The Ducks continue a five-game northwest road trip today in Vancouver, taking on the division-leading Canucks at Rogers Arena.
PUCK DROP: 12:30 P.M. | TV: TNT | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim heads west to Vancouver still looking for its first victory of the road trip after a 6-1 setback yesterday in Edmonton. The Ducks yielded only three power-play opportunities, staying out of the box and mostly avoiding Edmonton's lethal power play, but Connor McDavid and the Oilers attack would prove too much to slow down.
"We started out a little slow and measured," head coach Greg Cronin said. "They had a couple quality opportunities and put them in the net. It's really hard to start a game on the road at 3-0. We dug a hole and had some chances to get back in...but we just weren't good enough."
The loss dropped Anaheim to 24-46-4 on the season, and 0-3-0 on a five-game northwest road trip, with eight games left on the regular-season schedule.
Winger Alex Killorn scored the lone goal for the Ducks, connecting on a late third-period power play with a deflection of Cam Fowler's point shot. Killorn has three goals in his last 15 games and 15 goals in his first 55 appearances as a Duck.
"Not good enough," Killorn said of the loss. "They're a really good team and we didn't bring it.
"We didn't give ourselves enough chances to score. They outplayed us in a lot of facets. We've got a game Sunday and we have to be ready for it."
Cronin agreed, "We've got to play Sunday at 12:30. This over and done. We've got to move on to the next one."
That next one comes with a tall task, a battle against a Canucks team desperately trying to hold off the Oilers for the Pacific Division crown. Vancouver closes a mega nine-game homestand tonight, a stretch that started with points in five of six games (4-1-1) but has since seen consecutive setbacks to Los Angeles and Dallas.
“Every game is supposed to be hard,” Canucks forward JT Miller told NHL.com's Kevin Woodley after the loss to the Stars. “We talked about them being one-goal games the rest of the way, and they have been the last few weeks. And we’re playing playoff teams. And basically, it all comes down to special teams, which is how it works in the playoffs sometimes.”
Dallas connected on two power-play goals in Thursday's game, while the Canucks went 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Miller said. “At the end of the day, they were probably able to execute on their special teams a little better than we were.”
The Canucks (45-20-8, 98 points), who have already clinched a postseason berth, lead the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Oilers.
