The Anaheim Ducks returned home following a season-long six-game road trip to face the Florida Panthers on the second leg of a home-and-home series against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Game #47: Ducks vs. Panthers Gameday Preview
The Ducks went 1-4-1 on their road trip, concluding with a 3-0 loss to Florida on Saturday.
This was Florida’s first game of a back-to-back and they will play the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday in LA.
Trevor Zegras returned to the Ducks lineup after missing 22 games with a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered on Dec. 4. He slotted in on the wing opposite Alex Killorn and next to Leo Carlsson.
With Zegras returning, Mason McTavish was reunited with Robby Fabbri and Cutter Gauthier.
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks in this game and stopped 24 of 29 shots.
Sergei Bobrovsky was between the pipes for Florida and saved 28 of the 30 shots he faced.
“We’ve gotta find ways to keep battling,” Cronin said after the game. “You gotta keep battling, it doesn’t matter what the score is. They got two quick goals (in the third period) and I think that just took some steam out of us.”
Here are my notes from this game:
Cycle: One of the more positive takeaways from this game was the emphasis on off and on-puck player movement throughout the offensive zone. There were two shifts in the middle of the second period, specifically, where the Ducks worked pucks along the perimeter, on the walls, and at the top of the zone, weaving and switching to open shooting and passing lanes.
“Ideally, that’s the way you want to play,” Cronin said. “That’s the way you build confidence out of those possessions. We had some opportunities within those cycles and maybe we should have shot a few more, right?”
F3s were consistently jumping to open ice at the point when pucks were moved low to high to draw defenders from the net front. Those wrinkles didn’t lead to any goals, but they led to a decrease in offensive zone time for the Panthers, and against less polished defensive teams, will likely result in positive outcomes on the scoresheet.
Trevor Zegras: Upon his return to the lineup, Zegras immediately became the Duck’s most impactful offensive weapon. The vision, deception, and misinformation he displays every time the puck is on his stick is unparalleled and he draws the attention of opposing defenders.
“Just little stuff. You give a team like that an inch and they’re going to put it in the back of your net,” Zegras said after the game. “I feel like we were…