The Ducks have flown north for a rematch with a familiar foe, tonight facing off again with the division rival Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.
PUCK DROP: 7 P.M. | WATCH: VICTORY+ / FOX PLUS (KCOP-13) | AUDIO: DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim visits the Emerald City looking to respond from Monday's 3-2 loss to Seattle in the front half of a rare home-and-home set. The Ducks claimed a 2-1 lead in the second period on goals by Frank Vatrano and Trevor Zegras, but would see that lead evaporate early in the third on a pair of Seattle tallies 24 seconds apart.
"I think we’ve proved to ourselves the team that we can be when we’re playing fast," winger Troy Terry said. "I thought we came out, did that in the first period and then whatever the case was in the second period, whether it was penalties, they were making a push, it just felt like we lost it a bit in the second period. It felt like their momentum in the second kind of carried into the start of the third, so just learning how to manage those momentum swings and being able to lock it down when they’re getting time in your end. Those types of games, just learning how to manage them."
"A lot of it is puck management," added head coach Greg Cronin. "When we play fast, we move the puck north. We get to areas where we can advance it forward."
The loss snapped Anaheim's four-game point streak and dropped the club to 8-9-3 on the season. Potentially a bigger setback from Monday's game though was the departure of Leo Carlsson, who suffered an upper-body injury on a hit by Kraken forward Tye Kartye.
"It sucks," Vatrano bluntly noted postgame Monday night. "He's one of our best players and to see him go down like that on a questionable hit is tough. I wish we got the win for him, but it's nice for guys to step up for him and try to take control of the situation."
Carlsson did not practice Monday prior to the team's trip to Seattle. The 19-year-old center co-leads Anaheim in goals and ranks second in points this season.
Meanwhile the Kraken look for a home-and-home sweep tonight, the third of five straight divisional games for Seattle.
“We felt like this was a statement game we need to win,” Andre Burakovsky told the team's Bob Condor. “Sometimes you have to chase it a little bit. And, [Monday], I think we just really stepped up there. We talked about it before the period started, that we all have got to be better, ramp it up a couple of levels.”
Seattle (11-10-1, 23 points) now sits sixth in the Pacific Division.
