With their fathers along for the trip, the Ducks will play a back-to-back before their four-day holiday break
As yuletide cheer fills the air, the Ducks will visit the City of the Saints and then Sin City for back-to-back dates with Utah HC on Sunday and the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
Those are two of the NHL's three newest franchises. Their cities were also, for one season, the split homes of the NBA's Utah Jazz, and of late the Ducks have hit some of the right notes.
They beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Ducks' fourth game in six nights on the road before upending the Winnipeg Jets in elating fashion, but came up short against the veteran savvy of the Colorado Avalanche in Friday's 4-2 loss.
After that affair, the Ducks' dads could be seen roaming the bowels of Honda Center, and they'll all be on the road trip with their sons before the four-day holiday break.
"I think it's a good opportunity for us. We haven't been to Utah yet. We have our dads' trip, so it's going to be exciting to have all of our families in town," forward Alex Killorn said. "We look forward to it. It's before the break, it's two games back to back, so to get two wins would be great."
Center Leo Carlsson, who skated between Killorn and Brock McGinn in his most visible and productive game since returning from an upper-body injury Dec. 11, said he felt the Ducks had identified how to play and what to avoid.
"Trying to play fast every game. If we just play fast, get our D up into the play, we're a fast team and it works out," Carlsson said. "As soon as we turn the puck over at the blue line and stuff like that, then we aren't as good of a team."
From a relocated franchise - Utah HC was most recently the Arizona Coyotes - to a relocated player, Ducks trade pickup Jacob Trouba notched his first point in orange by assisting on Carlsson's goal Friday.
"He's a quiet guy and he's still trying to feel his way through [the dressing room] socially, but I think he's been a real solid defenseman for us. As he gets more comfortable, I think we'll see a lot more out of him," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said.
While the Ducks have not yet visited Utah, they did host them in their home opener, an exhilarating 5-4 overtime win back on Oct. 16. They'll be looking to avoid a season-series sweep by Vegas, which has beaten the Ducks 3-1, 3-2 and 4-1 already in 2024-25.
Utah's attack has been spearheaded by Dylan Guenther, whose first full season in the NHL has him averaging a point per game. He scored both goals in Friday's 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild, during which the Utah penalty kill went 5 for 5. Captain Clayton Keller and the electrifying skill of Logan Cooley have been as advertised for Utah, as has offseason acquisition Mikhail Sergachev in a season in which injuries have hindered Utah's defense corps.
Vegas has hardly squandered its three wins against the Ducks, having compiled the NHL's second-best points percentage to perch it atop the Pacific Division. Jack Eichel's 42 points in 32 games place him in the top 10 league-wide in scoring. Former Duck Shea Theodore has stacked up 27 points in 32 appearances. That duo and former Shark Tomáš Hertl are all tied for the scoring lead in the three meetings with the Ducks with four points apiece.