The Anaheim Ducks will face the St. Louis Blues tonight, looking to get back to a winning record. Other the last month, I’ve been looking at how Anaheim’s roster compares against other teams in the West Division and this article will focus on a comparison between the Ducks and Blues.
We’ve already released six other articles in this series as well, which you can read here:
We knew the Ducks would struggle to score, we just didn’t know it would be this large of an issue. The Ducks haven't been able to get much going offensively and really don’t have anyone they can count on for consistent offense. The Blues, on the other hand, have several top forwards with the likes of David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, along with offseason addition Mike Hoffman. Jordan Kyrou is also having a great start to the year, with seven points in his first seven games, while Robert Thomas should continue to develop as well. This area isn’t overly close.
Advantage: Blues
DEFENSE
While the Ducks haven’t necessarily been poor defensively, they are giving up more chances than they’d like. Josh Manson is out and while Jani Hakanpaa has stepped up, the group of Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk has been relied upon to deliver and it’s been mixed results so far. For St. Louis, Colton Parayko will have the opportunity to emerge as a top defenseman, while Torey Krug was a big addition and Justin Faulk could bounce back this year. Vince Dunn should also continue to improve and Marco Scandella has been solid since joining the Blues. While St. Louis has had some bad games defensively as well, the Blues should have the better group over the course of the season.
Advantage: Blues
GOALTENDING
John Gibson has been nothing short of excellent this season, posting a .942 save percentage in his first seven games thus far. Ryan Miller is also still a quality backup, even if his usage will be minimal. Jordan Binnington has been strong, with a .913 save percentage in his first games, though that doesn’t really compete with Gibson’s start, while Ville Husso lacks experience as a backup. Anaheim has the advantage here.
Advantage: Ducks
The Blues should end up as the better team this season, based on the advantage they hold over Anaheim’s skaters.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think the Ducks will finish ahead of the Blues this season?
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