The Ducks landed in Saint Louis to conclude their road trip against the Blues, already battered and tattered from a five-game funk that’s seen them outscored by an average of 4.4 goals per game.
They’ve been shut out in each of their past two matches, adding the seventh and eighth bagels to their bag, which ran their total deficit during the slump to 27-5. The only teams that have been blanked more times this season are also the only clubs below the Ducks in the NHL standings, the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.
While they won’t be vying for 16 wins in the spring, the Ducks had put together a respectable 16-game stretch heading into March 8’s trade deadline. They compiled a .563 points percentage during that span with an 8-6-2 mark that coach Greg Cronin said suggested they were “figuring out the process” and “gaining traction.” Yet the deadline saw the departures of three more Ducks (Sam Carrick, Adam Henrique and Ilya Lyubushkin), in addition to the January trade of Jamie Drysdale, and then the Ducks were “obliterated by injuries,” Cronin said. The latest absences have been those of stalwart defenseman Radko Gudas (upper-body) and wrecking-ball centerman Mason McTavish (lower-body), who both sustained injuries on this road trip.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but we’re just so heavily depleted,” Cronin said via phone.
McTavish and Gudas joined Leo Carlsson (concussion), Trevor Zegras (ankle surgery), Brock McGinn (upper-body, likely out for the season), Max Jones (illness) and Tristan Luneau (knee infection, out of the season) in the Ducks’ triage unit. Taking into account the four players who were all dealt for either picks or a prospect, more than half a roster’s worth of players was unavailable to the Ducks, including their leading scorer from last season, their best defensemen this year, a former lottery pick on the blue line and their top three centers.
“There’s 11 guys that are gone that were part of our group…
Read the full article here
