Detailed notes from Sunday afternoon's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks
The fourth game and third stop on the Anaheim Ducks' five-game road trip brought them to Vancouver to take on the Canucks on Easter Sunday.
The Ducks losing streak has now been extended to five games and they've lost 13 of their last 14.
Lukas Dostal got the call between the pipes for the Ducks and stopped 27 of 30 shots faced. All three goals allowed by Dostal were on shots from around the crease and he didn't stand much of a chance of stopping any of them. Brock Boeser put home a rebound on the power play and Dakota Joshua found the back of the net twice after he was allowed too much time and space in front of it (once on the power play).
Here are my notes from this game:
Forecheck: The Ducks defensemen carried over their aggressiveness on the forecheck from Saturday's loss against the Oilers. They were often pressuring outlets below the hash marks and saw better success in that department in this game.
Penalty Kill: Over the last six or seven games, the Ducks penalty kill has adopted a more passive structure to eliminate lateral seam passes. They have been exceedingly successful in that department, but are now losing net-front battles at an alarming rate. In this game, Anaheim allowed two goals on four power play attempts, and both goals were scored due to lost battles around the crease.
Cycle: The Killorn-Carlsson-Terry line saw a good amount of offensive zone time and extended cycles. When Terry is in possession along the perimeter, Killorn and Carlsson head to the slot in search of potential tips and rebounds. Killorn excels at that aspect of the game while Carlsson still needs to develop that aspect of his game. Carlsson could perhaps benefit from looking to find lanes to present himself as a passing option. It could draw defensemen away from the opposing goal and he can possibly put his natural instincts to more use.
Trevor Zegras: Zegras had yet another performance where he was consistently creating dangerous looks for himself and his teammates on the rush and on the cycle. Where possibly he had a bigger impact was on the defensive side of the puck. What stuck out the most was his awareness and cerebral effort on the backcheck.
The backcheck has plagued the Ducks all season. Forwards often put forth quality effort to get back and defend opposing rushes, but fail to eliminate a passing option or lane. Today, Zegras backchecked with a purpose, constantly scanning for the trailing F3, and eliminated that player as an option.
Olen Zellweger: Zellweger has greatly improved his rush defense from the start of the season. He's gapping properly and using his stick to dictate where he wants the attacker to go before disrupting a stickhandling attempt. He seemingly made a crucial mistake on the Vancouver third goal where he left his assignment open in front to pressure a puck carrier behind the goal line. It's unclear if that was a miscommunication between defensive partners or if he misread the play.
His first NHL goal was a scintillating display of what he can bring to the Anaheim offense for years to come. He expertly chose when to activate, used the opposing defender as a screen, and picked a near-impossible short-side window to shoot through.
Gustav Lindstrom: Lindstrom was one of, if not the best Ducks defenseman in this game. He put forth a quality 200-foot effort as he was effective reading when to pinch on forechecks, was strong and effective on retrievals and board battles in the defensive zone, found outlets with strong passes up ice, and read when to activate and join rushes which lead directly to the Ducks second goal.
The Ducks will finish their five-game road trip with a trip to Calgary to take on the Flames on Tuesday at 6 PM PST.