How The Ducks' Defensive Struggles Could Derail A Promising Season

It's been a concerning start to the season for the Anaheim Ducks.

After winning four of their first five games – including wins over the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers – the Ducks have lost seven of their past nine, with six losses in regulation. Anaheim's 6-7-1 record has them fifth place in the Pacific Division.

Can Anaheim turn their year around, or is their record an indication that they simply aren't good enough yet and are facing some regression?

There's no easy answer, but one thing is abundantly clear: their defense and goaltending have not been getting the job done. Averaging a whopping 3.79 goals against per game this season, the Ducks are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks as the second-worst team in that category ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks (4.50).

Lukas Dostal has a save percentage of .872 and a goals-against average of 3.56, which is simply not going to cut it if Anaheim is going to bounce back in the standings. Backup Ville Husso (.857 SP, 4.12 GAA) has been worse.

The Ducks' offense is ranked 12th at an average of 3.31 goals-for per game, but if their goalies can't hold up their end of the bargain, a dynamic offense isn’t going to make a lick of difference.

Meanwhile, Anaheim’s defense corps has been porous. And Ducks GM Pat Verbeek made a move of note on Saturday, waiving veteran D-man Nick Jensen. Waiving Jensen comes as a shock in that the Ducks had signed him to a two-year contract in the summer at an average salary of $2.25 million.

The Ducks' woes in their own zone are an indictment not just of their otherwise-promising young core of blueliners, but also of their forwards' defensive contributions. All of their top offensive producers like Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke have scored well but all have a negative plus-minus rating.

Veteran coach Joel Quenneville has to be tearing his hair out, especially after his first year behind Anaheim's bench was a qualified success with similar defensive issues last season.

The Ducks have the type of young talent many teams can only dream about, but developing an identity and sticking with it are two different things entirely. Nobody will be handing them life preservers to stabilize themselves and ascend up the Pacific standings. 

There are no quick fixes available for Verbeek & Co. to straighten things out. Anaheim still has runway left to try and stick the landing and remain a playoff team for the second straight season, but another month of similar performances could seal the their fate as outsiders of the post-season picture.

Will Quenneville have the tricks up his sleeve to provide more structure and discipline for his players? Or does this Ducks group just not have the proper mix of youth and experience to reverse their current trajectory and emerge as a promising team?

We may not have to wait long to find out, for Anaheim's next 10 games are filled with competitive teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche and the Utah Mammoth.

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