NEW YORK (AP) — Getting to the East Coast for their road trip this week involved the Anaheim Ducks changing airports, switching planes, sitting on the tarmac and arriving at their hotel after 2 a.m.
“It was a long shift,” coach Joel Quenneville said.
Quenneville, a hockey lifer, watched football — a lot of it — thanks to NFL RedZone. Rookie Roger McQueen and some of the younger guys played cards. All in all, it was a 15-hour travel ordeal Sunday for
the Ducks that was less than ideal as the delays were unfolding but something they hope will turn out to be a valuable bonding experience.
“You spend tons of time with each other, and something like yesterday could be one of those moments where it could bring everybody together,” Quenneville said Monday after the team's morning skate at Madison Square Garden. “They handled it like pros, and so here we are today. Let’s play hockey.”
The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars were on the field in London when Anaheim players, coaches and staff departed for John Wayne Airport in Orange County. The 1 p.m. Eastern slate was well underway by the time they changed course to Los Angeles International Airport to meet their rerouted plane.
Were there doubts about getting to the New York area?
“For sure," defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. “We had no idea what was going on for a bit.”
They were on the plane to see the Pittsburgh Steelers come back to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and were still sitting there by the time the preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams lost to the Arizona Cardinals.
“We watched a lot of football games,” forward Cutter Gauthier said. "Pretty much every single one of them. That killed our time nicely.”
Mechanical issues led to them needing a new plane, which did not take off until after the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers kicked off in primetime at Lambeau Field. That plane landed at 1:45 a.m., and players were on the ice before 11:30.
“Tried to enjoy it on the bus with the guys, play some cards,” said McQueen, who made his NHL debut last week. "A lot of phone (time). But we tried to play some cards. Didn’t really finish any of our games — well, actually, one of them. No, it was good. Some more time with the guys. Delays aren’t fun, but you take what it is.”
It was new for the likes of McQueen and Gauthier and old hat for some of the veterans. Captain Mikael Granlund called it part of the game, and the Ducks don't want to use travel trouble as an excuse when they face the New York Rangers and Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers before turning around and going home.
"We’re ready to go," defenseman Nick Jensen said. “There’s something to the mentality where it’s just like, ‘We’re here, let’s do this.’ Like, it doesn’t matter. We’re showing up. Yeah, yesterday wasn’t fun, but we made it, we’re a good team and everyone’s kind of in the same position.”
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