ANAHEIM \u2013\u2013 The Ducks have one remaining game before the holiday break, in which they\u2019ll seek to deny any Christmas cheer to the NHL\u2019s most wayward team at the moment, the Seattle Kraken.<\/p>\n
The Kraken have gone 2-9-0 in their past 11 games, putting up the league\u2019s second worst penalty kill percentage (and most porous defense) during that time, when the Ducks have simultaneously had their second worst power play.<\/p>\n
Yet absent much menace from their man advantage units, the Ducks\u2019 depth and scoring balance have been at the fore on both the front and back ends.<\/p>\n
Even as Trevor Zegras thrives in Philadelphia \u2013\u2013 he has 35 points in 34 games and hasn\u2019t missed a match yet \u2013\u2013 Ryan Poehling has more than delivered on his end of the bargain as the only roster player received for Zegras.<\/p>\n
The checking center has 10 primary assists, the fourth most on the Ducks ahead of top-end players like Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier. He has also accumulated seven points in his past six games. Meanwhile, heavyweight Ross Johnston has been more than a pugilist for the Ducks, posting career highs in assists and points before the halfway mark of the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Poehling and Johnston), it seems like there\u2019s something there between those two guys,\u201d Coach Joel Quenneville said. \u201cThey\u2019re connecting with one another. They\u2019re making some nice plays as well, and they\u2019ve been on the scoresheet a lot lately. Underratedly, that (fourth) line has been getting a lot done for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
On defense, the Ducks rank seventh in the NHL in points from the blue line. Their leading producer is LaCombe with 21 points, while four of the six teams ahead of the Ducks in points by defenseman have a rearguard with 32 or more points.<\/p>\n
The fifth, the Washington Capitals, has had big seasons from both Jacob Chychrun and John Carlson. The Tampa Bay Lightning are missing three regulars including top defender Victor Hedman and are the only team to approximate the Ducks\u2019 back-end balance of contributions.<\/p>\n
Part of that uptick in offense from defense has been Pavel Mintyukov\u2019s reemergence. He has all four of his goals in the past three weeks, including Saturday\u2019s game-winner against the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>. During a frantic sequence where Columbus failed to clear the puck repeatedly, he darted down from the left point into the slot to receive a silky feed from Mikael Granlund, who\u2019s been heating up since healing from a lower-body injury.<\/p>\n