Joel Quenneville wasn't about to let a tough travel day be an excuse for his players.
The Anaheim Ducks coach was very direct after watching the team lose 5-2 to the Rangers in New York on Monday.
"I thought our top guys weren't very good tonight," Quenneville told reporters after his team's third loss in a row.
The Ducks had a 15-hour travel day from the West Coast to New York on Sunday.
Players, coaches and staff departed for John Wayne Airport in Orange County on Sunday morning. They had to head to Los Angeles International Airport in the early afternoon to meet their rerouted plane.
They weren't in their hotel until around 2 a.m.
"There's many of them over the years," Quenneville said of challenging travel days. "Usually you get a good response when something like that happens. That's the disturbing part."
Quenneville added it looked like some of his players were "playing with a cane instead of a hockey stick."
Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke and Jackson LeCombe were all -2 for the Ducks.
The Ducks, who advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season, are 4-4 to start the 2026-27 campaign.
The game against the Rangers kicked off a four-game trip through New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
-- With files from the Associated Press
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