Taken to School
Game one didn't go so well for the Ducks. Many things that could go wrong did. Down two men in the second period, Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf broke his stick, which resulted in an Edmonton goal. An unlucky bounce off of John Gibson's skate resulted in the goal which put Edmonton ahead for good. Adam Larsson, who had 19 points all season, scored three Wednesday night. Connor McDavid didn't score a goal on Anaheim, but none the less, made his presence known by drawing key penalties. To all that we can add how the Ducks hit a few posts, lost their defensive assignments a few times and drew untimely penalties (Nick Ritchie and Hampus Lindholm). In summation “the breaks beat the boys.”
Unfortunately, there are no mulligans in hockey. There are however, learning experiences. Lets go over some of the lessons the Ducks should use going forward.
The ABM (anyone but McDavid) game almost worked. Too often he had plenty of room to operate in. The kid can beat a team in so many ways that don't include scoring. A better strategy might be to adjust ABM to NGWMITO (No goals when McDavid is on the ice). If the Ducks are going to get beat, let the other lines beat them. If Edmonton can put the puck in the net with their third and fourth lines, the Ducks deserve what they'll get.
Stay in the game. In addition to NGWMITO, Anaheim needs to play more five on five hockey. Eight penalties against a good skating team just won't cut the mustard. What's worse key members of the penalty kill were drawing the penalties. Aside from John Gibson, Ryan Kesler is Anaheim's best shorthanded player. He has to get the job done on McDavid and keep himself on the ice.
One on one. The best way to keep McDavid, et al from scoring is to keep the puck away from them. Anaheim has the clear advantage in the faceoff circle, but thats on the first step. The Ducks need to win individual puck battles. Here is the catch phrase that should be in every Anaheim player's head #WeOwnTheBoards .
Revolving Door
Cam Fowler came back from his injury hiatus Wednesday night. He looked very good and led all players in ice time with 26:33. That is a big statement about his conditioning. Just when it looked like the Ducks would be at full strength with Sami Vatanen's impending return to action, another defenseman went down midway through game one. Kevin Bieksa will miss tonight's game and the way Randy Carlyle was talking to the media about his status, he'll probably be out of action for the next couple of games. If Vatanen is unable to go tonight, Korbinian Holzer will check into the lineup.
Edmonton @ Ducks: Round 2, Game 2
The Ducks try to even up their second round playoff series tonight at the Honda Center. Expect Carlyle to stick with the same group that he played in game one. The exception of course is the change on defense to replace Bieksa. Its unlikely that there is a change in goaltender, but Carlyle doesn't announce his starter. Here is the group that will represent the orange and black tonight:
Forwards
Rakell-Getzlaf-Eaves
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Ritchie-Vermette-Perry
Wagner-Thompson-Shaw
Defensemen
Fowler-Montour
Lindholm-Manson
Theodore-Vatanen/Holzer
Goalies
Gibson
Bernier
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