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The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a winless four-game road trip yesterday afternoon, falling 5-2 to the Winnipeg Jets.
The Ducks went back to 11 forwards and seven defenseman for the matchup, with Derek Grant being scratched in favour of Colton White.
Anaheim actually came out really strong, putting together what was probably one of their best opening periods of the season. They outshot the Jets by an 18-7 margin and with about four minutes left in the frame, Jakob Silfverberg buried a rebound in front, giving Anaheim the lead.
The Ducks extended the lead about five minutes into the second frame, as Dylan Samberg bobbled the puck off a faceoff at the Ducks’ line and Brett Leason went back the other way, beating Connor Hellebuyck on a breakaway. However, the Jets got on the board about five minutes after that, with Saku Maenalanen taking a pass in front from Nate Scmidt and beating Anthony Stolarz. Then only a few minutes after that, Samberg made up for his mistake, floating a shot in from the point through traffic to beat Stolarz and tie the game. The Ducks were under siege a bit after that but were able to escape the period with a tie game.
The Jets then badly outshot Anaheim in the third period, by an 18-7 margin. With under six minutes to go, Adam Lowry found Morgan Barron in front, who beat Stolarz for Winnipeg's first lead of the game. Then only 49 seconds after that, Mark Scheifele took a drop pass from Blake Wheeler and ripped a shot past Stolarz, extending the lead. The Ducks ended up taking a late penalty after that and Nate Schmidt scored on the ensuing power play, leading to a 5-2 Ducks loss.
After such a strong first period, Anaheim basically lost all momentum after Winnipeg got on the board midway through the second frame. They managed just 12 shots over the back two periods and it was a bit of a frustrating loss, as another defeat as part of a long losing streak.
They’ve now allowed five goals in five of their last six games. While the weak blue line has given Simon Benoit a chance to really take a step for the Ducks, that’s one of the only positives (and playing seven defensemen isn’t the solution).
With just six wins in their first 26 games of the season, the rest of the season has to shift towards development to bring any sort of positives. That said, it’s hard to do that when some of the young talent aren’t getting opportunities. Pavol Regenda was just assigned back to the AHL after playing only six minutes last night, despite arguably being one of the bright spots with the Ducks when he does play. Meanwhile, Mason McTavish continues to spend a lot of his time with players who can’t necessarily keep up.
Even if the wins aren’t coming, there has to be some progress and right now, it doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot being made. Anaheim will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Carolina Hurricanes.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Ducks shut out by Stars for fourth straight loss
Ducks fall to Wild in shootout for fifth straight loss 
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