Detailed notes on Monday's game between the Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks
Detailed notes on Monday's game between the Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Seattle Kraken on the first leg of a home-and-home series. The two teams will face off again on Wednesday in Seattle.
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The Ducks were riding a four-game point streak after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped with an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
Ducks head coach Greg Cronin changed up his lines a bit in this game with the return of center Mason McTavish, who missed the team's last six games with an upper-body injury.
McTavish returned to the Ducks' lineup, centering the listed third line between Cutter Gauthier and Brett Leason.
Sam Colangelo was scratched in this game for the first time since he was recalled from the San Diego Gulls on Nov. 17.
Lukas Dostal started this game for the Ducks between the pipes after a much-earned week off. He stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced.
Opposing Dostal was Joey Daccord for the Kraken. He saved 21 out of the 23 shots the Ducks got through to him.
Ducks' top-line center Leo Carlsson was on the receiving end of a Tye Kartye hit at the top of the defensive crease that sent him crashing into the goalpost. Kartye was given a two-minute minor penalty for interference, and Carlsson didn't return to the game.
Carlsson's status is unknown, and the injury is listed as an upper-body injury.
Here are my notes from this game:
Forecheck: The Ducks were relatively ineffective on their offensive zone forecheck. Seattle was extraordinarily connected on their breakouts as their retrieving defensemen were able to find their first option out of the zone and build attacks with ample speed.
Anaheim did a good job of recovering and not allowing many rush opportunities but couldn't keep pucks from getting deep in their zone and allowed elongated stretches of zone time.
Defensive Zone Coverage: Seattle kept their F3 extremely high when they were cycling in the offensive zone, almost like a third defenseman at the point.
They skated with possession at the top of the zone and perimeter to create shooting lanes and won races to loose pucks. The Ducks struggled to pass cleanly through Seattle's second layer of forechecks, leading to sustained pressure or broken exits.
Mason McTavish: McTavish certainly looked like he had missed the team's last six games. The effort was present, but his processing time was a beat or two too slow.
Several shooting or passing lanes were allowed to close when he had the puck on his stick.
Power Play: The lone power play the Ducks' received in this game came after Carlsson was forced to the locker room with his injury. Zegras filled in for him on the team's top unit, acting as a rover.
If that dynamic is allowed to grow and chemistry is allowed to form, it could provide unexpected and unpredictable high-danger looks.
The Ducks will head to Seattle on Tuesday ahead of their rematch against the Kraken on Wednesday night.
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