March 10, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Anaheim Ducks forward Alex Killorn (17) skates away from Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele (55) during the third period at the Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Image The Anaheim Ducks will aim to start their four-game road trip with a second straight win Thursday night when they visit the floundering Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Ducks opened their road trip Tuesday night with three straight goals in a 1:44 span of the second quarter to earn a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. That improves to 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.
“Things were different than they were a month ago,” said Ducks forward Alex Killorn, who had a goal and an assist on Tuesday. “Then we made a run and now we’re first in the Pacific. I try not to think about it too much, but it’s just one of those things where it’s so tight and every game is so important.”
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville added, “We have a good mix and we’re well-balanced.” “We know we can score goals, and (Tuesday) is a good thing to get back to knowing we can make sure.”
The win comes after a 4-0 loss at home to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
“We want to do one thing,” Quenneville said. “We want to get to the playoffs. That’s our priority and our goal. You don’t want to pass up our next opponent.”
Their next opponent is basically out of playoff contention after the Olympic break. The Maple Leafs haven’t won since taking a break on Feb. 3, when they won three straight and dropped a 5-2 road decision over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Maple Leafs lost their eighth straight game (0-6-2) with a 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
“I think every game we’ve been playing we’ve been playing bits and pieces of good hockey, but that’s not the way we want to play,” said William Nylander, who scored Toronto’s goal.
Montreal controlled the first period, taking a 2-0 lead while maintaining an 18-5 advantage in shots on goal.
“They definitely played well in Game 1 and had the puck,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “As you know, we didn’t check it and when we did, we didn’t do anything with the puck.”
The winless streak is the Maple Leafs’ longest since an 11-game drought (0-10-1) in the 2014-15 season.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews had not scored in 12 straight games on Tuesday. That’s one game short of the longest scoring drought of his career.
Benoit-Olivier Gruuls, recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, played 14 minutes, 13 seconds in his first NHL game since April 12, 2024 and had a good scoring opportunity and two shots on goal.
Groulx leads the Marlies in scoring this season with 27 goals and 50 points.
“The last few years have been tough with injuries and missing games,” Groulx said. “All the hard work we’ve done over the past few years to get back to the NHL has been worth it.”
Ryan Poehling and Jackson LaCombe joined Killorn in Anaheim’s win over the Jets, recording one goal and one assist.
“This was one of our most complete games when you look at three periods,” Killorn said. “We’ve had to lose a lot of games and come back. We were here (Tuesday), but we played the right way for most of the game. It was a great game for our team. … We didn’t make any stupid turnovers. They’re going to get opportunities, they’re going to happen, but I thought we limited them as much as we could.”
Anaheim held a 35-13 edge in goals scored.
–Field level media
