ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Two months after Bob Murray’s talented hockey team languished in 29th place in a 30-team league, the Anaheim Ducks’ general manager has been rewarded for demonstrating an incredibly rare quality in NHL executives.
A little bit of patience.
The three-time Pacific Division champion Ducks have rebounded from a pathetic start to their season with a dynamic surge that shows few signs of slowing. With the four-day Christmas break neatly serving as the dividing line between ineptitude and brilliance, Anaheim has followed up its 12-15-6 start with a 20-4-2 streak since the holidays.
The Ducks (32-19-8) have won six straight and 13 of 15 heading into Friday’s visit from Edmonton, climbing into second place in the Pacific and steaming toward another playoff berth.
“This team has faced the adversity of a bad start and fought its way back into the picture of making the playoffs,” Murray said in a phone interview Thursday. “Right now, you look at them and say they’re doing fine. … It looks like there’s chemistry now. Everybody has fit into a role and is accepting their roles, which is…