A new month has arrived, and the Anaheim Ducks are hoping it starts better than the last one finished.
After opening October with four wins in five games, the Ducks have lost seven of their past eight (1-6-1) heading into Sunday, when they open November by hosting the Ottawa Senators.
The Ducks’ most recent setback came Thursday in a 7-6 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres, an outing in which they held a 3-1 lead midway through the first period before the Sabres scored six straight goals.
It was another disappointing result after a 5-2 lead with less than eight minutes left in regulation against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday turned into a 6-5 overtime loss at home.
“It’s not like we’re trying to (give up the lead). It’s (about) trying to be simple and more predictable with each other,” Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier said. “We get the lead, and it’s the maturity of this group that we need to focus on, I think, in protecting leads. It’s hard to score eight goals in a game and we’re leaving (our goalies) out to dry, so we have to definitely tune up some things defensively.”
They’ve given up 37 goals during their current slide, and their 3.85 goals-against average is second-highest in the NHL, ahead of only the Canucks (4.53). Their struggles in their own end have been an issue, and that hasn’t helped their goaltenders. Lukas Dostal has a 3.56 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage, while Ville Husso is at a 4.12 GAA and .857 save percentage.
The Ducks will try to turn the tide defensively by turning to goalie Laurent Brossoit. The 33-year-old netminder, signed by Anaheim as a free agent in the offseason, was recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League on Saturday afternoon. Brossoit has played parts of 11 seasons in the NHL.
The Senators, meanwhile, will be looking for a second straight win in the penultimate contest of a five-game road trip.
After opening the trip with a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday and rallying for a point in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Ottawa bounced back with a 5-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
“From the drop of the puck till the end of the game, we were on top of our game,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “They’ve got a good offensive team, and I thought we did a real good job playing behind them and making them play in their zone.”
Drake Batherson notched his ninth goal of the season in the win, tying him with Tim Stutzle for the team lead. The tally extended his point streak to seven games, with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in that stretch.
“He’s probably one of the most skilled guys I’ve ever seen,” forward Philip Tomasino said. “For me, I just try to do a little bit of everything.”
Stutzle had a goal and an assist against the Sharks and now leads Ottawa with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists). He has five points in his past two games (one goal, four assists) and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past seven outings. The 24-year-old has been held off the scoresheet just three times through the first 15 games and has not been held without a point in consecutive games.