Detailed notes from Sunday's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks
The Anaheim Ducks opened their six-game home stand by hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night at Honda Center.
Game #11: Ducks vs. Blackhawks Gameday Preview
This game was the last of the Hawks' four-game road trip and the second of a back-to-back after their stellar comeback shootout victory over the Kings on Saturday.
Ducks head coach Greg Cronin shuffled some personnel with two of the four lines of his forward group for this game.
Trevor Zegras' line remained untouched while Mason McTavish found himself centering Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano. Leo Carlsson was between Ryan Strome and Robby Fabbri.
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks for the ninth time in the team's first 11 games this season. He allowed four goals on 29 shots (.862 SV%) and finished with -1.31 goals saved above expected.
Ducks vs Blackhawks Pre-Game Stat Pack
He was screened on two, faced an east/west power play one-timer, and allowed a goal during a scramble on the left post. It's unclear if he stood much of a chance to stop any of the four.
Arvid Soderblom got the start for the Hawks in the crease, where he stopped 37 of 39 shots and saved 3.67 goals above expected.
Here are my notes on this game:
Cycle: The Ducks generated the chances Cronin has preached since the start of the season. Forwards were puck hounds after shots to retrieve them in corners, win small area battles, and feed the points. They carried pucks to the net but were unable to capitalize on rebound chances.
Power Play: The Ducks went to the man advantage five times but only capitalized on their final one in the dying seconds of the game.
The first unit showed several different structures and personnel deployments. Troy Terry, Leo Carlsson, and Mason McTavish were each posted at the net-front, flank, and bumper throughout their power play opportunities in an attempt to generate new and layered chances.
As the game progressed, the power plays became sloppy and rushed like they had earlier in the year.
Penalty Kill: The penalty kill structure showed blemishes for the first meaningful time this season, leading to the Blackhawks' two goals with the man advantage.
Taylor Hall was able to exploit a seam created between Lundestrom and Vatrano, who both overcommitted high and low in the diamond, respectively, to feed Tuevo Teravainen on the opposite flank.
Quick puck movement at the top of the umbrella and a screen in front of Dostal when the critical pass was made led to an uncharacteristic late tracking of the puck from the Anaheim netminder.
Carlsson v Bedard: Cronin matched up Carlsson against Bedard for 8:04 TOI at 5v5 in this game, as his line saw the most of the Blackhawks' star forward in this game. Carlsson won the possession battle by holding a 10-7 shot attempt advantage and 56.11% of the expected goals share.
Carlsson's line with Strome and Fabbri, along with Mintyukov and Dumoulin, took care of pucks in the offensive and neutral zones and didn't allow players to gain separation in the defensive zone.
The Ducks will next host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at 7 pm PST.
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