The Ducks’ bottom-6 has helped keep them afloat during their longest road trip of the season.
The Ducks can finish out their five-game, 12-day road trip on a high note if they beat the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Anaheim has had to rely on several different players offensively during this road trip. Chris Kreider has been out since the first game of the road trip in Chicago on Oct. 19, Ryan Strome has yet to make his season debut due to an upper-body injury and Mikael Granlund suffered a lower-body injury during the first period of Saturday’s game in Tampa.
Granlund, who has centered the third line in Strome’s absence, had a monster night against the Boston Bruins and has been an offensive fulcrum for the Ducks in the early going. A long-term absence for him would leave a void behind, with Strome also out.
UPDATE: Granlund is expected to be out for a few weeks, per head coach Joel Quenneville.
Troy Terry, who has typically played in the top-6 in the past, made way for Alex Killorn to slot in alongside Leo Carlsson on the top line, a more complementary fit for Carlsson’s play style. The line of Granlund, Terry, and Nikita Nesterenko combined for 11 points against the Bruins. Terry is currently on a three-game goal streak and a four-game point streak.
Nesterenko's four-point night against the Bruins was the first multi-point game of his career. After rotating with Sam Colangelo on the fourth line to start the season, he found himself on the third line with Granlund and Terry with Kreider out of the lineup. His reach and dogged effort on the forecheck have also opened up penalty killing opportunities for him this season.
"He just wants to be aggressive," Nestrenko said of assistant coach Ryan McGill, who runs the penalty kill. "That's the main thing. There's a lot of speed on this team, a lot of guys who can think. That's the two biggest things on a good PK. He wants everyone to support each other. If one guy sees pressure, everyone's got to be on the same page, kind of on a string. If the other three guys aren't on the same page, then the support's not there and the first guy is just kind of working for no reason."
Nesterenko said that he focused on improving his strength this past summer, something that many young players do during the offseason to ensure that they can hang with more mature and stronger players around the league.
"I wasn't born the biggest guy in weight," he said. "Kind of thin-boned, if you can call it that way. So just trying to put on as much weight as I can. You can have a good first, second period, but at this level, if you're playing a bottom-6 role when you're starting out, you've got to have it for three periods. You've got to bring that energy, stay physical for the whole 60. You can't die off in the third period. I think that was my issue in pro when I first came in, just trying to keep getting better at that. That comes with getting stronger in the gym in the summer, just so you have that mass to sustain throughout the whole season."
Anaheim’s fourth line, most recently composed of Ross Johnston, Ryan Poehling and Colangelo, has combined for eight points in the last three games. Poehling has a three-game point streak.
It’s not like the Ducks’ top-6 hasn’t been pulling their weight either. Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier––who has stepped into Kreider’s top line spot––both have three-game point streaks and have maintained positive plus-minus ratings during that stretch. Prior to Kreider’s ailment, the Ducks’ second line of Gauthier, Mason McTavish and Beckett Sennecke had a 68.3% expected goals percentage at 5v5, per Moneypuck.
What stands out about Anaheim’s bottom-6 production is that not only are they putting up points, but they’re doing so while passing both the eye test and the advanced metrics test. In three games, the Nesterenko-Granlund-Terry line has a 61.3% expected goals percentage at 5v5. In four games, the Johnston-Poehling-Colangelo line has a 63.6% expected goals percentage at 5v5.
While Johnston may be known more for his tendency to drop the gloves more than his offensive abilities, his physicality and size are useful when he is properly angling opponents on the forecheck and being disruptive. This was on display in their win against Nashville, where he picked up three points on a career night.
Poehling is tenacious when he’s doing things like driving the net, hunting the puck on the forecheck or in a board battle. He’s been able to use his tenacity to help free the puck up for teammates and open up areas where he can get the puck back afterwards.
"For me, it's just bringing value to the team in any way I can," Poehling said. "Whether that's depth or the PK or just when you go out there, knowing that Q knows what he's going to get. So for myself, just put my head down and work hard."
“I bring my own brand first,” Johnston said. Nice to be able to score again, there's no doubt about that. Just play physical, control the puck down low. With the coaching staff, implement what they're trying to teach us. Be confident with the puck down low and make some plays. First off: big body, be physical. Second off: control the puck and create space for my linemates.”
Colangelo, while more offensive-minded than his linemates, is a bigger body and has shown that he can also be a useful forechecker. His powerful shot helps raise the offensive ceiling of what is otherwise a very meat-and-potatoes fourth line.
“I want to get quicker,” Colangelo said. “I think that's the biggest thing for me (that) I worked on over the summer, and I think I improved in that aspect. Just get quicker, get more comfortable out there.”
Jansen Harkins, who suffered an upper-body injury during preseason, looks set to make his season debut against the Lightning after being activated from injured reserve on Saturday. While he won’t be able to replace Granlund’s production, he could be a useful supplement on the fourth line with Poehling being elevated to the third line.
A win on Tuesday against the Panthers would see the Ducks conclude their road trip with an above .500 record. They currently sit one point outside of the Wild Card.
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