Greg Cronin is just 10 games into his NHL head-coaching career and has already earned himself a hefty punishment.
On Friday, the league announced that the Anaheim Ducks’ new head coach has been fined $25,000 “for unprofessional conduct directed at the officials.” The incident being referenced came Monday night late in the second period of the Ducks’ 4-3 road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a Ross Johnston shot beat Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry for a Ducks goal, the officials waved it off for goaltender interference, claiming Sam Carrick made illegal contact with Jarry. Cronin challenged the ruling and lost, resulting in a two-minute minor penalty for the Ducks. Cronin protested to the point the officials handed him a second penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Pittsburgh a two-man advantage. Cronin was ejected from the game.
"I came in and apologized," Cronin told reporters after the game. "I said, 'Hey, quite frankly, I could’ve cost us two points.'"
Despite the stiff penalty Cronin earned Friday, his start behind Anaheim’s bench has been more successful than anyone could’ve imagined thus far. The Ducks hold a 6-4-0 record and have won five consecutive games, including four on the road. Last season, they finished last overall in the NHL standings at 23-47-12, posting easily their worst points percentage among their first 29 seasons in franchise history. They got win No. 6 on Nov. 23 last season; they got it on Nov. 1 this time around.
The Ducks currently occupy the first Western Conference wild-card spot but will be hard pressed to remain in that position. While they’ve improved on their historically awful defensive play of last season, they still rank in the bottom third of the NHL in terms of preventing scoring chances. They’ve been buoyed by strong goaltending so far, particularly from rookie Lukas Dostal, who is 5-1-0 with a .920 save percentage on the year.
More must-reads: