ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Anaheim Ducks had a sneak preview of what life would be after the trade deadline when they played without defensemen John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday when the two were scratched for trade-related reasons.
Friday night was the real thing.
Klingberg and Kulikov are now former Ducks as they were dealt Friday to Minnesota and Pittsburgh, respectively.
While the time leading up to the 2023 trade deadline wasn’t nearly as eventful as 2022 – in which the Ducks shipped out three longtime and important players – Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell – they did move on from one-third of their defense corps.
Hours after the deadline passed, the Ducks won, 3-2, against the Montreal Canadiens at Honda Center, their fourth win in the past five games. They were sparked by third-period goals from rookie center Mason McTavish and veteran forward Jakob Silfverberg. Montreal cut the Ducks’ lead to one goal when center Nick Suzuki scored with 30 seconds remaining.
McTavish had snapped the 1-1 tie, scoring on the power play at 11:01. McTavish fired a one-timer from the right circle past Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault, beating him to the glove side.
It was McTavish’s 14th goal of the season and 37th point, and Silfverberg gave the Ducks a two-goal lead, scoring his 10th of the season at 15:00.
They closed well after getting off to one of their usual slow starts, giving up an early goal – just 1:16 into the game as Montreal forward Jonathan Drouin scored his first goal in more than a year. Drouin’s last goal was on Jan. 1, 2022 against Florida.
The response from the Ducks was quick. Fourth-liner Jayson Megna, who has been a healthy scratch two of the past four games, tied it at 4:20 of the first period, set up by Max Comtois who carried the puck with speed through the neutral zone. The Ducks got a break when the centering pass from Comtois glanced off the stick of Canadiens defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to an open Megna.
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins tweaked the defense pairs from the previous game. Scott Harrington, who was claimed on waivers on Tuesday from New Jersey, had played on the third pair with Colton White against the Capitals. He was elevated to the top pair with Cam Fowler, moving to the right side with Cam Fowler on Friday. The other defensive pairings were Nathan Beaulieu-White and Simon Benoit-Kevin Shattenkirk.
