Just nine games in, the Ducks’ season has been a seesaw affair, but at 5-3-1 it has seen more ups than downs as they head into a Halloween clash with the Detroit Red Wings.

Fittingly, the Wings, who are one of just two NHL franchises with a longer playoff drought than the Ducks, have risen from the dead, with a 7-3-0 start entering their back-to-back set with the Kings on Thursday and Ducks on Friday.

That built on their momentum after a midseason coaching change last year, when Todd McClellan returned to Motown. Under McLellan, they have a .603 points percentage in parts of two campaigns.

The Ducks made their coaching change in the spring, when the axe fell on Greg Cronin despite a 21-point improvement in the standings and the recently reinstated Joel Quenneville was brought in to

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