Ducks overcome injuries and Kraken pressure with disciplined play, key saves, and effective forechecking to secure a crucial victory.
For their second stop on a crucial five-game road trip, the Anaheim Ducks traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Kraken on Friday night, an opponent with whom they’re currently battling for a playoff spot.
The Ducks entered play on a five-game winning streak that began directly after a nine-game winless streak. The Kraken came into this game in a bit of a skid, as they were hoping to build off a win on Wednesday that snapped a four-game winless streak and remain in the playoff race, but had still only won two of their previous eight games.
Troy Terry (upper body) hasn’t yet joined the team on the road trip, a possibility mentioned to the media by head coach Joel Quenneville. Terry had missed the team’s last seven games before Friday. Mason McTavish (upper body) was a late scratch on Wednesday in Colorado despite taking regular warmup rushes. He returned to Anaheim and was unavailable for Friday’s game against Seattle.
If he can, Quenneville doesn’t make adjustments to a winning lineup, so here’s how the Ducks lined up for this one:
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Kreider-Harkins-Strome
Viel-Poehling-Gauthier
Johnston-Washe-Moore
LaCombe-Trouba
Mintyukov-Helleson
Zellweger-Gudas
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks for the sixth time in seven games and stopped 20 of 22 shots. He was opposed by Philipp Grubauer in Seattle’s crease, who saved 27 of 30.
Game Notes
As has been the case since they’ve been shorthanded due to injury, the Ducks played a safer, more contained, and lower-event brand of hockey than they’d been for most of the season. Through the first 40 minutes of this game, Anaheim played relatively passively in their end and against the rush, which limited or eliminated any second-chance opportunities or sustained Seattle zone time.
The Ducks efficiently broke pucks out of their end, conservatively moved pucks through neutral ice, and established a five-man forecheck that, even when it was at its least effective, kept pucks out of their end as much as possible. Seattle heavily pushed back in the third period, but it was too little too late against an Anaheim team now more astute in front of Dostal, who was as good as he needed to be to lock this game down.
Forecheck: As mentioned, the key to the Ducks' success through this stretch without several of their most potent offensive talents has been turning defenders around and forcing them to retrieve pucks deep in their end. Forwards like Alex Killorn, Mikael Granlund, and Ryan Strome aren’t the fleetest of foot, but counter that with clever routes and influence puck carriers to make ill-advised decisions, putting pucks where it’s least optimal.
Defensemen were selective in choosing when to pinch in the offensive zone, doing well to read how their F1 and F2 were dictating deep and how high their F3 was before committing to breaking up an outlet on the wall.
Power Play: The Ducks only found themselves on the man-advantage twice, and one of those wasn’t a full two minutes due to it coming after a 30-second 4v4 sequence. When their power play was able to set up, Chris Kreider assumed the bumper position, with Beckett Sennecke at the net front. Kreider drifted higher in the zone than has been typical from the Ducks’ bumpers this season, which allowed the point man and flanks easier outs should they run into trouble on the blueline or on the wall.
When pucks moved cleanly along the top of the umbrella, Kreider released lower and was able to pounce on a rebound for the Ducks' third goal. The Ducks have simplified their power play to a higher degree as well since injuries, and they seem to be establishing a baseline from which they can potentially build out moving forward, if needed.
Penalty Kill: The far side forward on the diamond had been an area of weakness for the majority of the season on the Ducks’ PK. However, they’ve been sharper in recent games and more aware of opposing flanks cutting to the backdoor, which has allowed the net front defenseman to shade and eliminate the bumper, rendering a more cohesive and effective PK.
Cutter Gauthier: Gauthier is being asked to play alongside a small-area puck-possession grinder (Jeff Viel) and a speedy, defensively inclined center (Ryan Poehling). His role has required him to hang onto pucks more, drive play for his line, and create his own shot, an area in his game he’d been trying to figure out through his first season and a half in the NHL.
He’s utilizing his speed, scanning confidently with the puck on his stick, and becoming a disruptive and capitalistic forechecker. He was able to tally seven shots on goal in this game and nine shot attempts, and his line, thanks in large part to him, accounted for 12 of the Ducks 31 shots. From his wing position, he’s begun dissecting how opposing offensive sequences are unfolding, and he’s disrupting several seam attempts, which allows him and Poehling to use their speed for a counter.
The Ducks will head north of the border for the Canadian leg of their road trip, which will first take them to Alberta to take on the Calgary Flames.