Anaheim’s leads keep disappearing
October started well for the Ducks. They went 4-1. Since then they are 1-6-1, and the way they lose is the problem. On Thursday they led Buffalo 3-1 early and lost 7-6 at home. Their previous game at home against Vancouver ended 6-5 in overtime after they were up 5-2 with fewer than eight minutes to play.
The Ducks have allowed 37 goals during the slide. Their 3.85 goals against per game is the second-worst in the NHL, ahead of only Vancouver at 4.53. Neither starter is steadying things. Lukas Dostal sits at a 3.56 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage, and Ville Husso is at 4.12 and .857. Anaheim recalled Laurent Brossoit from San Diego on Saturday. The 33-year-old signed in the summer and has parts of 11 NHL seasons behind him.
Cutter Gauthier says the fix is not complicated: protect leads and tighten up without the puck, because no team can count on scoring eight goals a night.
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Ottawa brings form and a point streak
The Senators are in the penultimate game of a five-game road trip. It has been uneven. They lost 4-1 in Vegas, then dropped a 6-5 overtime game in Los Angeles after rallying late to earn a point. On Saturday they beat San Jose 5-1.
Drake Batherson scored his ninth goal of the season in that win, level with Tim Stutzle for the team lead. Batherson has a point in seven straight games, totalling six goals and six assists. Stutzle has 21 points and 10 of them have come in the last seven games. Teammate Philip Tomasino called Batherson one of the most skilled players he has played with.
Coach Travis Green liked how his group played from start to finish in San Jose, singling out the work without the puck. Against a team giving up goals at this rate, that habit could matter less than Ottawa’s finishing.
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