medal and enjoyed the experience despite the overtime loss to Team USA in the gold-medal game.
“I had an amazing time. It was a really unique hockey experience. Nothing but good memories,” he said. “I’m really happy to be back and try to chase down home ice (in the playoffs) here.”
MacKinnon’s linemate Martin Necas is also thriving since the NHL season resumed. Necas has four goals and five assists in four games after the Olympics, increasing his season total to 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists). He recorded a goal and two assists at Los Angeles, as did teammate Gabriel Landeskog.
