The Ducks are back in action tonight in Seattle for the second leg of a two-game set with the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.
PUCK DROP: 7 P.M. | TV: BALLY SPORTS SOCAL | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim's northwest road trip started with a dud Tuesday, a 4-0 shutout loss to the Kraken in which the Ducks could only generate 13 shots on net.
"We were horrible," head coach Greg Cronin said bluntly. "It's as simple as that. They wanted the puck more. They outskated us and won all the puck battles...It was completely unacceptable."
The loss dropped Anaheim to 24-44-4 on the season, 13-20-2 on the road, with 10 games still to play.
"I thought we were just flat to start," Troy Terry said. "You could tell they were hungrier than we were. It's unacceptable to start a game like that.
Whatever the reasons were, they jumped out early and dictated the game, which led to us taking too many penalties because they had the puck. Once you get in that cycle, it's hard to break out of. I thought we played hard in the third, despite the score, and generated some offense of our own but...[overall], they outworked us."
The Ducks have dropped both games to Seattle so far this season, Tuesday's defeat and a 3-2 loss back in December at Honda Center.
"We've done a lot of really good things [lately]," Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol said. "[Tuesday], we had great life. We played very well right from the start of the game. We scored the first couple goals. The power play goal just kind of takes a little weight off everybody's shoulders.
"Everybody came into the hockey game tonight with a great mentality. Everybody did their job."
The win pushed Seattle to 29-29-13 on the season, 15 points back of the Western Conference's second and final Wild Card berth.
"At this point in time, we've tried to reset our focus on the things we can accomplish," Hakstol said. "The guys did everything they needed to [Tuesday] and they should feel good about that performance."
"It hasn't been going our way the last bit or so, so it was a good feeling for everyone to get a win under our belt," added center Matty Beniers, who had three points.
After tonight's game, Anaheim and Seattle will meet one final time this season back in Orange County, set for Apr. 5 at Honda Center.
