Waiting for the Ducks to start April/May Madness
End of Regular Season The NHL concluded the regular season over the weekend. A six month exercise, as Cotton McKnight would say, “to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the awkwardly feminine from the possibly Canadian.…
All in all the Anaheim Ducks faired quite well in the first season. They overcame their early struggles under a new coach, to rally in the latter half of the season and win a fifth straight Pacific Division title. Of course, a division title won't mean jack spit if Anaheim bows out of the playoffs early.
One of the most important takeaways from 2016-17 is that many of the question marks surrounding the Ducks younger players were answered. Many of them stepped up while the veterans were slumping to to keep the team viable early on. In short the kids started to grow up. There may or may not be a potential superstar amongst them (the jury is still out on that), but there is a very talented group to keep this team strong for another half-decade. The key will be cap management and how long the vets can keep playing at a level close to what they will earn.
The Magic Beard
Patrick Eaves was the only significant addition the Ducks made at the trade deadline. From March 1st (deadline day) through the end of the season, Anaheim went 14-2-3 and outscored their opponents 60-38. Their 31 points and +22 goal differential were second in the league in that span, trailing only St. Louis by one in each category. If not for a freak goal by Blues defenseman Joel Edmonson with 20 seconds remaining in the game, on March 10th, those positions might have been reversed.
Ryan Getzlaf was the main beneficiary of the “Eaves Effect.… Almost immediately upon Eaves' arrival in Anaheim Mr. Beard became the captains wing-man. The center put up four goals and 23 assists, including eight power play points from March 1st on.
Other Interesting Numbers
Getzlaf fell one point short of averaging a point per game. John Gibson and Jonathan Bernier each won at least 20 games. The Ducks had only three 20-goal scorers, their lowest amount since the strike/lockout. The Ducks led the league in both faceoff wins and faceoff win percentage. Total penalty kill time 484:20 and penalty minute differential -71:01 were highest in the NHL. Giveaways 766, Takeaways 411.
Second Season
I won't lie, around Christmas time, I thought the Ducks would be lucky to make it past the second round of the playoffs. I now have a different opinion. They were clearly the class of the division over the final five weeks. In addition, Anaheim played very well against the Central Division champion Blackhawks in two late season games. Anything less than a trip to the Western Conference Finals would be disappointing. At this point, the Ducks are good enough to have a realistic shot of making it to the final round, then anything can happen.