On Tuesday night against the Oilers, Jackson LaCombe had a 7.7 Game Score — the highest of any player this season. Three assists, a plus-five rating, and 58 percent of the goals while playing matchup minutes against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will certainly have that effect. Against Draisaitl in particular, the Ducks outscored the Oilers 4-0 and had 91 percent of the expected goals with LaCombe on the ice. Pure domination.
That game put a stamp on what has been an excellent run for LaCombe over the last two months where he’s established himself as a true top-pair defenseman — maybe even more. Since the Cam Fowler trade, LaCombe has been the Ducks’ top guy and he hasn’t disappointed. In 32 games he has 25 points, a 50 percent xG rate, and has outscored opponents 27-20 — all while playing tough minutes.
That’s astonishing on a team like the Ducks where the rest of the defense corps struggles, and it’s led to an average Game Score of 1.26 which ranks eighth among all defensemen. For the year, LaCombe’s Net Rating of plus-6.1 ranks 30th among defensemen.
He looks like the real deal. LaCombe is a future star and the biggest catalyst for Anaheim finally turning things around as the Ducks are 17-12-3 since trading Fowler.
