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Goaltending a True Strength for Ducks This Season |
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Similar to every other team in the National Hockey League, the Anaheim Ducks are equipped with their fair share of strengths and weaknesses heading into the 2017-18 regular season. Luckily one of the most important positions in all of sports happens to be one of the team's obvious strengths this year.
The Ducks' goaltending tandem of John Gibson and Ryan Miller has the potential of being one of the best goalie duos in the entire NHL.
At the age of 24, Gibson is already making a name for himself as a great netminder and could possibly make his way into the elite goaltender discussion. Of course, it helps to have one of the best bluelines in all of hockey in front of you, but Gibson has demonstrated the ability to win games for his team with spectacular play in net.
Injuries have bugged Gibson, only starting 49 games in net last season. However, his numbers were solid, going 25-16-9 with a 2.22 GAA and .924 save percentage. Still, Anaheim is hopeful that their number-one netminder can start somewhere closer to 60 games this season.
When you have a starting goalie that is injury prone, it is always important to have a reliable backup. The Ducks have more than just a reliable number-two in veteran netminder Ryan Miller.
At the age of 37, Miller's glory days of being among the NHL's elite may be passed him. However, the former Vezina Trophy winner still has what it takes to put forth a solid effort between the pipes for 20-25 games. Miller has never served in the true backup goalie role before but should benefit from the limited workload. If Gibson does miss any sort of time due to injury, the Ducks should be confident in Miller's ability to keep the ship afloat.
Strong goaltending always boosts the opportunity for a team to be successful. The Ducks are lucky to have two more-than-reliable netminders and should not be worried about who is tending the net on any given night.