The Ducks are 2-1-1 in their last four games, but unique game-by-game tweaks and adjustments have been instrumental.
The Anaheim Ducks hired Greg Cronin on June 5, 2023. He was brought in to instill a culture and systematic structure to a team seemingly lacking in that department over the past half-decade.
The Ducks currently sit in 30th place out of 32 teams in the NHL standings, so to say the 2023-24 journey of the Anaheim Ducks has been a bumpy ride could be considered an understatement. A percentage of that can be attributed to injuries to key young pieces of the team’s core moving forward. Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale (before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers), Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Leo Carlsson had all missed significant time due to injury this season.
Growing pains have also been a substantial part of the team’s struggles to date. Head Coach Greg Cronin is deploying a demanding system that requires maximum effort and high pressure over the entirety of the 200-ft ice surface. It requires diligence and discipline, so an adjustment period was to be expected. Mental lapses in coverage and a high volume of penalties have been too much to overcome for the majority of the season.
Steady progress and adjustments have been made that have the Ducks playing a far more competitive brand of hockey in the last four games. Over that stretch, their record was 2-1-1 but what was most impressive was the system tweaks made by Greg Cronin and his coaching staff to eliminate how the opposing teams most preferred to attack and generate offense.
3-2 SO Loss vs the Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are the only team in the NHL that runs a 1-3-1 neutral zone forecheck. The passive nature of that forecheck discourages controlled zone entries and forces teams to dump pucks. Because the last defender is so low in the defensive zone, they can easily retrieve pucks with limited pressure to start their breakout.
When the Ducks played the Kings on Feb. 24, they moved pucks up ice after retrievals as quickly as they could so the Kings couldn’t set up in their neutral zone forecheck. Even when the Ducks failed to generate their own offense, the Kings’ defenders didn’t have the time to make the plays they were used to during breakouts.
4-2 Loss vs the Nashville Predators
The Predators are a team that prioritizes puck possession and creating chances off the cycle. They prefer to disrupt opposing breakouts and work pucks North to South in the offensive zone to open up East-West passing options while creating havoc in front of the opposing net.
The Ducks were extremely diligent in their man-to-man defensive zone coverage in this game on Feb. 25. Any passing options were either blanketed or engaged immediately so they had almost no time to make a play. The Ducks utilized a lot of stretch passes so they could establish their own forecheck and keep pucks away from their end as much as possible.
6-4 Win vs the San Jose Sharks
The Sharks are in a similar situation as the Ducks where they are at the bottom of the standings and trying to establish a culture. They prefer to create off the rush and keep pucks out of their end as much as they can and by any means necessary.
Their Feb. 29 matchup with the Sharks was a game where the Ducks could dictate the style of the game and play how they wanted to. They applied consistent, heavy forechecking pressure and utilized their activating defensemen to open passing lanes and create opportunities.
4-3 Win vs the New Jersey Devils
The Devils are one of the fastest teams in the NHL and prioritize generating rush chances and quick, slippery puck movement. They build up speed on breakouts and regroups by sending forwards low to support so they can carry pucks up ice and back up defensive structures.
While the shot and expected goal disparity was vastly in favor of the Devils on March 1, the Ducks emphasized eliminating the very aspect of the game in which the Devils thrive most. They deployed a more passive neutral zone forecheck so even when the Devils could build speed from their end, they were forced to dump pucks deep at the blueline.
Now that the Ducks recognize their culture and understand what’s required of them on a nightly basis, these minor tweaks are likely to continue. By attempting to negate the aspect of the game in which the opponent most thrives, pressure is put on them to create in a way they aren’t as comfortable with. The Ducks have a relatively mixed schedule in March between teams currently in playoff positions and teams that aren’t. The Ducks are hoping to pull as many wins out of the home stretch of the season as they can.