Detailed notes from Sunday evening's matchup between the St. Louis Blues and the Anaheim Ducks
Detailed notes from Sunday evening's matchup between the St. Louis Blues and the Anaheim Ducks
Game two of the Anaheim Ducks final homestand of the 2023-24 season brought the Blues to Honda Center for a Sunday evening showdown.
Game #78: Ducks vs. Blues Gameday Preview
The Ducks showed resilience against a team fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive and while down 5-3, scored two consecutive third-period goals to tie the game at five and send it to overtime and eventually a shootout (which they lost).
Lukas Dostal received the Anaheim crease for the fourth game in a row with John Gibson out with an upper-body injury. Dostal managed to stop 26 of 31 shots in this game. The only goals Dostal may have had a chance of stopping were the Blues' first two (both unscreened shots from distance), but the shots were from players flying downhill with speed, so to expect stops there may have been lofty.
Frank Vatrano and Leo Carlsson both scored a pair of goals in this game. Vatrano tallied his first since March 21 vs Chicago while Carlsson now has three goals in his last two games.
Alex Killorn, Trevor Zegras, and Isac Lundstrom all chipped in with two-assist nights. With Killorn's first assist of the game, he surpassed the 500-point mark in his career.
Here are my notes from this game:
Rush Defense: Rush defense has been a sore spot for the Ducks this season. Three of the Blues five goals came off the rush as the St. Louis attackers found lateral seams in the Ducks' backcheck. They utilized active defensemen on the rush who beat the Ducks' second forwards back.
Cycle: Of late, the Ducks have been spreading the offensive zone when cycling the puck. Rather than sending two forwards to the front of the net, one forward heads to the weak-side board as a passing option and to spread the opposing defensive coverage. The results have been positive.
Neutral Zone Forecheck: When the Ducks have support and numbers, they were suffocating defending set breakouts and caused several turnovers in the neutral zone. They didn't hesitate to turn those pucks quickly up ice for counter attacks and it led to a myriad of opportunities.
Power Play: The second powerplay unit (the younger unit) showed a lot more player movement throughout the zone between Terry, Carlsson, and Zegras. Carlsson especially was acting as a rover where he would support either flank and was even often high supporting the point. When he can get possession high in the zone on his strong side and attack downhill, he can be a deadly puck-distributor.
Penalty Kill: On St. Louis' third goal, Silfverberg and Lundestrom seemed to be running a wedge coverage similar to what they ran early in the season. LaCombe failed to shift and pressure the flank quick enough and an easy shot was surrendered. They seemed to adjust back to the more traditional diamond coverage for the following penalty kill.
Trevor Zegras: Zegras seemingly headed straight for the back of the net when pucks were sent deep into the offensive zone. He was effective winning battles below the goal line, drawing defenders to him, and slipping passes behind them to his linemates for quality chances.
Leo Carlsson: Carlsson is learning what it takes to be successful in tight areas and winning more and more battles as the season progresses. He then leverages having two opposing forwards so low in the Ducks defensive zone and can explode up ice with speed.
The Ducks next game will be Tuesday night as the host the Los Angeles Kings at 7 PM PST.
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