Goaltending has been the biggest story of the Ducks' season thus far. Per Moneypuck, the dynamic duo of John Gibson and Lukáš Dostál have combined to save 34.7 goals above expected. There's no question that the Ducks would be one of the worst––if not the worst––teams in the league if it wasn't for Gibson and Dostál.

The latter was tasked with carrying the load early on after the former had an appendectomy just a couple of weeks before the start of the regular season. Dostál went 4-5-2 in 11 games, carrying a .922 SV% and a 2.73 goals against average (GAA). His stunning, 45-save performance against the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-3 overtime loss was the highlight of his early season run, as he essentially dragged the Ducks to a hard-earned point.

Gibson's return in November proved to be a relief for Dostál, who was beginning to display average to below-average performances after his stellar start. Gibson would win four of his first five starts, sporting a .919 SV% and 2.57 GAA. Despite poor special teams, the Gibson-Dostál tandem had the Ducks within striking distance of a Wild Card spot.

NHL Awards Watch: Ducks Goaltenders Might be in Vezina Conversation Lukas Dostal and John Gibson have given the Ducks a chance to win every night in 2024-25

It's been more of the same as the season has progressed, although the team has had spurts of positive 5v5 play. Over the last 20 games, the Ducks are fifth in 5v5 PDO (SH%+SV%) at 102.77. A value of 100 indicates that a team is performing as expected, so the Ducks have been playing a bit better than they've been expected to. That's been due to their goaltending.

The tandem received recognition from The Athletic on Thursday, being named No.2 in Jesse Granger's NHL goalie tandem power rankings. The Ducks have been able to lean on their goaltending all season, regardless of how the team in front of them is playing.

"They've been unreal for us," forward Ryan Strome said. "We have a great chance to win when those guys are in net. Numbers aside, the way they've been playing and the confidence we have in them is tremendously high. It's a great privilege to have, but you can't abuse that privilege."

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"It's not often you have two goalies that really help you win games," forward Alex Killorn said.

"It's a nice dynamic," head coach Greg Cronin said. "Gibby can give Dos some feedback that he may not get (if he was playing) with a younger goalie. Dos can watch him play and pick up some tabs from him."

Strome is right, they can't become overreliant on their goaltending to bail them out every night. Improvement at 5v5 and special teams will go a long way toward making their goaltenders' performances more impactful.