Detailed notes on Thursday night's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames
Detailed notes on Thursday night's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames
The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up their brief two-game road trip with a Friday matchup against the Calgary Flames.
Takeaways from the Ducks 6-4 Win over the Kraken
The Ducks were fresh off a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, their third straight win and third straight game scoring five or more goals, a welcome breath of fresh air from the NHL's worst offensive team (2.51 GF/G).
The Flames came into this game with an opportunity to claim the second wild card spot in the standings and try to snap a two-game skid.
Ducks head coach Greg Cronin deployed the same lineup that earned the team their last three victories.
Olen Zellweger and Ross Johnston continue to serve as the Ducks' healthy scratches.
John Gibson got the start for the Ducks in this game and saved 26 of the 29 shots he faced.
Opposing Gibson in the Calgary crease was Dustin Wolf, who stopped 30 of 31 shots.
Here are my notes from this game:
Breakout: Despite Anaheim manufacturing rush chances following early turnovers in the last three games, the Flames were able to drive pucks deeper into the Ducks' defensive zone, negating those early opportunities high in the zone when the attackers were flatfooted.
The Ducks puck-recoverers were more inclined to make safer plays against a heavy Flames forecheck, electing for high flips and chips out of the defensive zone, effectively "punting" pucks to the neutral zone.
Cutter Gauthier: Gauthier was a bit rushed and frantic in regards to his decision-making with the puck on his stick in this game. On the power play, he consistently makes efforts to carry pucks into the offensive zone as a one-man entry. In-zone, he could afford to scan more thoroughly before receiving passes to better calculate where his outs are and where his high-danger options are presenting themselves.
On the rush, he continues to unsuccessfully aim to break down defenders one-on-one with dangles between the feet and heel of the opponents' stick. Adding layers of carrying pucks wide, driving to the net, change-of-pace strides, and cutbacks will serve him well to open up space to get his plus-release off.
Power Play: The Ducks did well to draw more penalties in this game than they had in previous weeks, but the power play remains predictable and stagnant, going 0-4 in this game.
The first power play had difficulty gaining entry and establishing pressure, reverting to rims to maintain possession. The later man-advantages added an encouraging layer of sending the bumper higher in the offensive zone. All-in-all, the power play settled for too many perimeter shots without seam or lateral goal line pass attempts, making Wolf's job seem rather easy.
Leo Carlsson: Similarly to the power play as a whole, Carlsson is only looking to get off perimeter shots when attacking with the puck on his stick. A year ago, he was attempting high-danger passes to the inner slot regularly, and even when they weren't connecting, chances were often created from them.
Off-puck, he's trying little more than to get to the net front for screens and tips rather than presenting himself as a passing option. His impact on a shift-to-shift level is severely muted.
The Ducks will return home for a pair of games, starting with a Sunday matinee against the Montreal Canadiens.
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