Ducks coach Greg Cronin recently described his team’s season as being like the movie “Groundhog Day,” and it’ll certainly feel that way when they wake up Thursday in the same city to play the same team they played in their last game, the Seattle Kraken.
While a Bill Murray cameo might always be welcome, the Ducks certainly hope Tuesday’s result doesn’t repeat itself as they were shut out for the 10th time this season in a 4-0 loss in which they generated a paltry dozen shots on goal.
The same opponent in the same venue for consecutive games is a bit unusual in the NHL (save for the pandemic-altered 2021 season, when it was the norm), harkening back to players who competed at the college level or perhaps even invoking a bit of a postseason feel with the opportunity to evaluate and build from game to game.
“It makes it easier to prepare, almost like a playoff series,” Cronin said via text. “We get a closer view of each [matchup], which allows us to tighten our focus on details and critical events that can impact the outcome of shifts and games.”
Cronin’s original “Groundhog Day” comment was referent to the injuries that have piled up for the Ducks at nearly every turn this season, but in Seattle they got Trevor Zegras back, who’s missed 51 games this season.
Zegras was the Ducks’ top scorer last season but has just seven points in 21 games this year, having been limited by a groin injury before missing time due to it. He returned after an extended absence only to break his ankle and be sidelined for even longer.
He played nearly 16 minutes Tuesday, starting on the third line and moving up when the Ducks got more desperate for offense. He was one of 10 Ducks (out of 18 skaters) that failed to register a shot on net in the contest.
Per StatMuse, only 19 shutouts on record have been accomplished with fewer than the 12 saves made by Seattle’s Joey Daccord in his third shutout of the season Tuesday.
With Easter drawing near, the Ducks have been on egg hunt of their own, putting a zero on their side of the scoreboard four times in their past seven games. They placed one on their opponents’ end once, a 4-0 win over Chicago that preserved the Blackhawks’ undesirable distinction as the team who has been shut out most frequently this season (11 times to the Ducks’ 10).
The Kraken could certainly relate. Prior to Tuesday’s triumph, Seattle had lost eight straight games during which it scored more than one goal just twice and more than two only once.
Daccord’s teammates aided his cause with an attack spearheaded by 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers and former Nashville first-rounder Eeli Tolvanen, who contributed a goal and two assists apiece. The Ducks’ penalty kill also faltered, allowing a pair of power-play goals.
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Once the Ducks depart the Emerald City, there will be single-digit games left in their campaign, five of which will be played on the road and five of which will pit them against playoff teams. They’ll need to squeeze seven points out of those matches just to surpass last season’s NHL-worst points total, though they seem comfortably situated to stay ahead of Chicago and the San Jose Sharks, whose seasons had been circling the drain from Day One.
On the medical front, the Ducks said forward Brock McGinn underwent successful back surgery earlier this week and was expected to have a recovery time of approximately four months after a disk procedure.
Ducks at Kraken
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
TV: Bally Sports SoCal
