The Ducks will continue a five-game homestand and look to extend the NHL's longest winning streak tonight, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Honda Center.
PUCK DROP: 7 P.M. | TV: BALLY SPORTS SOCAL | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER | GET TICKETS
The Ducks will celebrate Native American Heritage night presented by San Manuel Band of Missions Indians tonight, featuring a hat giveaway to the first 10,000 fans in attendance. For more information, click here.
On the ice, Anaheim will look to keep the momentum rolling after earning its sixth straight win Sunday night against the defending Stanley Cup champs. The Golden Knights led 2-0 that night until the Ducks erased yet another third-period deficit to earn their fifth comeback win of the season.
"It's a mindset," head coach Greg Cronin said. "We have a team that, early in the year, has managed to bounce back at different points in the game. When you win, it creates more believability in what you're doing. Sunday, we were down 2-0 and I just said it doesn't matter what the score is, just play the way we're supposed to play."
"The crowd has been great and when they're into it, you can feel it in on the bench. The energy is uplifting. We've got to continue to find ways to get them involved in the game, because when they are involved, our team plays to a higher level."
Whether it's the resilience of the team, the energy of the crowd or something else, the Ducks have made a habit of relentless third-period efforts lately, becoming just the second team in NHL history to win six straight games with five including third-period comebacks.
"We're getting into our DNA that we're going to compete," Cronin said.
"We've figured out identity as a team," Troy Terry added. "We've matured in ways that, not every game has been the same story. Some games we've played well. Other games we haven't played so well but we found ways to win, whether it's special teams or something else. The maturity of this group is starting to show in learning how to win those games."
While the winning streak has certainly been a team effort, the man for the big moments over the last two weeks has been 20-year-old center Mason McTavish, who Monday was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week.
"It's pretty cool...and the team is playing pretty well," the ever-humble McTavish said, quickly shifting the praise to include linemates Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome. "We've been good for each other. We're playing predictable hockey so we know what we're doing before we get the puck. That's been the key to our success."
McTavish now leads all NHL players age 20-or-younger in points (6-7=13) and goals and is the only U-20 skater to rank in the top-100 of league scoring. He paces the Ducks in scoring as well, and ranks second in both goals and assists.
"I think you saw it last year, he really came on throughout the year," Terry said of McTavish. "He was someone I was really excited about for this year. He's gone even beyond that. He had a big summer strength wise. He's confident and doing all the things everybody thought he could. He's scoring big goals in big ways for us."
While the puck seems to keep finding the back of the net for McTavish, one Duck who can't seem to buy a break is winger Trevor Zegras, who despite a lack of offensive production has stood out to Cronin for his play in the neutral and defensive zones.
"He's getting unbelievable scoring chances every game" Cronin said. "At least one, sometimes its two or three per game. Whether it's 2-on-1's or shots from the side of the net, he's not scoring. If he's scoring on half of them, he's got like seven goals and we're not talking about this. But you dig deeper into his game and he's making a real conscientious effort to defend well and, analytically, he's done very well in that department. It's a matter of time."
Zegras, McTavish and the Ducks will shoot for win number seven in a row tonight against the same Pittsburgh team that captured number three against last week in the Steel City. Keeping with the theme, Anaheim trailed by a goal in the third period that night before a pair of McTavish's markers, including a shorthanded one with 13 seconds to play, flipped the script for the visitors.
“When you look at the way the games are being played here the last handful of games, there’s been significant amounts of time we’ve been the better team,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that night postgame. “Right now, we’re finding ways to lose. We have to find ways to win."
The Pens have played just one game since that loss to the Ducks, a complete 10-2 whooping of the Sharks Saturday night in San Jose.
"We've got to stay out of the box tonight," Cronin said, recalling Pittsburgh's two 5-on-3 power plays in last week's meeting. "I thought there were stretches in the game where we played okay, but for most of the game, they controlled the play. I liked the way they played. They played fast, stretched passes out of the offenseive zone and they were able to attack us a lot....They're a tough team to contend with. We've got to make sure that we're thinking defense first."
"The try to go up and down the ice," Terry said. "They're a team that lives off turnovers and rush chances. We need to remember what our identity has been as a team, what's given us success, and play within that. Don't get sucked into the game that they play, just stick to what we've been doing and we'll get our chances."
Pittsburgh (4-6-0, eight points), sits last in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind Washington, Philadelphia and Columbus - all tied for fifth.
