For Anaheim, it's another chance to get back on track and snap a losing skid, which hit six games with a loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday. The Ducks went toe-to-toe with the Bolts but Brandon Hagel broke a third-period deadlock with 4:27 to play, giving the visitors a 4-2 victory.
"It's kind of hard to come with the good after a heartbreaker like that," head coach Dallas Eakins said. "I thought we stayed resilient through the game. When we got down, I didn't see a whole lot of heads dragging on the bench waiting for the next one to come. Guys were up on the bench. They stuck together through it. I thought we were fairly good in our own zone again. I still think we can play just a much more efficient game with the puck. We still tend to complicate things through the neutral zone."
Anaheim's top offensive weapons were frustrated by a failed late power play, a missed opportunity that could have secured two points on home ice.
"That's a time where we need to take pride in that and score," Troy Terry said. "We were doing a lot more great things but you can see it on a team like [Tampa] and why they are the team they are...That's where we need to get to as a team. Those crunch-time moments, I've been saying it for years now but that's the next step for us."
Despite the team's slow start, Terry has seen a productive beginning to the new campaign, currently leading the Ducks in scoring (4-5=9), goals and assists. Dating back to the start of last season, Terry has 76 points in his last 82 appearances.
