The Anaheim Ducks have been red-hot offensively over their past two games. But that hasn’t translated into success.
The Ducks have scored 16 goals in their past three games and 11 over their last two. Unfortunately, 11 goals (five in one contest and six in the other) weren’t enough to win either of those two matchups.
The first came in a demoralizing overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 27. That one led to some strong words from head coach Joel Quenneville. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they saw more of the same in Thursday’s loss vs. the Buffalo Sabres.
Anaheim went up 2-0 in the first period and later 3-1 — the latter thanks to Roger McQueen’s first-career goal. By the end of the period, Buffalo tied the game 3-3.
The Sabres then blew the game open with a 7-3 lead. Despite a late Anaheim comeback that saw goals from Cutter Gauthier, Tristan Luneau, and Beckett Sennecke, it was too little, too late.
Blowing Leads Is Becoming A Trend For The Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks had a prime chance to make a statement over their last three matchups. Anaheim’s last three opponents, like them, are some of the youngest teams in hockey. If the Ducks won at least two, if not all three, they could have shown that they are further ahead of the curve.
That happened on Oct. 24 when the Ducks took advantage of the Philadelphia Flyers‘ miscues throughout the contest after falling behind early. After that game, few would have seen Anaheim blowing leads to Vancouver and Buffalo. Especially Vancouver, who seemed down for the count after Anaheim took a 5-2 lead with under eight minutes to go.
The Ducks will face the Canucks again on Nov. 3. That gives them a chance to make the statement win they should have made on Oct. 27. But if they keep stringing together poor defensive outings as they have in their last two contests, an unfortunate trend will be in full force.
How The Ducks Can Stop A Trend From Developing
For one, the Anaheim Ducks need better goaltending. Neither Lukas Dostal nor Ville Husso has been great this season. While some of that is on the Ducks, there are some nuances.
They have only allowed 363 shots in 13 games, one less than the NHL average of 364 shots. That number also averages to 27.9 shots allowed per game.
So, Dostal and Husso must step up. They are among the worst goaltending duo in hockey, with a combined .867 save percentage, 3.74 GAA, zero shutouts, and a .385 quality starts percentage.
Still, Anaheim hasn’t been great defensively. Their skaters must also prevent opponents from creating scoring chances and high-danger chances at 5-on-5. So far, the Ducks have allowed opponents to create 302 scoring chances, 20 worse than the league average. They have also allowed 111 high-danger chances, or 12 worse than the average.
The Ducks have shown they can play better hockey in the offensive zone, and they are currently 13th in the NHL in goals scored with 43. But their defensive zone play and goaltending must improve if they want to stop a trend from developing. Anaheim will get another shot on Nov. 1 when they open the month vs. the Ottawa Senators.
Anaheim Ducks’ Two-Game Scoring Explosion Comes With Brutal Catch