The Ducks will conclude their five-game homestand against the New York Islanders on Sunday with an opportunity to produce a winning record during this residency at Honda Center.
They fell 6-2 to the Dallas Stars on Friday to even their mark during the homestand, but have been playing competitively despite their dizzying array of arrivals, departures and injuries throughout the season.
“We have to bring a consistent effort and keep a high standard here,” said Ryan Strome, who factored into both Friday’s goals. “There’s a real opportunity here in the last 15 or 20 games, no matter who you are, whether you’re an older guy or a younger guy, a call-up or a 10-year guy, to really try to prove something and try to build something toward next year. These games last year, we really let them go to waste.”
Probably a few energy drinks deep after what was a sleep-deprived deadline week for most general managers, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek discussed recent trades and the longer-term outlook of the team as well.
“Even though our record hasn’t shown it, I’m very happy with the progress and the steps we’ve taken in multiple areas,” Verbeek said.
He also said he felt the team likely spent its last deadline as an outright seller.
“The way the team’s going to probably set up, I don’t see that as being a possibility. It might be a rare occasion, but I don’t see it in that sense that we’re starting to get to a point now where we’ve got our young core, we’ve got our young players, we’ve got our veteran players,” Verbeek said. “Now, it’s time for everybody to take a step, for our young guys to take a step, gain some experience and get better and start to improve in a way that puts us in a playoff race.”
Verbeek added that he anticipated signing NCAA prospects Cutter Gauthier and Sam Colangelo before season’s end and that his main focus this offseason would be adding scoring punch to the bottom-six forward group. At a…
Read the full article here
