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Anaheim Ducks: Early season observations |
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The Anaheim Ducks are an impressive 2-0 to start the season, following a couple of really nice showings at the Honda Center to start the season.
The Ducks handled the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 on opening night and knocked the San Jose Sharks around on Saturday night by a score of 3-1. Don't let the score fool you, it was as lopsided a game as I've seen between these two clubs in quite some time. Although the CF% favored the Sharks 64-36 it certainly didn't feel that way.
Anaheim was aggressive from the drop of the puck in both games and stayed that way for much of the game. On Saturday, they swarmed a Sharks team that played (and lost) the night before. San Jose fell for 0-3 and have been outscored 12-3 this season. The Ducks forced the Sharks into countless bad turnovers, and there were plenty of them. The Ducks used their intensity to demoralize and shut down an already reeling San Jose squad.
Since naming Dallas Eakins head coach, all we heard about was a "new," "more aggressive" and "uptempo" system. We often hear new coaches describe their system in that manner and its often more cliche than anything else. So far Eakins and his team are delivering on the promise. It's glorious and refreshing to watch.
Here are my three-ish observations from a very small sample size.
- John Gibson is "elite." His name must be mentioned among the league's very best goalies. He stopped 35-of-36 shots vs. SJ to improve to 2-0 this season. Several of his saves were of the spectacular variety. Through two games Gibson has turned aside 67-of-69 shots with a 1.00 GAA and .971 save percentage. What makes him so good is how routine he makes even the most difficult of saves look. He reminds me a lot of Martin Brodeur. Different type of goalie but with a very similar metal makeup.
- Ryan Getzlaf has been rejuvenated. Still not the fastest dude on the ice, but his hockey sense and pure puck skill more than makeup for it. So far he's been unreal. Besides scoring an unbelievable goal against Aaron Dell, he's making some incredible plays in both the offensive and defensive zones. Pretty sure I've seen him straight intercept or steal 4 to 5 pucks he had no business being in on. He looks fresh and renewed. Maybe it's the system? Maybe it's the youth around him? Whatever it is, let's hope it keeps going. Getzlaf's first goal of the season was his 51st career game-winning goal. That ranks third all-time in Ducks history (Selanne- 77, Perry- 64).
- The defense has been crisp. Josh Manson has been noticeably good. He's averaging more than 23 minutes a game and has been a rock in his own zone. And Brendan Guhle is rapidly emerging as a stud on the backend. When he's on the ice the Ducks are controlling the puck nearly 60% of the time. He has the ability to jump into the play on offense and still get back in time to play solid in front of his own net. All good signs in the early going.
- Troy Terry and Max Jones are fun to watch. Jones has nine shot attempts in two games and Terry has eight. They still hold onto the puck a little too long, but they've been able to use their skill to move the puck into the offensive zone with relative ease. It's rather refreshing.
Who knows how good this team is going to be in the long run but early on they are playing some really solid hockey. From what I've seen I could watch 80 more games as entertaining as these first two.
What are your thoughts? What's good? What's bad?
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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