The Anaheim Ducks will aim for another winning season against the Sharks when they host San Jose on Tuesday.
The Ducks opened their season with a 2-0 shutout of the Sharks on Oct. 12. Isac Lundestrom and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 30 saves in his second shutout.
However, the Ducks have won just one of their four games since. They will enter Tuesday’s tournament on a two-game sweep.
Anaheim lost 4-3 in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and fell 4-1 to rival Los Angeles on Sunday. Ryan Strome scored one goal for the Ducks and Dostal made 32 saves against the Kings.
The Ducks have been outscored 85-33 in their past two losses. Their power play has yet to find the back of the net this season, going 0-for-17 in five games.
“The last two games we’ve just been on cruise control. We’re watching the game,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “They’ve got to take ownership. The NHL is a fast game. If you’re not skating to the finish line every time you’re looking back, looking forward, regrouping the neutral zone, you’re not going to get it. It’s that simple.”
In five games, forward Troy Terry leads the Ducks with four points (three goals, one assist). Strome and Leo Carlsson each have two goals and an assist.
Dostal made four starts, posting a 2-1-1 record with a .930 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average. The 24-year-old is 1-1-0 with a .926 save percentage and 2.01 GAA in two games against San Jose.
Tuesday is the second of three meetings between these clubs this season. The Sharks and Ducks conclude the season series on April 1 in Anaheim.
This time, the Sharks travel to Anaheim in search of their first win of the season, but they will have to find it without highly regarded forward Macklin Celebrini.
San Jose general manager Mike Grier announced Monday that Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, will miss at least the next two weeks with a lower-body injury.
The 18-year-old has not played since the start of the season on Oct. 10. Scored a goal and an assist in his first NHL game.
San Jose beat Colorado 4-1 on Sunday night. The Sharks are winless in six games this season (0-4-2) and nine in a row dating back to last season, with their most recent win coming on April 11 in Seattle.
William Eklund scored a goal and Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves in Sunday’s loss to the Avalanche.
“We have to find a way to win the hockey game,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve done some really good things in four of our six games. You can honestly say our record might be different, but at the end of the day, what’s the record, right? I know our guys are digging in, and we care. We’ll get there.
Vanecek is 0-3-0 in four games this season with an .884 save percentage and 3.14 GAA. In three career games against the Ducks, Vanecek is 1-1-1 with a .935 save percentage and 1.98 GAA.
Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli has a team-leading four goals this season.
–Field Level Media
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