The Anaheim Ducks are in a tail spin and something needs to be done quickly before they lose sight of everyone else in the Pacific Division.
The expectation was that the Ducks would be lost to the rest of the division because they would be the front runners. Instead, they have one win and Saturday night found them taking 15 shots on goal in St Paul and losing 3-0.
“I don’t really have much to say; we’re trying to say all the right things. As a group, we’re trying to encourage each other,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. “But I’d be lying if I said it was easy to be positive right now. This is a tough go that we have.”
Devan Dubnyk earned the shutout with the 15 saves. Though earning anything with 15 saves is hardly an effort.
“We’re desperate. I’ve never been in this to start a season,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “It’s hard to explain, other than we had a bunch of changes and we don’t seem to be able to get together as a group fast enough to start the season. We [have to] find a way to do that.”
The Ducks are now 1-5-1 on the season and there is a growing sense of changes in the Ducks’ head winds.
The Ducks were on a parade to the penalty box in the second period and the fourth consecutive penalty cost them.
“After we killed the first three, we were talking on the bench, ‘If we kill this one, we’re going to win the game,'” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Eventually, it usually turns the other way.”
The Wild improved to 5-1-1 on the season.
“It helps when you’re getting the game reps,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “We’ve been talking about, ‘Let’s continue to build our game.’ You have an opportunity to look at the video and look at the things you’re doing properly and the things you have to correct.”
The Ducks now head for a match up with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
“It’s difficult when you’re not scoring goals,” Boudreau said. “I think [the pressure] mounts, human nature would dictate that it would. And when you do have chances and you don’t score, it’s magnified even more.
“We’re holding the sticks so tight, we can’t make plays. You see pucks bouncing off our sticks, you see them wanting to make the perfect play for a goal. When things go bad, you just have to shoot everything at the net and go to the net and hope one bounces off your butt or something. Often times, that’s what starts things.”
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