The Ducks have reached the half way point of the season and so far they have been underwhelming. Currently, they own a 17-17-7 record, good for fifth place in the Pacific. Anaheim sits three points behind San Jose for third place and its guaranteed playoff spot. This season began with high hopes after reaching the Western Conference Finals last spring.
Forwards
As a group the forwards are a huge disappointment. The Ducks are dead last in goals scored, 13 behind 29th place Philadelphia (who have a game in hand). GM Bob Murray expected his younger forwards to step up when he didn't resign Kyle Palmieri and Matt Beleskey to contract extensions in the off-season. They haven't. Going line by line:
Line 1: Started slow, but have picked it up lately. Corey Perry is starting to resemble himself. Ryan Getzlaf has been a shell of his former self. He has three goals. Chris Stewart has double that. The captain's 22 assists are nothing to sneeze at, but he has to contribute more scoring. On the defensive side, Getzlaf has been miserable. Too many turnovers have led to too many scoring chances for the opposition. After an adjustment period, Rickard Rakell seems to have fit in as the left wing.
Line 2: Ryan Kesler has been on many nights the team's best all-around skater. He logs over 19 minutes per game, often drawing tough defensive assignments. His right wing, Jakob Silfverberg went from playoff darling to invisible man. He has eight points, tied for twelfth on the team. Much more was and is expected from him. The good news is, Silfverberg seems to be rematerializing the past few weeks. On the left wing, there isn't much to say other than the revolving door of players hasn't generated much of anything.
Line 3: Shawn Horcoff has centered this line for much of the season. He has been steady, but it would be nice if he could win more 48.6% of his draws. Andrew Cogliano has looked lost at times, but still has 11 points. After not quite fitting in on the top two lines, Carl Hagelin has found a home on the third. It was where he should have been all along. He is what he is, a good two way player with outstanding speed. He will never score more than 20 goals in a season, but you can always count on his hustle. His -13 is a big surprise, look for that to improve in the second half.
Line 4: There isn't a whole bunch to say about this group, because they haven't done anything above and beyond. After a rough start to his Ducks career, right wing Chris Stewart has come on recently. Center Nate Thompson missed the beginning of the season, due to surgery but he hasn't been the force in the face off circle the Ducks faithful have come to expect. Several players have shuffled through the lineup as the 12th forward.
Others: Mike Santorelli has been the best of the lot. His versatility has helped when others forwards were injured. Heralded rookie Nick Ritchie had a cup of coffee with the big club. He provided a few glimpses of his potential. Jiri Sekac and Pat Maroon have been interchangeable as the odd man out.
Part two will focus on defense and goaltending.
Ottawa @ Ducks
Frederick Andersen will start tonight and he needs to play like the Andersen that befuddled opposing teams last year. Coach Bruce Boudreau again shuffles his bottom nine in an effort to generate more offense. Jiri Sekac and Korbinian Holzer are healthy scratches. Here is your lineup:
Forwards Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry Hagelin-Kesler-Silfverberg Horcoff-Thompson-Cogliano Maroon-Santorelli-Stewart
Defense Vatanen-Bieksa Lindholm-Manson Stoner-Theodore
Goalies Andersen Gibson
-Ed