Ducks' relentless forecheck and active defense fueled their offensive zone dominance, overpowering the Jets in a decisive win.
The Anaheim Ducks began their four-game Canadian road trip on Tuesday, facing the Winnipeg Jets.
The Ducks had a successful homestand dating back to before the Olympic break, finishing with a 7-2-0 record in nine games, but left for their trip on a sour note after getting shut out by the St. Louis Blues 4-0 on Sunday evening. The Ducks remained atop the Pacific Division standings and were looking to extend their lead.
The Jets entered Wednesday on a three-game winning streak, looking to eclipse the NHL .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 6, and claw their way into the playoff picture for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Ducks’ lineup remained mostly unchanged from Sunday, with Troy Terry (upper body) and John Carlson (lower body) still unavailable. The coaching staff scratched forward Frank Vatrano, bumped Jeffrey Viel into his spot on the third line, and inserted Jansen Harkins into the fourth. Here’s how they lined up to start this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Gauthier
Granlund-McTavish-Sennecke
Killorn-Poehling-Viel
Johnston-Washe-Harkins
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Mintyukov-Moore
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks and didn’t see much action, as he saved 12 of just 13 shots. He was opposed by fellow Olympian Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 31 of 34.
Game Notes
From a game script standpoint, this game was the opposite of Sunday’s loss to the Blues for Anaheim. Their forecheck pressured in waves, their breakouts were connected, and they generated extended cycle sequences in the offensive zone, maintaining possession and keeping the puck out of their end as much as they could.
The underlying numbers suggest this was their third-best defensive game of the season, allowing just 1.42 expected goals per 60 minutes. At 5v5, they won the shots on goal battle 28-11, the shot attempts battle 52-28, and the expected goals battle 2.56-1.15.
Cycle: Three factors led to the Ducks possessing the puck in the offensive zone as much as they did in this game. 1) They were first to most pucks after entry, whether pucks were chipped or shot toward the Winnipeg net, the speed and tenacity of Anaheim’s forwards won them most of the ensuing puck battles. 2) When possession was established, and forwards were moving with speed with pucks on their sticks, all six defensemen were remarkably active, hopping into soft ice from the strong or weak sides alike.
The involvement of the Anaheim defenders in the offensive zone, regardless of whether they received passes from puck carriers while cutting, opened up skating lanes and forced Winnipeg’s defensive coverage to quickly adjust to avoid the creation of a dangerous scoring chance. 3) the forecheck, specifically from the bottom-six.
Bottom Six: The Ducks’ bottom-six forward group was the standout in this game. They forechecked in waves, quickly pressuring Jets’ defenders upon retrieval, and tracked back with proper angles to cut off breakouts at the offensive blueline, or at the very least, the redline.
Ryan Poehling and Alex Killorn set the tone for the bottom six, playing with pace, both from a mental and physical standpoint. They were always anticipating how pucks were popping loose from battles and calculating what the Jets were trying to accomplish on breakouts before disrupting counters early and prior to surrendering the defensive blueline.
Olen Zellweger: Zellweger entered the NHL with the expectation of becoming an impactful offensive player, but he has been required to round out his 200-foot game considerably. He’s risen to every challenge in that aspect, greatly improving his 1v1 defending fundamentals, and has continued to add weight to his smaller 5-foot-10 frame.
He’s now one of Anaheim’s better defensive players (if not, their best) over the entire ice surface and has earned an increased role on the penalty kill. In this game, he logged 2:57 TOI on the kill alongside PK partner Jacob Trouba, effectively boxing out in front of his crease, eliminating time and space with superior 4-way mobility, and jumping on loose pucks in his end.
The Ducks will continue their trip on Thursday with a matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4 PM PST.