To the Finish

Today is the unofficial start to the second half of the season. In reality its the stretch drive to the playoffs. Anaheim currently sits in third place in the Pacific Division. They are one point behind first place San Jose and 10 points ahead of fourth place Calgary. If the Ducks want to maintain their playoff position or better yet win the division there are some things they need to do:

Score more goals – Currently the Ducks are 19th in the NHL in goals scored. If the playoffs started today, they are last among Western Conference qualifiers and 15th of 16 teams that would make the second season. As Dan Wood said in yesterday's blog an offensive upswing must start with the big two, “ I don’t think the Ducks can possibly expect any more offense than what they’ve gotten from Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Andrew Cogliano and Rickard Rakell. That leaves Perry and Getzlaf among top-six forwards."

Play Tighter on the Back End – Ducks goalies get hung out to dry to often and it takes its toll. Part of the issue is turnovers on Anaheim's end of the ice. This is the NHL and good teams will beat you if you are careless with the puck.

Get Some Help – Maybe its unfair to the current group who have contributed to this season's success, but there aren't enough "scorers" on the roster. A scoring wing (or two) would greatly help. As well as they have done so far, both the Cogliano/Kesler/Silfverberg and Ritchie/Vermette/Kase lines are not cut out for primarily offensive roles. Additionally, the second power play unit could use a boost.

Own the Dot – Anaheim leads the league in faceoff win percentage at 55.2%. That is almost two percent higher than second place Colorado. Better still Nate Thompson, a career 52% draw winner (four percent better than Getzlaf) returns tonight to anchor the fourth line. Continued dominance in the faceoff circle will drive puck possession.

Colorado @ Ducks

Tonight's opponents at the Honda Center are the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs own the league's worst record, but Anaheim isn't looking past them. Rickard Rakell told Ducks.com, "Even though they're pretty low in the standings, they still have a lot of speed and skill. They get you on the power play and on the rush. You have to be ready to play them.”

As mentioned earlier, Thompson makes his season debut tonight. Also coming back from injury is Silfverberg, who missed a few games prior to the break with a head injury. The return of those forwards send Jared Boll to the press box for today's contest. Shea Theodore is still in San Diego, which propels Korbinian Holzer into the rotation John Gibson will start in the Ducks goal. Here is the expected lineup:

Forwards
Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Ritchie-Vermette-Kase
Cramarosa-Thompson-Shaw

Defensemen
Fowler-Vatanen
Lindholm-Manson
Bieksa-Holzer

Goalies
Gibson
Bernier

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