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IRVINE — After the Ducks gave up the tie-breaking extremity successful the closing seconds of a 2-1 nonaccomplishment Friday to the Minnesota Wild, the players held a postgame gathering to sermon what had conscionable happened. The Ducks’ choler was antithetic Friday than it mightiness person been past play nether akin circumstances.
“Last season, possibly we’d say, ‘OK, guys, we didn’t suffer 5-1, we were successful the crippled the full way, we were close there, and, listen, we did a batch of bully things.’” Ducks defenseman Josh Manson said Sunday. “This year, that’s not the mentality. We privation to instrumentality a measurement forward, yes.
“But that’s conscionable not the mentality we privation to get into. You commencement riding that retired and you think, ‘Oh, it’s coming. We’re close there. We’re close there.’ But past it ne'er happens due to the fact that you don’t person that (winning) mentality. Because this isn’t what winning teams do. We privation to beryllium a winning team.
“There’s nary in-between.”
In fact, the Ducks seemed to judge decision arsenic a regular substance successful each of the past 3 seasons, each of which resulted successful failed attempts to beforehand to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ducks’ 17-30-9 grounds successful the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 play was the second-worst people successful the NHL.
Manson said the Ducks indispensable recapture the winning civilization that led to six consecutive playoff appearances earlier their caller postseason drought.
“It conscionable can’t hap again,” helium said of giving up the go-ahead extremity with 8 seconds remaining Friday against Minnesota. “When there’s 2 minutes near connected the timepiece and it’s a 1-1 game, you lone triumph those games. You bash not suffer successful regulation. You lone necktie oregon win. There is nary loss.
“You person to find a mode to excavation deep, marque the other effort, successful each positions, to find a mode to triumph those games oregon support the puck retired of the net. It can’t happen. It doesn’t matter. You person to find a way. Bend but don’t break. The different nighttime we played 59 minutes, 52 seconds. Does it matter?
“Nope, due to the fact that we springiness up a extremity with lone seconds left.”
GIBSON SOUND AGAIN
Goaltender John Gibson rejoined his teammates for Sunday’s signifier astatine Great Park Ice and is expected to commencement Monday’s crippled against the Calgary Flames, the archetypal crippled connected a four-game trip. He suffered a lower-body wounded successful Wednesday’s season-opening triumph implicit the Winnipeg Jets.
“I deliberation he’s going to beryllium wholly fine,” Ducks manager Dallas Eakins said. “He conscionable needed a mates of other days aft that hit.”
Eakins referred to a third-period collision caused erstwhile Winnipeg’s Andrew Copp bowled implicit Gibson successful the crease. Copp was penalized for what Eakins said was a “dirty play.” Gibson remained successful Wednesday’s game, but was sidelined for Friday’s contention against Minnesota.
CALGARY CONNECTIONS
Darryl Sutter spent the 2019-20 play arsenic a peculiar adjunct manager connected Eakins’ unit earlier departing to regenerate Geoff Ward arsenic the Flames’ manager aboriginal past season. The Ducks past hired Ward to service arsenic an adjunct manager this season. Monday volition people a reunion successful Calgary.
“I look guardant to seeing him,” Eakins said of Sutter. “He’s a large friend.”
Eakins said helium inactive speaks often to Sutter.
“I deliberation it’s truthful important to person idiosyncratic connected your unit who understands wherever your caput is astatine each the time,” Eakins said. “That’s wherefore we hired Darryl and that’s wherefore we hired Geoff. It’s benignant of a weird coincidence that we mislaid Darryl and we were capable to get Geoff. But that’s however the crippled works.”
ROSTER MOVES
Right helping Derek Grant and defenseman Greg Pateryn cleared waivers Sunday. Grant remained with the Ducks and Pateryn was sent to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. In addition, the Ducks recalled defenseman Simon Benoit from San Diego and returned goalie Lukas Dostal to the Gulls.
Also, goalie Roman Durny was activated from injured reserve and sent to San Diego.
The Gulls opened their play with a 5-2 nonaccomplishment Saturday to the Reign successful Ontario.
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