This season, the Anaheim Ducks had too many bad games to count, but if you put them in a line-up, these five would come out on top at the worst games of 2018-19.
Let’s be honest, the Anaheim Ducks got bested this season. Every season has their set of bad games but this season, in particular, the Ducks had a whole slew of bad games. With that being said, cover your eyes, because this list is about to get monkey butt ugly.
Dishonorable Mention: 1-2 OTL to the Ottawa Senators, January 9th, 2019
I was actually at this game, and I analyzed the game in length after having the esteemed privilege of watching from section 225. Long story short, the Ducks led the entire game, lost the lead in the 3rd, and then lost the game in overtime.
It seemed like finally, the losing streak might end, but instead, we witnessed the Ducks set a new franchise record. For the first time in 25 seasons, the Anaheim Ducks had lost 9 consecutive games in a row. Eventually, the record would end at 12 excruciatingly painful games, but losing to the worst team in the league was a hard pill to swallow.
5. 1-6 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, February 4th, 2019
Historically, the Toronto Maple Leafs have always had the Ducks’ number. Thankfully the Ducks only have to play them twice every season. With the addition of John Tavares and Jake Muzzin, of course, they were going to be a team that was even harder to beat.
The Ducks kept it even at 0-0 for the 1st period but from then on the Leafs walked all over the Ducks, scoring 3 goals in each of the final two periods. Rickard Rakell would get Anaheim on the board at the start of the 3rd, but it wouldn’t matter as the Leafs would continue to pile on the goals.
The SOG were 44-25, in favor of the Leafs, so that tells the story. The Ducks were already in the midst of another losing streak so, this just felt like business as usual for Anaheim, unfortunately. Try as he might, John Gibson could not stand up to the pressure of the persistent and dominate Maple Leafs. At the end of the night, both Gibson and Chad Johnson let in a combined total of 6 goals, allowing the Leafs to win 6-1.