In Anaheim, the Ducks fell victim to a four-goal outburst from the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1. Steven Stamkos capped off the barrage with his 31st of the season.
Steven Stamkos scored 31st in win over Ducks 0 file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“There was just a quiet confidence after the first [period], to be honest,” Stamkos said. “I know we were down, but I felt like we had more to give. I think that was one of our better periods of the year in the second. [We] really dictated the play, and just set it up for the third to play a solid road period and get out of here with a win.”
The Ducks are now 1-4-1 in their last six and injuries are piling up with several missing the game Wednesday including Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm and Matt Beleskey.
“We relaxed,” defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. “We didn’t play nearly as well. I thought we had far too many turnovers. We couldn’t get the puck out of our zone, and when we did get some offensive zone time, it was one hope pass and we were done. They were turning it the other way. I thought that we stopped playing.”
Relaxed is an understatement with the Ducks leaving Stamkos unguarded for his goal from the left circle.
“This isn’t a case of other teams coming in and beating us,” Lovejoy said. “We think that when we’re playing the right way, when we’re playing the right style, that nobody’s going to beat us, and we’re not there right now. We need to get better.”
Certainly Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau was not pleased with the overall effort against the Bolts or the last six games.
“I don’t think anybody is very happy with what’s going on. It’s up to us. We can’t hang our heads because every other team wants to win too, Boudreau said. “We have to pull ourselves out of this. When we do, we’ll be a better team. We’d certainly like to see it sooner rather than later.”
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