Room service has settled better in the Ducks\u2019 stomachs than home cooking so far this season and now it\u2019ll be wheels up for four away games in six days, beginning Monday in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n
While they sold out their first four home games for the first time since they were the defending Stanley Cup champs in 2007, they\u2019ve posted a 1-3-0 record with no regulation wins in those affairs. But they\u2019re undefeated on the road so far with three wins, all in regulation.<\/p>\n
Though the Ducks entered their matchup with the Boston Bruins on Friday boasting the NHL\u2019s second-best power play and fourth-ranked penalty kill, they dipped to a tie for seventh and a tie for 16th, respectively, after an abysmal special-teams night. They lost the special-teams battle 3-0 in the process of converting a two-goal lead into a two-goal loss.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been a similar arc to all three defeats at home, as they also flubbed a two-goal lead in a 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers and let a 2-1 edge slip away against the underpowered Calgary Flames.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just communication with each other. As a group, we know it, and that can\u2019t happen. We\u2019ll get back to practice and get those things squared away,\u201d defenseman Jackson LaCombe said.<\/p>\n
Against Boston, Cutter Gauthier moved back to his amateur position of center and performed admirably, including factoring into one of the prettiest goals of the campaign. He stood in for Mikael Granlund, who will travel with the team and could return early in this trip.<\/p>\n
The road has been kind to the Ducks this season and despite a dense schedule they\u2019ll have limited travel with three dates in the New York metro area followed by a dash down I-95 South to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
As usual, Coach Joel Quenneville didn\u2019t have any elaborate vision for the trip as a whole, opting to focus on each challenge along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne game at a time. Let\u2019s get it off to a great start, get some momentum built off of the first game and go from there, don\u2019t look past it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That first matchup will be with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday, where the Blueshirts are 5-0-0 thus far. That mark stood in stark contrast to last year, when their 14 wins on home ice were four fewer than any other Eastern Conference club.<\/p>\n
A gruesome right knee injury sidelined their franchise goalie, Igor Shesterkin, for the rest of the season. Veteran backup Joonas Korpisalo has also been hurt, throwing Dylan Garand into the frying pan. He won his first two starts, but in his third game he was chased from a 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, whom the Ducks will face in the third game of this journey. Garand rebounded but still earned a loss in a 1-0 overtime loss to Columbus on Saturday.<\/p>\n
After a night in Manhattan, it\u2019ll be onto Long Island on Tuesday for the date with the Islanders and their leaders, Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer.<\/p>\n
Knee injuries have impacted them negatively as well. Top forward Mathew Barzal experienced issues with the same knee that caused him to miss 52 games of the 2024-25 campaign and defenseman Alexander Romanov tore his ACL. For Romanov, it\u2019ll be his second straight season with a serious injury after his shoulder kept him out of all but 15 games last year.<\/p>\n
Following Thursday\u2019s match with Jack Hughes and company in Newark, they\u2019ll go to what\u2019s sure to be the most hostile environment yet in the City of Brotherly Love.<\/p>\n
Already surly after losing nine straight games to start 2026-27, the Flyers\u2019 faithful will channel all their negative energy into their spite toward Gauthier. Gauthier was drafted fifth overall by the Flyers but opted not to sign with them, forcing them to trade him. They received Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick, while the Ducks got a player who led them with 41 goals last season.<\/p>\n
More layers of intrigue were added. First, one-time franchise face Trevor Zegras was dealt to Philly in a deal that swapped star power for utilitarianism last summer. Then this summer, Flyers GM Daniel Briere cranked the thermostat on Ducks GM Pat Verbeek with a front-loaded $90 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, which the Ducks matched.<\/p>\n
In Gauthier\u2019s career, the Ducks are 0-3-1 against the Flyers, including losing both meetings in Philly by an aggregate score of 11-2.<\/p>\n
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