Ducks’ bench heats up after Jackson LaCombe loses critical icing call
Photo credit: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jackson LaCombe gave Joel Quenneville a real gripe on a sequence Anaheim won’t forget.
This wasn’t just a missed whistle debate.
It was a game-management flashpoint, the kind that changes bench temperature because the Ducks had position, structure, and a clear read on the puck.
Ivan Barbashev appeared short of the red line, while LaCombe looked set to beat Jack Eichel to the race point.
Icing is not just a technical call; it decides whether Anaheim resets or defends chaos.
The Ducks finished 43-33-6 with 92 points, so these moments sit inside a bigger race, not a one-night complaint.
Why the Ducks have a real case
LaCombe’s route is the whole argument.
He turns first, gets inside leverage, and has the kind of defensive angle coaches trust from a top-pair blue line player.
The clip shows LaCombe skating back with control while Eichel trails the lane and Barbashev’s dump-in comes before the red line.
"Barbashev is clearly short of the red line and LaCombe looks to be in a favorable position of Eichel.
Certainly a controversial call."
- Jonny Lazarus
Certainly a controversial call."
- Jonny Lazarus
That is why Anaheim’s frustration lands.
For Quenneville, the concern isn’t just one whistle; it’s whether his defensemen can trust their reads when they win the first body-position battle.
Vegas ended the season 39-26-17 with 95 points, only 3 points ahead of Anaheim in the Pacific.
That gap makes every disputed sequence heavier.
The Ducks don’t need sympathy here.
They need consistency, because a young team learning playoff-level details can’t have a clean retrieval turned into a scramble without a hard answer from the officials.
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