The playoff-hungry Anaheim Ducks host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday in a Pacific Division clash between two franchises heading in the opposite direction.
The resurgence of the Ducks — through shrewd trades and clever draft picks — could provide a template for the last-place Canucks to be competitive again.
Anaheim is poised to make its first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since 2018, and with just six days left in the regular season, head coach Joel Quenneville said he expects his team to come out fired up against the lowly Canucks (23-48-8, 54 points) on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
“There are only three games left so it is easy to get motivated. We want to just take it one at a time, three times,” said Quenneville after Anaheim’s dominating 6-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
The Ducks (42-32-5, 89 points) have turned their fortunes around this season after finishing last in the league in 2022-23. So who better to understand the struggles of a last-place club than Anaheim, which finished with a below .500 record for seven straight campaigns starting in the 2018-19 season?
With this being the final week of the regular season, Anaheim needs wins if it is going to snap its lengthy playoff drought. Despite being in third place in the Pacific Division entering play Sunday, the Ducks still could fall out of the playoffs.
Quenneville said his young ducklings are finally learning to fly.
“At this time of the year you wonder how your younger guys are going to do late in the season,” he said. “It is about doing the right things and knowing who you are out on the ice against.”
It was a veteran defenseman, John Carlson, who led the Ducks to a convincing win over the Sharks on Thursday. Carlson is in his 17th season, and he recorded his first career hat trick.
“His shot was booming,” Quenneville said. “He had a great sense of where to shoot it, and the timing of scoring big goals tonight was outstanding.”
Leo Carlsson, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano had the other Ducks goals as Anaheim snapped a six-game losing skid (0-5-1) and improved to 24-13-3 on home ice this season.
“That’s a blueprint for our team,” Carlson said. “Not every game is going to present like that, but that’s something to build on. A building block for us to rely on going forward.”
Carlson was acquired from the Washington Capitals on March 6 for a pair of draft picks. In 13 games with Anaheim, he has 12 points, including eight assists.
Whether the Canucks have the ability to take a page out of the Ducks’ rebuilding playbook remains to be seen.
The Canucks biggest problem on the ice has been a lack of scoring, especially at home. Vancouver is headed for a second-straight season without a 30-goal scorer.
Like the Ducks, the Canucks’ most recent game was against San Jose. On Saturday night, Linus Karlsson scored in the sixth round of the shootout as the Canucks snapped a four-game losing skid by rallying to beat the Sharks 4-3.
Vancouver coach Adam Foote said earlier Saturday that he sees similarities between San Jose and Anaheim.
“They (San Jose) create a lot off the rush,” Foote said. “They are a pretty creative team.
“We are going to have another one tomorrow. Anaheim plays the same on the rush so we have to be sharp.”
