“We’re not looking for a son-in-law here, we’re looking to win” – Orange County Register

Among the many great acts that have been accomplished over the years was the now famous phrase “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Wayne Gretzky’s words are considered sacred tenants in both hockey locker rooms and high school classrooms.

With that in mind, it wasn’t hard to understand why the ducks made a 3-1 decision to the Honda Center Minnesota Wild on Thursday. They simply didn’t take enough shots to score and win. More than that, they didn’t fire enough shots at the goal to win.

Seven of the 12 forwards in the lineup did not score a single shot at the goal. This helped explain why I outshot at 27-17. They pointed another 26 shots at the net and either blocked or unmarked, but found that they had a pass-first mindset and were costly.

Max Comtois, Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Enrique, Max Jones, Isaac Rendeztrom, Likert Raquel and Troy Terry each came up with a bagel in a goal column shot. The duck scored one goal for the seventh time in 17 games this season.

Undoubtedly, the advantage of the two at 1:06 in the first period seemed like the moment they fired at will and commanded the game, or at least chipped into Wild’s 2-0 lead. .. The duck couldn’t score a goal shot between 5 and 3, and only one after that 5 to 4.

One day, Dachshund coach Dallas Eakins sought more selfishness from the players.

“When asking the team to be more selfish, it’s interesting because it’s usually the last thing you want in your dressing room,” he said. “There may be great people, high character people, but we’re not looking for a son-in-law here, we’re aiming to win a hockey game.”

Are ducks simply too good and too selfish for their own benefit?

“They really love each other, but they need some selfishness,” Ekins said.

What is the best way to make a player more selfish?

“I don’t have to pick up the stats sheet and say,’Hey, you don’t have a shot in the goal,'” Ekins said. “These guys know. These guys have a high personality and take it personally. They also own it. They are all you want from a good teammate or caretaker. ..

“For me, it’s about starting a conversation or playing with them and asking,’What were you thinking here?’ It doesn’t mean” what were you thinking? ” So,’Actually, what are you thinking here? What is your process in this entry? It’s great to hear it from their mouth.

“The conversation starts from there.”

Lindholm Update

Hampas Lindholm’s situation against the rematch with Wild on Saturday was uncertain, but it sounded like Ekins was ready to play without his top defense. Lindholm left the match during the second Thursday due to an unspecified lower body injury.

“He’s still valued,” Ekins said of the duck’s top scorer Lindholm in the defense with two goals and four assists. “I’m very skeptical if he’s ready (Saturday). When he’s calm, he needs to review again.”

Andy Wellinsky, who scored no points in three games, could replace the lineup of Lynskey. The duck did not have another top defense at Josh Manson. He is expected to leave for six weeks after straining his diagonal muscles in a match against Wild on January 18.