Ducks Have to Shake it Off with Vegas in Town Tonight

Coming off back-to-back losses in Arizona, in which they blew 3-0 leads in both games, the Ducks know they have some things to straighten out. They can only hope they're able to do it quickly with the class of the Honda West Division coming to down.

Anaheim has some challenges ahead, with the first-place Vegas Golden Knights here at Honda Center tonight (7 p.m. PT on Prime Ticket) and second-place St. Louis at home Monday and Wednesday nights. The three goals the normally low-scoring Ducks managed in each of the two games in the desert are positives (especially since both came relatively early in those games). The inability to hold those leads and not score after those early flurries? A substantial concern.
"That's two games in a row we let our foot off the gas," said Ducks coach Dallas Eakins after Wednesday night's shootout defeat, a fifth loss in a row for the Ducks. "We talked after the second period about the best way to defend is to score another goal."
Max Jones, who scored a rare Ducks power play goal to give Anaheim that 3-0 lead on Wednesday, wasn't hesitant to show his anger in the result.
"We can't do that," said Jones, who also had a goal against the Coyotes on Monday night. "We can't accept that. We've got to do our best to stay positive, but it's tough. We're playing the right way, but it's just not for the full 60 minutes. We're struggling with that. I think we need to sit and maybe reflect on it for 20 or 30 minutes. We can't get complacent like that again. We sat back and watched."
Anaheim could get a boost from the possible return of defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who missed the last three games with a lower body injury. He took part in every drill in practice yesterday.

The Ducks have fallen into last place in the division at 6-10-4, but Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said yesterday he feels like, "We're so close."
"I mean that in the fact that we're so close to everyone understanding what it takes to win and understanding how hard it is to win in this league," he continued. "When we get these opportunities where we're up in games or controlling games, we just have to keep believing we're doing it because we're playing the right way, executing things properly and competing hard.
"The competition side has never been lacking here. It's more of just the confidence in ourselves that when we play the right way and play the system we have in place, we're capable of beating every team we've played. Considering where we are in the standings, we have to be bringing that every night. That's the next step for us is that consistency."
Anaheim's offense has gotten a boost from celebrated rookie Trevor Zegras, who appeared to get his first career point Wednesday night on a Josh Mahura goal until a mid-game scoring change took the assist away. He also led off the shootout with a pretty forehand snipe goal, but the Ducks couldn't find the net again in the tiebreaker in ultimately going down 4-3 in the game.
But as is the case countless times over the course of an NHL season, the Ducks have to turn the page, especially with some formidable opponents on the horizon. Tonight's game continues a stretch with nine of 13 contests on home ice in a 23-day span, which includes three in a row and seven of the next nine. Unfortunately, Anaheim hasn't fared all that well at Honda Center, with a 3-5-2 mark that matches their record not the road.
Tonight is the fifth of eight matchups between the Ducks and Golden Knights (11-4-1), the first at Honda Center. Their last battle saw Anaheim pull off a 1-0 victory in Vegas behind John Gibson's third shutout of the season.
He seems likely to be in net again tonight as the Ducks look to right the proverbial ship.
"We've just got to do our best to stay positive right now," Jones said. "It's tough to go through something like this. Honestly, we're playing the right way. It's just the full 60 minutes that we need to to maintain and, for some reason, we're just struggling with that right now."
Tonight is also Military Appreciation Night presented by Pacific Premier Bank, as the Ducks honor the United States Armed Forces by paying tribute to local military members and their families as well as raising awareness for military nonprofit organization United Heroes League. Ducks players will wear camouflage Ducks jerseys during the pregame warmup and other
special events will be held during the night
.