Ducks can't break through late, drop homestand finale to Kraken, 3-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was a lump of coal for the Anaheim Ducks going into the Christmas break, as the Seattle Kraken capitalized on a turnover against the flow of a Ducks third-period surge.

The Kraken broke a 1-1 tie in transition, and Anaheim just could not get another one over the line, as Seattle took the victory, 3-1, on Monday at Honda Center.

The Ducks lost two of three games on this three-game homestand to continue an up-and-down 10-11-1 run following their 11-3-1 start.

“Reminded me a little bit of the first game of the year,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said, recalling Anaheim’s 3-1 loss in Seattle on Oct. 9. “We were having trouble getting our second goal, and we had some good looks, but they played a stingy game, you know? They protect the house, and we got a lot of blocked shots. We had a lot of pucks that were just a little bit off our sticks, and they protected the house pretty well, but we kept pushing. It was a tough one to give up there (late), and that's certainly a disappointing loss.”

Mikael Granlund tipped home a Jacob Trouba shot to score for the fourth straight game and tie it up in the second period. In the third, Granlund was stripped at the offensive blue line, and Seattle went the other way, where Jordan Eberle netted the game-winner on an odd-man rush.

“We didn't get the job done,” Granlund said. “Obviously, we were getting some shots, creating some chances, but it didn’t go in tonight… we didn't want to give them the second goal they got, but it happens, but at the end of the day, with one goal, it’s hard to win in this league.”

Lukas Dostal stopped 18 of 20 shots in his third straight start, fifth in six games since returning from injury. Philipp Grubauer made 40 saves in the Kraken win.

With Vegas (16-8-10, 42 points) and Edmonton (18-13-6, 42 points) idle, Anaheim (21-14-2, 44 points) did not create any more space on top of the Pacific Division heading into the break. Vegas has three games in hand on both the Ducks and Oilers.

“It was one of those nights that was tough way to go in for four days thinking about that one,” Quenneville said.

Anaheim next plays at Los Angeles on Saturday in the second game of the Freeway Face-Off before starting another three-game homestand next Monday against San Jose.

Special Teams Struggles

While each team only had two power play opportunities a piece, the extremely tight nature of Monday’s game brought the Ducks’ struggles with and without the extra man into focus.

Seattle’s opening goal came on the power play, where a point shot pinballed to the netfront, and after Jackson LaCombe couldn’t knock the puck cleanly into the corner, the Kraken shot it back in front and capitalized on the chaos.

That was the third straight game Anaheim allowed a power play goal against. The Ducks have given up 18 power play goals in the last 22 games.

On the other side, the Ducks power play continued to struggle on an 0-for-2 night.

“Obviously, it's been a little frustrating,” Granlund said, “but at same time, let's take this break and come back freshened up. Obviously, we're gonna need our power play to be able to win some of these tight games. It’s gonna be obviously an emphasis on moving forward.”

The Ducks could not generate a shot on goal on the first attempt, but the second try garnered four shots on goal, including a dangerous look for Cutter Gauthier in the slot bumper position. That still wasn’t enough.

“We don't get a lot of opportunities right now to get some momentum with it in the game where the guys are feeling good about what the looks are and the feel,” Quenneville said. “I think every course of stretches in the season, you're gonna have your power play, whether it's not productive, or the percentages go down, as long as you don't lose momentum in the game with your power play, the first one wasn’t very good, but I thought the other one was better.”

Anaheim is 0-for-12 with the extra man in the last four games, 1-for-20 in the last eight games, 3-for-39 in the last 13 games, and 6-for-62 over the last 22 games.

In the 15 games prior to that last mark–the first 15 games of the season–the Ducks scored 14 goals on 59 power plays.

Granlund’s Ketchup Bottle Bursts

Famous Finnish Ducks legend Teemu Selanne had a pearl of wisdom that compared streaky goal scoring to a glass ketchup bottle. You just keep pound, pound, pounding away, and eventually, the ketchup will come bursting forth from the bottle.

Current Finnish Ducks forward Mikael Granlund is on his own ketchup-bottle run for the Ducks this week, as the 33-year-old tipped home a bouncer for a goal in his fourth straight game on Monday.

After his third straight goal on Saturday, Granlund said it was a matter of getting back into the rhythm after returning from injury. After going pointless in his first six games back in the line-up, Granlund has recorded six points in the last four games.

“I think he's got his pace to his game back,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said on Saturday, “and now that he has that, his play recognition and ability to make those plays in tight areas has been very noticeable, and sustains a lot of pucks in the offensive zone, get some exits out of our zone cleanly.”

“Our power play still hasn't got ignited yet, but I think he's one of those guys that he gives us another look, where it's a possession, and he sees what's gonna make the quality of the next opportunity. I think he's one of the better guys in the league at seeing that.”

It’s been an up-and-down run for Granlund. He netted a Ducks record-tying five-point night in Boston on Oct. 23 before going down with a lower-body injury in the following game and out of the next eight contests.

Granlund returned to score a goal in Detroit, but he reaggravated the lower-body injury and was on the shelf the next 10 games. The likely Finnish Olympian missed 18 of 19 games total before returning on Dec. 5.

Since returning, Granlund has bounced around all four Ducks lines trying to find a spot in a line-up that was solidified while he was out of commission. With Leo Carlsson out day-to-day with a short-term lower-body injury, Granlund was on the top line against Seattle.

Line-Up Notes:

Ducks leading scorer Leo Carlsson was out for Monday’s game with a lower-body injury. He was labelled as day-to-day, but Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said it’s likely Carlsson returns in the next game at Los Angeles on Dec. 27.

Jansen Harkins came into the line-up as the third-line center and played a team-low 8:51 with two hits and win of 4-of-6 face-offs. That was Harkins’ 16th game of the season and first since Dec. 3.

Nikita Nesterenko and Drew Helleson were the healthy scratches.