Following an eight-game home stand during which they went a brutal 1-6-1 and scored a paltry 13 goals, the Anaheim Ducks begin a six-game road trip tonight (Jan. 9) against playoff contender Nashville Predators.
The Ducks narrowly escaped their first encounter with the Predators with a 3-2 victory back on Nov. 14. On the heels of a major trade that included perceived franchise cornerstone Jamie Drysdale, previewing this game feels awkward, but let’s give it our best shot by looking at storylines, personnel, and tactics.
There’s a Number of Things Working Against the Ducks Right Now
This matchup is going to be difficult for many reasons. We’ll start with the Drysdale-sized elephant in the room. The undersized and injury-prone but highly-skilled skater and distributor was traded yesterday along with a second-round pick for Cutter Gauthier of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Ducks traded from their surplus (young defenseman with top-four potential) to acquire a glaring deficit (legitimate goal-scoring prospects). Long-term, maybe it works out. The problem is, it leaves the Ducks with a significant lineup hole that will be filled in the short term with someone less skilled and impactful than Drysdale was. The Ducks endured a painful stretch during his injury absence earlier this season, and they are heading right back to that scenario once again, except he won’t be back. More on that later.
Related: Grading Ducks’ Shocking Trade for Cutter Gauthier
Then, there’s the on-ice stuff. The Ducks just lost in brutal fashion to the Detroit Red Wings this past Sunday (Jan. 7). It was legacy night in Anaheim when the Ducks organization celebrated the triumphs and achievements during their second decade of existence (2002-03 to 2012-13), but the Ducks fell on old habits in front of their franchise legends in the last-minute loss. The turbulent game, marked by stretches of good pressure followed by penalty trouble and lack of discipline, followed a script that so many of their games this season have followed.
This team is not constructed or prepared to overcome its flaws, and it’s probably what facilitated Verbeek’s urge to seek additional offensive help. The power play is too inconsistent; against the Red Wings, both power play units looked completely lost. The penalty kill is good, but it relies entirely too much on the goaltenders to make saves. To begin with, the penalty kill is out there too frequently. To top it all off, the team can’t stay healthy. So, when I say there’s a lot working against the Ducks lately, that’s just a glimpse.
Expect Five-on-Five and Power Play to Struggle Tonight
The long-term impact of the trade can be discussed and debated another time. The big question is where the Ducks go from here on defense when you lose an all-situations player. Jackson LaCombe, who hasn’t played the last few games, probably draws back in. He skates and moves the puck well, but he’s a lefty whose ceiling is not as high, nor does he fulfill the same role as Drysdale.
As far as this game against the Predators is concerned, we should probably expect each phase of the game to struggle. Let’s begin with the power play, which was awful even with Drysdale against the Red Wings this past Sunday. Passes weren’t crisp, and they were rarely on tape. Guys weren’t moving. It was way too slow. One thing you noticed about Drysdale immediately when he returned was how active he was when manning the power play unit. If he had the puck, he moved it around. If he didn’t have it, he was moving, and he was always looking to shoot. He unleashed his surprisingly powerful slapshot on a number of occasions, which made many think the Ducks had found another weapon on the man advantage.
When the Ducks didn’t have Drysdale in the lineup earlier this season, they struggled to break the puck out at five-on-five. He brought smooth skating, the ability to be a one-man breakout and a great first pass to the lineup that will be noticeably absent tonight and going forward until the Ducks fill his place in the lineup with someone who can do the same. Maybe one day, it’ll be Tristan Luneau or Olen Zellweger, but they aren’t Ducks right now.
This Game Can Go One of Two Ways
The Ducks should have all the motivation they need to start this game with the urgency and will to win. They just got to spend the holiday season in front of their fans at Honda Center and won one game. Their teammate and brother, who fought his tail off to get himself healthy again, was suddenly traded eight games after returning to the lineup. Plus, they just lost a game where they had every chance to win despite very little going right all game, only to lose it in the final minute of regulation. These types of things are either sobering or motivational. They should anger them. This team is too OK with losing games. Playing angry isn’t always conducive to success, but maybe the Ducks could use some of that.
The Edmonton Oilers have been on a tear since their former head coach Jay Woodcroft was fired. Granted, their roster was in a much better place to bounce back from a major change. However, the point is major personnel changes can often be wake-up calls that can have a big impact on a team’s performance. We’ll see how it impacts the Ducks for the rest of the season. Game one without No. 6 on the blue line begins tonight in the Music City.