The Ducks are one of the worst penalty-killing teams in the NHL. After a recent horrendous stretch, the coaching staff adjusted the in-zone system and is yielding much-improved results.
As of Thursday, March 28, the Anaheim Ducks’ penalty kill sits at 73.4%, good enough for 30th in the NHL. For a team that leads the NHL in penalty minutes, that’s not a recipe for success.
The Problem
The Ducks recently snapped a seven-game losing streak in which they were outscored 35-7. During that streak, their penalty kill percentage was an abysmal 48.3%.
Following the Ducks’ 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues in which they allowed three power play goals on six attempts and were seemingly at their lowest, defensive Assistant Coach Brent Thompson went to the drawing board to adjust and tweak the in-zone penalty-killing system.
Before the adjustment, the Ducks ran a high-pressure scheme meant to pressure the puck throughout the zone to take away time and space from puck carriers and force turnovers.
With quick and precise player and puck movement along the perimeter, teams were able to draw penalty killers away from the middle of the ice and create seams behind them in the Anaheim structure. Those seams were exploited, allowing several successful cross-ice pass attempts.
In the scheme, strong-side defensemen were forced to pressure out toward the faceoff dots which created outnumbered scenarios around the net-front.
The Ducks were bleeding chances and adjustments were imperative.
The Solution
In the Ducks’ last three games, their penalty kill has allowed two goals on nine opportunities, good enough to be operating at a 78.6% clip. The two goals surrendered (both coming in Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken) were of a fluky variety where unfortunate bounces off a defenseman's skate led directly to the goal.
All four given penalty killers are now playing a much more passive style. Perimeter puck movement is surrendered, but by limiting the distance outside the structure to pressure, quality looks at the net aren’t surrendered.
By having the forwards stay closer to the middle of the ice, defensemen don’t have to pressure as far away from their net. Any rebounds or loose pucks are now easier for them to clear.
Because of the amount of defending bodies now in the middle of the ice, the seam passes that were plaguing the Anaheim penalty kill have been all but eliminated. Cross-ice passes are now much more difficult to attempt and are often inaccurate.
More shots from distance are allowed by the penalty kill, but because killers aren’t as fatigued due to distance skated within the defensive zone, they can pounce on loose pucks to clear them at a higher rate.
Moving Forward
The Anaheim Ducks have ten games remaining on their 2023-24 schedule. Six of those ten games are against teams who have power plays ranked in the top half of the NHL. It will be worth monitoring if any further adjustments are made and if this newfound success can continue.