The Ducks will head to the Sunshine State for the final games of a season-long six-game road trip, tonight facing off with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
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Anaheim needs consecutive wins to finish the road trip at .500 after a disappointing 3-0 shutout loss Tuesday night in Washington. The Ducks struggled to generate any offense against a stout, first-place Capitals defense, ultimately tallying just 19 shots on net and failing to score for the second time in three games.
“We’re not shooting a ton of pucks,” forward Alex Killorn said of the offensive struggles. “Our goalies keep us in every single game and we’ve got to find ways to score. We score two goals a game, so it’s got to come from within us. Winning battles, being better in the O zone, creating more chances.”
Anaheim did welcome leading scorer Troy Terry back to the lineup Tuesday, after the star forward and his wife, Dani, welcomed their second child last week. Terry returned to his usual place on right wing alongside Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, and led Ducks forwards with 18:49 of ice-time.
"Our first period put us in a hole," Terry said. "I don't think it was a lack of work or compete level, I thought we were competing, but we seemed a little disjointed. It led to them getting some chances...I thought we came out stronger in the second and we had a good third. We had chances that could have gotten us back in the game. Just need to start on time."
The Ducks now head to the western half of south Florida, looking to bounce back against a scuffling Tampa Bay team, 4-5-1 in its last 10 games and trying to keep pace with Toronto and Florida for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Bolts last played Tuesday, falling 6-2 to Boston with top center Brayden Point a healthy scratch after missing a team meeting.
“We’ve had a team standard since I’ve been here,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told NHL.com's Joe McDonald. “It’s professional sports, and you’ve got rules and nobody’s above the law. It’s unfortunate because this game we could have really needed him, but the one who probably feels the worst about it is [Point], because he’s such a great guy and great team guy. So, it’s unfortunate. I doubt he’s going to be the last player in the league to do something like that, but I felt awful and wish we could have had him [Tuesday]."
The Bolts have now lost five of their last six road games, but tonightreturn to home ice where they own a 13-6-1 mark.
“We’ve got to have better starts,” captain Victor Hedman said. “We've got to make sure we start the game on time and put ourselves in a better position, because it’s frustrating.”
Tonight's game also marks the second homecoming for Ducks winger Alex Killorn, who played 805 games in a Tampa sweater across 11 seasons and helped the team capture two Stanley Cups titles. Killorn ranks among Tampa's top-10 all-time leaders in games played (fifth), goals (sixth), assists (ninth) and points (eighth).
Tampa Bay (23-16-3, 49 points) sits third in the Atlantic Division.