The Anaheim Ducks begin a five-game road trip that will include some familiar stops for coach Joel Quenneville.
The first is Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks, whom Quenneville coached from 2008 to 2019, winning three Stanley Cup titles along the way.
The final stop is Oct. 28 in Sunrise, Fla., against the Florida Panthers, where Quenneville coached from 2019-21 before resigning after being implicated in the Blackhawks sex abuse scandal.
Quenneville has coached several current Panthers who have won the last two Stanley Cup championships.
“We’re going to be busy,” said Quenneville, who was hired by the Ducks in May. “Whatever happens, we have to welcome it and prepare for the next one as well. We definitely have some tough games on this trip.”
The Ducks got off to a 2-2-0 start under Quenneville, sometimes showing flashes of high-level speed and skill while sometimes floundering with youthful mistakes on trips down the ice.
“It’s a work in progress, but I still think I’m looking forward to getting to a level of play and expecting us to play at that level game after game,” Quenneville said. “When we get there, I’ll let you know.”
Saturday’s game will feature the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Anaheim center Leo Carlsson, second overall, has done his part to showcase his talent over the past three games, collecting six points. He scored an overtime game-winner against the San Jose Sharks last week, then scored the Ducks’ lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
“He plays a lot of minutes, important minutes for us, so we need him to be a factor,” Quenneville said.
Chicago center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, will look to bounce back after getting three freebies and serving four penalty minutes without scoring a point in the Blackhawks’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Bédard has six points (two goals, four assists) in six games this season.
“I can’t say enough good things about him as a person, about his competitiveness, about his desire to be a great player,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “He wants to win more than anything else. He wants to win more than score points, he wants to win more than receive accolades. He just wants to win.”
The Blackhawks are on a three-game point streak (2-0-1) despite the shootout loss.
Chicago took a 2-0 first-period lead against a Vancouver team that had played the day before in a 5-3 road win over the Dallas Stars, but the Blackhawks were unable to pull away.
“They’re in the back half of a back-to-back game, we’re up 2-0, that’s when you just can’t give them any life, and I thought we got passive in the second half, way too passive as the period went on,” Blashill said. “We should have come out of this game with two points.”
The Ducks have allowed the first goal in all four of their games this season, a trend they would like to end.
“I think we’re ready to start the games,” Quenneville said. “I think maybe we’re hesitant a little bit, but I think they’re all different types of goals that have been put down.”
–Field level media
