Derek Lee and Patrick Present discuss the Ducks' play of late The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a disappointing road trip with a matchup, the first game of a home-and-home series, against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The Ducks were coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, which brought their point tally to three on their season-long six-game road trip. Takeaways from the Ducks 4-3 Shootout Loss to the Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/game-day/takeaways-from-the-ducks-4-3-shootout-loss-to-the-lightning] Florida was in the midst of a poor stretch of play, with a 4-6-1 record in their last 11 games. Aaron Ekblad was missing with an undisclosed injury for the fifth game in a row. The Panthers also lost their top scorer, Sam Reinhart, with just under four minutes to go in the first period after taking a major kneeing penalty against Isac Lundestrom, resulting in a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Ducks head coach Greg Cronin deployed the same lineup that earned his team a point against Tampa Bay on Thursday. John Gibson got the start between the pipes for the Ducks, stopping 42 of 44 shots and saving 1.49 goals above expected [https://moneypuck.com/g.htm?id=2024020725]. Spencer Knight got the start for the Panthers in this game and stopped all 34 shots he faced. Here are my notes from this game: Cycle: The Ducks manufactured some of the turnovers high in the defensive zone they need to generate any semblance of a rush attack playing their man-on-man defensive zone coverage scheme. Very few of those rushes were odd-man, but they got several looks nonetheless. The in-zone offensive cycle still leaves much to be desired. The mandate continues to revolve around setting up two forwards in front of the net to battle for body position as the third puck-carrying forward peels out of the corner and works it to the point, whereafter an 80-foot shot is taken from the blueline. The Ducks got their desired looks with traffic and won several pucks back in the corners, but the lack of lateral puck movement rendered their cycle easily defendable. Power Play: Much of the aspects that hinder the offensive potential on the cycle are present on the power play as well. It features very little lateral puck movement and even less player movement within the zone. The Ducks played seven stationary, stale, and predictable minutes with the man advantage in this game. Many teams in the NHL are releasing a second, low strong side forward to the bottom of the circle to outnumber the low defenseman in the opposing diamond penalty kill structure. With the ample amount of offensive creativity and talent featured on the Ducks' roster like Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, etc., the lack of dangerous opportunities remains puzzling. John Gibson: Gibson was sound positionally and continued to manage games from inside the crease, recognizing when to push tempo and play pucks versus when to freeze and take a whistle. He allowed two uncharacteristic squeakers to get through him and to the back of the net but ultimately did enough from between the pipes to earn a win for his team. Breakout: The Ducks broke pucks out of their zone relatively cleanly in this game, utilizing low support and evading F1 forecheckers to advance pucks to neutral ice. The Ducks' second layer following exits struggled to fend off backcheckers and were consistently sealed off in the neutral zone. Closer support and weak side defensemen activation after first passes out of the zone will be required if they hope to build rush offense, an area where they have the potential to thrive should they explore it. The Ducks will return to Honda Center to host the very same Florida Panthers team in hopes of returning to the win column and within striking distance of .500. Ducks Coaching Staff Searching for Ways to Produce Offense Without Sacrificing Defense [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-coaching-staff-searching-for-ways-to-produce-offense-without-sacrificing-defense] Zegras not on Road Trip, Imminent Return could Spark Offense [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/zegras-not-on-road-trip-imminent-return-could-spark-offense]
