The worst run in Ducks’ team history wasn’t that long ago – they lost a franchise record 12 consecutive games during the 2018-19 season, snapping the streak with a win at Minnesota on Jan. 17.
That particular team stood 8-8-3 after 19 games and was 19-11-5 before the season went wildly off track in December and January.
Right now, a .500 record is more like a distant dream for the last-place Ducks (5-13-1), who have dropped six of their last seven games. They have 11 points after 19 games – no wins in regulation, one away from the league record (Arizona, in 2017) to start the season – and their power play and penalty kill are ranked last in the NHL.
Forward Jakob Silfverberg, second in tenure among the Ducks behind defenseman Cam Fowler, was on that 2018-19 team and can call on those experiences to help deal with the current predicament.
“(Coach) Dallas (Eakins) mentions it a lot – he always says you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror first,” Silfverberg said after Monday’s 3-1 loss in St. Louis. “Make sure your house is clean first. I feel like the biggest thing when you go through periods like this is you’ve got to make sure that everyone is on top of it. Especially on the bench.
“A quiet bench is not a good sign.”
That, at least, was a small step in the right direction after a 6-2 loss to the Blues on Saturday. The Ducks, who have won three times in overtime and twice in a shootout, next play the New York Rangers on Wednesday at Honda Center, the first of a three-game homestand.
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“The last game we weren’t as (vocal) on the bench,” Silfverberg said. “Tonight, I thought the bench was super active. Everyone was in on it. I feel like we played with more energy out there. From my experience, that’s just what I try to do.”
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With the recent injuries on the back end, the Ducks put defensemen Colton White and Austin Strand together against Chicago on Nov. 12 and the duo has provided decent third-pair minutes. Kevin Shattenkirk returned to action on Monday after missing four games, and the Ducks went with an 11/7 lineup, so there was a lot of juggling of the defensive pairings.
“They’ve been solid,” Eakins said of White and Strand. “One guy (Strand) has been in San Diego and (White) has worked his tail off in limited action. Both have come in and given us really solid play, not making a lot of mistakes and just eating up minutes.”
The previous times when Strand was called up to the NHL – when he was with the Kings’ organization – he played a straightforward but effective game.
“It’s all those guys need to do,” Eakins said. “Both of them need to play a really simple game. I just think they’ve done a really good job.”