The Anaheim Ducks have not been in a playoff race this late in the season in seven years.
They will try to better their chances of ending their postseason drought when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in the finale of a three-game road trip.
The Ducks entered play Monday six points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Three teams also sit between the Ducks and Canucks, who visit Anaheim on Thursday.
Anaheim moved up the standings by winning six of seven games before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Ducks beat the Boston Bruins in overtime in their first game back on Saturday before losing in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday after scoring two goals in under two minutes with goalie Lukas Dostal pulled for the extra skater.
“Everyone had a good break, eight or nine days off, but we all came back and we’re focusing on one thing, and that’s getting wins,” Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier said after scoring two goals against the Red Wings. “We have a pretty big second half here that we have to stay focused on and do our jobs, and do our roles, and it’s not going to come easy and we all know that as a group. So every single night, whether it’s a back to back or we have a couple days in between, we’re going to come out battling.”
The Ducks have yet to lose in regulation when scoring at least three goals this season (21-0-3). They also have proved to be difficult to put away, as evident by their comeback against Detroit.
“Just resiliency. We’ve done it all season long,” Gauthier said about being able to chase the game late. “It’s not something we’re proud of, but it’s something that we’ve been pretty good at this year, coming back in games and fighting to get extra points that will help us down the road.”
Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras is expected to have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL after his hit up high knocked Detroit forward Michael Rasmussen from the game.
The Ducks could use Zegras’ offensive skills against the Sabres, who produced a season-high goal total in an 8-2 win against the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Rasmus Dahlin had two goals and two assists in the win, but Buffalo remains at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
“We know the second half (of the season) is important for us and this is how we want to play every night,” Dahlin said. “We’ve just got to continue to build on this.”
Dahlin, who played for Sweden at the 4 Nations tournament, scored the 74th and 75th goals of his career to move past Mike Ramsey for the second-most goals by a defenseman in Sabres history, trailing only Phil Housley (178).
“I thought the Nashville game (on Feb. 8) was probably his best of the year,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said of Dahlin. “I thought he got even better tonight. Came out better. I think he’s feeling a little bit coming off the 4 Nations, but he really did lead the way. He played well, he looked calm out there, he made some great plays. Some of his breakout plays were real special.”
–Field Level Media
