After losing to the Flyers in overtime, the Ducks need to start faster against the host Mammoth on Friday if they want to keep leading the division.
ANAHEIM — With just four of their remaining 14 games slated against presently playoff-bound clubs, the Ducks head to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Mammoth, one of the tougher opponents on their remaining schedule.
The Ducks were one click ahead of the rest of the Pacific Division after picking up a point despite a lackluster effort against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (despite his goal and assist, former Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier has yet to beat Philly in four tries). Utah was five points clear of a wild-card spot in the more competitive Central Division.
For the Ducks (37-28-4, 78 points), their last playoff appearance came in 2018. Meanwhile, the Mammoth (35-27-6, 76 points) just arrived in Utah last season from Arizona, where their prior existence as the Coyotes saw them miss every traditional NHL postseason since 2012, when they lost to the Kings in the conference finals.
“They’ve had a heck of a year. They’re kind of in the same boat organizationally and traditionally in the last number of years, with a lot of young prospects that are turning the corner. They’ve put themselves in a playoff spot now,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said.
It will be a rubber match between two up-and-comers. The Ducks won the first meeting on Nov. 17 after Troy Terry’s goal with five seconds left in regulation sent them to overtime for Olen Zellweger’s game-winner. The second showdown was the Ducks’ most lopsided loss of the year, a 7-0 trampling on Dec. 3.
“We kicked them pretty good in one game and they gave us more than our share when they got us in their turn here,” Quenneville added. “Expect a hard, hard game.”
The Flyers gave the Ducks an arduous task as well, playing with active sticks, tight gaps and few options to connect on long passes or otherwise generate rush chances. Quenneville asserted that most games down the home stretch would be similarly contested.
That will be a test of mettle for the Ducks, who on one hand are in the top five in points percentage since snapping their nine-game losing streak, but on the other have by far the worst goal differential of those five franchises. The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars all have differentials of +20 or better in that span, while the Ducks are barely in the black at +3.
Utah, which placed 10th in that stretch, has a +14 mark in that stretch to bring it to +23 on the year. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, who recently signed an eight-year contract extension worth $64 million, pace the Mammoth in scoring while Dylan Guenther leads them in goals and Mikhail Sergachev is tops in defensive scoring.
DUCKS AT MAMMOTH
When: Friday, 7 p.m. PT
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13)
Source: Utah News