Whicker: Josh Manson, Ducks adjusting to different script this season

ANAHEIM — The travel to hellhole and backmost lone took 4 years, without assistance from Elon Musk.

Four years agone the Ducks made the playoffs. The twelvemonth earlier that, they mislaid a seven-game bid of head-on collisions with Nashville successful the Western Conference finals.

In the past 3 seasons, they person mislaid 100 games, plopping into past spot successful their COVID-19-arranged part past season.

On Wednesday nighttime the Ducks bushed Seattle for their 17th win. That equaled past year’s full successful a 56-game season. They person the champion grounds successful the Pacific Division and, going into Friday’s crippled with Arizona, were wrong 1 constituent of Western Conference person Minnesota.

Mirages are communal successful October and November. They yet springiness mode to The Real. Maybe that volition inactive happen, but the Ducks conscionable went 3-1-1 connected a travel to Washington, Buffalo, Columbus, Pittsburgh and St. Louis, with 2 sets of back-to-backs, and without goalie John Gibson and skipper Ryan Getzlaf for astir of it.

On Nov. 28 the Ducks were blown retired by Toronto and, astatine that point, had mislaid 4 of 5 games. They person played 11 games since past and person earned astatine slightest 1 constituent successful 10.

“The expectations were low, apparently,” defenseman Josh Manson said. “But I ne'er thought we were successful atrocious shape. There’s a batch of accomplishment connected this team, and bully goaltending. Getzie was coming back, and that was huge. When he’s going he’s a hard unit to stop.

“To me, each the pieces were determination for success.”

But erstwhile you glue unneurotic this jigsaw puzzle, you spot a antithetic representation and caller questions.

Originally they were going to dedicate the play to subordinate improvement and past banal their beforehand model with immoderate agleam shiny objects astatine the March 21 commercialized deadline: Manson and Hampus Lindholm connected the backmost end, Rickard Rakell up front.

All are eligible for escaped bureau astatine season’s end. Maybe the Ducks would pry a mates of first-round picks for those worthy veterans, possibly more.

Some deliberation this would beryllium the prudent strategy adjacent if the Ducks bash marque the playoffs.

A ample portion of the Honda Center clientele would disagree with their lungs, oregon possibly their retreating feet.

Playoff hockey was erstwhile regularly scheduled successful Anaheim. It’s a drug, and withdrawal is agonizing.

Any playoff crippled would beryllium a due acquisition for Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. They mightiness adjacent bash immoderate teaching of their own.

Gibson fulfills the archetypal request for a playoff run. The controlled unit of Manson would fulfill another.

“That’s truthful acold away,” Manson said, shaking his head. “Our full mantra has been to triumph today.

“But the playoffs are a antithetic animal. You privation guys who person been determination before. You request to beryllium acceptable for that benignant of game. But we’re not adjacent adjacent to that constituent yet.”

Manson is 30. His dada Dave played 16 years successful the league and rolled up 46.5 hours of penalties. Nothing takes Josh by surprise, including commercialized whispers.

“I’m fortunate,” helium said. “I cognize my way is already laid retired for me. I conscionable wide my caput of each that stuff. What I wanted to bash this twelvemonth was just enactment healthy. It’s been tough, being injured for the past 2 years, really.”

Manson has played 46 games the past 2 years. In 2017 and 2018 helium played each but two, and successful 2019 helium averaged 22 minutes. He has answered each doorbell this play and has a 19:59 time-on-ice average.

He remembers the overwhelming silence of the visitors’ locker country astatine Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, erstwhile the Ducks sprawled conscionable abbreviated of the decorativeness line. There was nary mode helium could expect the freefall that was coming.

“I knew we had a peculiar team,” Manson said. “You surely don’t spell into a play anticipating losing. But adjacent Murph (General Manager Bob Murphy) said it. We had a model determination for a mates of years. It was each lining up. I’ll admit I didn’t expect the kinds of losses we’ve had recently.

“This twelvemonth is different. The coaches person emphasized speedy transitions, not messing astir erstwhile we get the puck, not going with arsenic galore D-to-D passes. Just get it up the ice, and the forwards person done a bully occupation getting themselves into position. We’ve tally a batch of drills successful practice. And the bully happening is that we’re utilizing the aforesaid things that we’ve practiced.”

The Ducks’ speedy transition, if it continues, volition unit them to reassess their makeover. Maybe it’s clip to enactment distant the blueprints, due to the fact that the aged location looks acceptable for winter, and beyond.