It may not be Kendrick Lamar against Drake, but Southern California and Toronto will clash just the same when the Maple Leafs try to strike a chord at Honda Center against the Ducks on Sunday.It’ll be the Ducks’ 13th and final matchup with an “Original Six” franchise this season (6-4-2 record) and their third in a row, with the last two sending them into the contest on a tempered roll.They’ve gone 3-1-1 in their past five games and won their last two in compelling fashion.
They dominated the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and then rallied from two goals down despite a torrent of third-period penalties to hand the New York Rangers a deflating overtime defeat Friday.“We’ve made a commitment to playing a certain way, and we challenged the players to hold each other accountable to a certain standard,” said Ducks coach Greg Cronin of his team’s late-season bright spots despite their playoff hopes having faded.Not only were the Ducks shorthanded on the ice frequently against New York, they were undermanned on the bench after Jacob Trouba, who captained the Rangers up until his departure via trade to the Ducks, went down with an injury in the third-period.
Multiple reports from practice indicated that Trouba was deemed “day to day,” while forwards Robby Fabbri and Ross Johnston were now likely to miss the season as a result of their respective upper-body injuries.One player who’s proven exceptionally able-bodied has been rookie Cutter Gauthier, not only in terms o.
