The Ducks dropped their fourth straight preseason game last night. The 4-2 loss to the Kings stings a bit, but its not time to hit the worry button yet. Yes they lost, but it wasn't all bad.
In his post game comments, coach Bruce Boudreau had praise for both William Karlsson and Emerson Etem. He also said that the team was “ not as sharp as we want to be or we will be in two weeks.… The coach is still optimistic about getting it together for the start of the season when he said that “we will be ready.…
In all honesty you can't put too much stock in what happens in preseason games, two weeks before the season begins. It is a time for experimentation and evaluation. The full roster hasn't played together yet and you have players working in unfamiliar situations. If Patrick Maroon plays 20 minutes a night in the regular season like he did against the Kings, then we can start to worry. I'm not knocking Maroon, its more that there are other players that should get some of that ice time. However, preseason is the time of year to see what he can do in case of injury during the season.
My big takeaways from the game are:
1) The power play needs to do better. No goals in six power play chances including some five on three action isn't going to cut it. Boudreau went so far as to say it was the Ducks Achilles heel. 2) In general the youngsters have been impressive. They are making it very hard on the administration and coaching staff to make decisions on who stays and who goes. 3) Whats up with the goaltending? The only guy that has stood out in a positive way is Bobkov. I can't say that either Andersen or Gibson are “winning… the competition.
In his blog yesterday, Ek said the Canadiens and Ducks have been talking trade. Montreal is looking for a defenseman with some speed. I'm not sure that the Ducks are the right trading partner in that scenario. Among the available defensemen, Allen and Fistric, neither is exactly known for being the reincarnation of Mike Gartner. I can see where someone like Sami Vatanen could be made available, but I would think the cost would be very pricey. It leads up two questions. How high is Montreal willing to go? Also, do they think Nathan Beaulieu isn't developing into the player they had hoped he would be?
Update 14:30 EDT
The Ducks have made the following roster moves: Assigned to Norfolk (AHL): Matt Bailey - Center Igor Bobkov - Goaltender Kevin Gagne - Defenseman Nicolas Kerdiles - Left wing John Kurtz - Left wing Louis Leblanc - Center/Right wing Stefan Noesen - Right wing Andrew O’Brien - Defenseman
Assigned to Peterborough (OHL): Nick Ritchie - Left wing
Released from professional tryout and assigned to Norfolk (AHL): Brendan Bell - Defenseman Steve MacIntyre - Left wing David Steckel - Center Brad Winchester - Left wing
Released from professional tryout: Brandon Yip - Right wing
Anaheim now has 32 players remaining on its 2014 Training Camp Roster – 17 forwards, 12 defensemen and three goaltenders.
-Ed