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Revived under new head coach Greg Cronin, the Anaheim Ducks will be put to the test Sunday night when they host the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
Cronin was begging for some selfishness from his forwards early in the season, saying they seemed more interested in making the perfect pass. While imploring for more shots, he was really interested in his scorers taking shots as soon as those shots presented themselves.
After a home 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 22, Cronin said he was going to establish a “value system” as a way to reward opportunities on net. The plan: “We’re going to just shoot pucks.”
The Ducks have since pieced together a five-game winning streak that included three overtime victories, including a 4-3 triumph in extra time at home over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.
Troy Terry completed a hat trick against the Coyotes by scoring in overtime.
“Not to sound like a bad teammate — I couldn’t be happier that we’ve been winning games, but selfishly I’ve wanted to contribute more,” said Terry, who had just a goal and an assist over his previous six games.
October’s NHL Rookie of the Month, Lukas Dostal, could be in goal for Anaheim with John Gibson dealing with an upper-body injury. Dostal has a 2.80 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in six games (five starts). The Ducks will now take aim at the Golden Knights, who have won five of the last six matchups between the teams. The most recent of those was a 4-1 thrashing in Anaheim’s season opener on Oct. 14.
The Golden Knights will be on the second night of a back-to-back following a resounding 7-0 victory over the visiting Colorado Avalanche. Adin Hill made 41 saves in his first shutout of the season for Vegas, which extended its winning streak to four games and its season-opening point streak to 12 (11-0-1).
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and William Karlsson each scored two goals, with Stone scoring his fourth of the season and 200th of his career. Stone also had two assists for a four-point night.
Karlsson’s two third-period goals extended his points streak to a career-long nine games; he has six goals and seven assists in the stretch.
Despite their lofty status as champions in addition to their dominating run to start the season, the Golden Knights still were looking to make their mark against the 2022 Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche.
“We kind of know who the other powerhouses are, right?” Vegas defenseman Ben Hutton said. “So you definitely want to bring your ‘A’ game and make a statement, let them know who the other powerhouses are.”
The Golden Knights opened the season on a seven-game winning streak, with the third victory in the stretch against the Ducks when Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, Shea Theodore and Jonas Rondbjerg scored goals. Stephenson had a pair of assists.
Karlsson leads Vegas in points (15) and assists (nine) and shares top honors in goals (six) with Jonathan Marchessault, who added an assist in Saturday’s victory.
–Field Level Media
