ANAHEIM — Four-point swings aren’t quite what they used to be …
Old days: A game between the Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks meant bragging rights in the regular season in the Western Conference.
New times: A contest involving the Ducks and Blackhawks meant a result could impact the race to the bottom, also known as the Connor Bedard Derby. Of course, last place overall doesn’t automatically ensure the right to pick first in the draft – due to the draft lottery – but a team’s odds are meaningfully enhanced by finishing 32nd.
So how about those standings?
Columbus still holds down the last spot overall with 44 points but ‘gained’ more separation in the standings when the Ducks defeated the Blackhawks, 4-2, on Monday night at Honda Center, with the hosts winning their third straight game. The Ducks and Chicago each have 47 points but the Ducks have played 61 games, two more than the Blackhawks. The result snapped Chicago’s five-game winning streak.
Scoring for the Ducks: Isac Lundestrom (fourth of the season), Jakob Silfverberg (ninth), Max Jones (fifth) and Troy Terry (16th), with Terry and Jones adding assists. Ducks rookie center Mason McTavish added three assists, Frank Vatrano had two assists, and rookie goaltender Lukas Dostal made 24 saves for his third win of the season. Defenseman John Klingberg had the primary assist on Silfverberg’s goal, giving him nine points in his past nine games.
“That’s a hard game for those guys to play,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “We flew home the other night (from Carolina), Guys probably got in their beds by maybe 4 a.m. Guys with kids probably didn’t sleep at all. So these are dangerous games….Good on our guys for being ready, getting over that mental hump and finding a way to get the points.”
The game-winner was from Jones, who broke the 2-2 tie, scoring with 17.5 seconds remaining in the second period and Terry scored the only goal in the third, converting a slick backhander from a…
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