Preview: Ducks Visit Mile High City for Friday Night Battle vs. Avs
The Ducks will get right back to the road for some Friday night hockey, tonight facing off with the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
PUCK DROP: 6 P.M. PT | WATCH: | AUDIO: DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim heads to the Mile High City looking to build on a dramatic comeback win in Wednesday night’s home opener at Honda Center. The Ducks trailed 4-3 late in the third period before Pavel Mintyukov’s second goal of the night forced overtime – which ended on the first shift with Leo Carlsson’s breakaway tally.
“We knew it was going to be a bit of a track meet,” forward Trevor Zegras said. “As much as we could, we tried not to play a track meet but [Utah] is so young, skilled and fast that you have to respect their speed. We stayed to the inside and played tough, so it was a really good game.
“I thought we were shooting the puck and getting to the front of the net. We were utilizing the back of the net and trying to find guys in the slot. We played hard and got rewarded there at the end, tying it up. Then it was the Leo Carlsson show in overtime.”
Highlights from Anaheim’s 5-4 OT win over the Utah Hockey Club
Carlsson’s goal was his first career OT winner, an opportunistic finish sparked by Troy Terry’s hustle and tenacity on the puck.
“[The Utah defense] didn’t see me coming, so it was perfect,” Carlsson said with a smile.
Anaheim’s second win of the season also featured a strong night from the club’s second line of Zegras, Mason McTavish and Robby Fabbri, including Fabbri’s first goal as a Duck on a centering feed from Zegras.
“I was looking at Fabbri after the game and he was completely exhausted,” head coach Greg Cronin said. “He does everything right. You talk about role models and we have these six 21-year-old kids and younger and what a blessing to have Robby on the ice in practice, on the bench during the games, playing the way he plays, he does everything right, he has a positive attitude. He has a really nice demeanor to him, you know he won a Stanley Cup in St. Louis as a really young kid, had some really terrible injuries and he’s come back from that and the more I watch him, the more I appreciate him.”
The Ducks now visit Denver for a date with a scuffling Colorado team, one of the NHL’s most talented clubs now sitting on an 0-4-0 record while conceding an NHL-high 25 goals.
“Always, no matter how good or bad it’s going, we’re not going to dwell on the previous game,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar told NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding after Wednesday’s loss to Boston. “Whether we were really good or whether we were really bad, you have to correct it and move on. Build on it and move on. It’s the same thing now, the loss stings. It doesn’t feel any better or worse than it did after the last game. We got to find a way to get a win and try to build it from there.”
A bright spot for Colorado has been the lethal precision of its power-play, which now stands at 6-for-12 (50%) on the young season.