A Closer Look at the Ducks' Forward Line Shuffle
Ducks head coach Greg Cronin made some major line adjustments for their 3-1 win over the Sharks.
The Anaheim Ducks are 3-2-1 through their first six games in 2024-25 and will now head to the East Coast for a four-game swing, where they'll play the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The forward lines remained relatively unchanged during the team's first five games—an injury to Isac Lundestrom and an expected absence from Frank Vatrano led to minor adjustments within the forward depth chart.
Following the Ducks' 4-3 OT loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and their 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, Ducks' head coach Greg Cronin voiced his displeasure with how he thought his team was skating.
"It's a speed game. The whole league plays fast," Cronin said. "We played fast (against) Utah, we played fast in Vegas, we played fast in spurts against San Jose. In the last two games, we've been on cruise control. If you don't skate to the finish line every time you're backchecking, forechecking, (and) neutral zone regroups, you're not going to get the puck. It's just that simple."
Ahead of the Ducks' most recent game against the San Jose Sharks, Cronin made some significant changes to his forward lines in an effort to reward some players and energize others.
Vatrano-Strome-Terry
Ryan Strome's line with Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry is the only line that has remained untouched since the first game of the season. Vatrano missed the team's 4-3 OT loss in Colorado due to the expected birth of his second daughter.
Among lines that have played a minimum of 45 minutes together in 2024-25, their line ranks second in the entire NHL in terms of xGF% (expected goals for percentage), holding 73.6% of the share.
"They're skating hard, they know where they are on the ice, they chase pucks down, they get them back, and they trust each other. Simple." Cronin said of their performance in the early part of the season.
Heading into the season, not many people projected these three players to make up a line for the Ducks, but the early returns are justified, and the three players complement each other well.
Terry is one of the more puck-dominant players on the Ducks roster, transporting it through neutral ice and creating shots in the offensive zone. Strome is thriving in a role where he can survey the ice, building and connecting plays. Vatrano is free on that line to forecheck as heavily as necessary, find soft ice away from the puck, and battle his way to the front of the net.
Gauthier-Carlsson-Fabbri
Alex Killorn was replaced on the team's listed top line with newly acquired forward Robby Fabbri, who slotted in next to Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier for the first time in the Ducks 3-1 win over the Sharks on Tuesday.
Fabbri has been a puck hound early in the season, consistently pressuring opposing defenders, retrieving pucks, and winning battles along the wall while also featuring on the penalty kill.
"He's great," Ducks rookie forward Cutter Gauthier said of playing with Fabbri after Tuesday's win. "(Leo and I) like to play a fast-skill game. He works hard, 'dog on a bone' mentality, he's willing to give us the puck, and (he) gets to the net. I thought he opened up a lot of space for us and (forced) pucks to be turned over. He's a really easy player to play with."
Like Vatrano, Fabbri is always willing to pressure heavily as an F1 forechecker, get to the net, and do the gritty work so his linemates don't always have to. The space he creates in doing so often opens ice for his skilled young linemates to thrive.
Gauthier and Carlsson are developing a chemistry that could translate well into the future. Pairing them with a linemate like Fabbri could amplify their effectiveness early in the season.
Killorn-Lundestrom-Zegras
Isac Lundestrom was "promoted" to the team's listed third line on Tuesday, a line that received the largest shakeup of any.
"He's probably one of the most cerebral players on the ice," Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said of Lundestrom after the game. "When coaches have players, they know that when they put them on the ice, he's gonna try to do everything he can to be above pucks on the forecheck and stay with his centerman on a lost faceoff."
From a construction standpoint, while unorthodox, the three players fit together. Lundestrom and Alex Killorn are two of the more defensively responsible forwards on the roster, and while Trevor Zegras' reputation in that department isn't stellar, his play since the start of the 2023-24 season says otherwise.
Lundestrom thrives in defensive zone coverage, causing turnovers and transitioning pucks out of the d-zone to neutral ice and into the offensive zone. Killorn is one of the better small-area players on the roster, winning battles along the wall while drawing attention and pressure. When the puck finds him, Zegras can operate with new-found time and space to be as creative as he can to generate offense.
McGinn-McTavish-Leason
Mason McTavish was "demoted" to the team's listed fourth line for Tuesday's game alongside Brock McGinn and Brett Leason.
"(McTavish's) line hadn't done anything," Cronin said at the morning skate ahead of Tuesday's game. "McTavish should be a 30-goal scorer in this league. He's got to get into driving pucks deep. With Leason and McGinn, they're just going to forecheck. Get (pucks) in deep, get in front of the other team's net, get into that pocket, and rip shots."
Though from an xGF standpoint, they were the team's least effective line on Tuesday, they won the shot battle 6-3, played well in coverage, and were suffocating in the neutral zone.
If they're to be successful in their time together, they will be required to play a simple north/south game and take advantage of the chaos they can cause on the forecheck. This is a line that will thrive simply by funneling pucks to the net.
It's unclear how long these lines will remain together, and there is certainly some stiff competition on the schedule during their road trip. It will be worth monitoring how the players and coaching staff responds to the shuffling over these next four games.