Ducks to Continue with Same Power Play Personnel
The Anaheim Ducks' special teams units remain mostly intact despite poor results
The Anaheim Ducks have the second-worst power play in the NHL, having converted just 18 goals with the man-advantage on 147 attempts (12.2%).
The Ducks hired Rich Clune on June 21, 2024, as the assistant coach responsible for running their offense and power play, replacing Newell Brown, who had held the position for three seasons from 2021 to 2024.
Clune held the same responsibilities as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL in 2023-24, a team that converted at a 19.4% rate on the power play.
The Ducks have been in the bottom half of the NHL in power play percentage for nearly a decade, having only eclipsed the 20% mark once in the last nine seasons (2021-22).
The Ducks converted 18.4% of their power play opportunities under Newell Brown but felt a change was needed after scoring at a 17.9% clip in 2023-24 with an influx of exceptional offensive talent on their roster.
The prevailing thought suggests that a team that deploys a nightly lineup consisting of talents such as Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, etc., should have a significantly more lethal power play than what they've shown.
Clune, especially early in the season, had and has done well to adjust the power play structure and objective in terms of how they want to attack and where they want their chances to come from.
Early in the 2024-25 season, the power play strived to utilize the bumper position to collapse penalty killers and open up space on the perimeter. It then evolved into working the top of the umbrella to create one-time shots. The latest adjustment has been to create lateral goal line passes, taking advantage of the outnumbered defender at the bottom of the opposing diamond and forcing the goaltender to move post-to-post.
Though the structure is still more stagnant and immobile than possibly desired for optimal effectiveness, subtle tweaks are being made to create different looks.
The aspect of the man-advantage deployment that's been perhaps too constant has been the personnel between the two units. For as long as recent memory serves, the Ducks' top power play unit consists of Jackson LaCombe at the point, Ryan Strome at the net front/goal line release position, and Frank Vatrano, Terry, and McTavish as the flanks and bumper.
The second unit has been made up of either Olen Zellweger or Pavel Mintyukov at the point, Alex Killorn as the net front/goal line release position, and Gauthier, Zegras, and Carlsson assuming the flank and bumper positions.
The Ducks' power play is 0-13 (0%) in their last four games and 4-46 (8.6%) in their last 20 games.
They've made minor adjustments to the system, but perhaps an overhaul of personnel within the units is required to begin generating power play goals at a more respectable clip.
Cutter Gauhier scored 13 of his 38 goals in 2023-24 on the power play for Boston College in the NCAA. Trevor Zegras is one of the most naturally creative players in the history of the NHL. Leo Carlsson is perhaps the most gifted player the Ducks have ever drafted. Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov were Defensemen of the Year in their respective CHL leagues in 2022-23.
All indications point toward at least one successful combination between the young, remarkably gifted young players and the more experienced and savvy veterans on the Ducks roster to manufacture at least a league-average power play and one that could ultimately evolve into one of the more potent units in the entire NHL.
It will be curious to monitor if these units remain together following the NHL 4-Nations Face-Off break.