Detailed notes on Wednesday night's game between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night at Honda Center. The Ducks were looking to rebound after a 2-1 defeat at home against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. The Sens had allowed 19 goals during their four-game skid entering their matchup with the Ducks.
Both teams were busy on the trade front on Wednesday morning. The Sens shipped forward Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. The Ducks moved forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick along with a seventh-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers and received a first-round pick and a fifth-round pick.
Lukas Dostal would get the start for the Ducks on Wednesday. This would serve as his third consecutive start after only allowing four goals on 86 shots in his last two starts against the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks. To oppose him, was Mads Sogaard, who had given up three goals on 39 shots in his last outing against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
In addition to the two players moved out in the morning, the Ducks are also dealing with several injuries to their forward group. Mason McTavish remains out with a lower-body injury while Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson are both listed day-to-day with upper-body injuries. With the lineup bereft of forward talent, head coach Greg Cronin went with a 11F/7D lineup. Here are my notes on this game:
Breakouts and Regroups: There was a mandate to simplify plays in this game from the Ducks. Pucks typically only moved North in the defensive and neutral zones as they heavily prioritized forechecking as a means of generating offense.
Glen Gawdin and Pavol Regenda: A major benefit of having the AHL affiliate of an NHL team play a near-identical system is the ease at which players can transition to the higher level. The learning curve was flattened and the two forwards didn't miss a beat, especially Regenda.
Defensive Zone Coverage: When pucks go low to high in the defensive zone, there needs to be clear communication between the forwards on who will remain low in coverage and which two forwards will challenge the points high. That lack of communication led to the Sens only goal in this game. Aside from that, the Ducks did a stellar job of boxing out and limiting second chance opportunities. They did allow a significant amount of zone time due to keeping the Sens on the perimeter.
Ryan Stome: Strome was an excellent facilitator in every zone for the duration of the game. He was able to find cutting teammates and exploited seams from below the goal line. He's one of the best puck-distributors from a standstill where he can see the entire ice and lure defenders toward him to open up space.
Lukas Dostal: Dostal made every save he was supposed to and then some. As always, he was phenomenal staying square to shots from distance and tracking pucks through the zone and around bodies.
Offensive Zone Entries: When crossing the offensive blueline on the rush, the entire team excelled at reading the rush defenders, stopping up, and finding cutting teammates through the lanes created.
The Ducks will play again on Friday night against the Dallas Stars at Honda Center at 7 PM PST.