In the first 13 games of the 2022 NHL season, the Anaheim Ducks have yet to see a regulation win. They are ranked 28th out of 32 teams. Although, they are in a rebuild and all their stars are young.
Anaheim Ducks- Coaching
Dallas Eakins is the Anaheim Ducks’ head coach and was hired in 2019. He was proven to be a good coach for the young players as he was brought up from the San Diego Gulls (the affiliated AHL team). However, this season he hasn’t proven to be able to help this team. He moved players out of their regular positions and changes the lineup every night. Although, changing the lineup might be good for this team as they are struggling but he moves players after they had their best game of the season.
For example, Mason McTavish is the Ducks’ third overall pick in 2021. He usually plays center but has been moved to left wing this season. Mason played his best game against the Sharks while playing center and the very next game Eakins moved him back to the left wing. During that game, he scored his first goal, had an assist, and a shootout goal. He only had 11:33 on ice time.
In February, they got a new GM Pat Verbeek. He was thrown in the middle of a Ducks rebuild and has brought and drafted some good players. He is still expected to make bigger moves as this team can seem to get a regulation win.
Anaheim Ducks Goaltending
During the Ducks’ seven-game losing streak, they were outscored 32-11 through all the games. John Gibson is the Ducks’ starting goalie. He started ten games this season and has a record of 2-7. Both wins came in shootout and overtime. He has faced at least 40 or more shots in many of these starts. He has faced 362 shots in these games and given up 41 goals. Gibson even has a save percentage of .887 and has played decent as he faces so many shots each night.
Anthony Stolarz is the Ducks’ backup goalie and has had three starts this season. He has two wins that were both shootout wins against the San Jose Sharks. He has faced 162 shots within these games and has given up 16 goals. His save percentage is .901. Although the Ducks goalies have given up a lot of goals, they face lots of shots each night and can’t control what the team in front of them does.
Offense and Defense
The Ducks have a young team. Their offense has consisted mostly of Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. Terry has 17 points in 13 games and Zegras has 12 points. Max Comtois had a four-game goal streak which ended last night as he wasn’t able to get a goal. However, this is some good news as these are some of the players Verbeek is trying to build around.
The defense has been a struggle for the Ducks the past few seasons. However, in the middle of last season, our veteran defensemen were traded away in exchange for younger players. Through the first 13 games, five of the defensemen have a plus or minus with a least a minus one. The worst is from John Klingberg with a minus seven. He was added to this Ducks roster in the offseason and just can’t seem to find his place with this team on the ice. Jamie Drysdale was supposed to have a breakout season before he got the shoulder injury that will keep him out for a least four months. Without him, the other Ducks defenders have to show up and stop letting their goalies face so many shots each night.
Power Play and Penalty Kill
Their power play and penalty kill both rank 31st in the league. 66.3% on the penalty kill and 11.4% on the power play. They rank 32nd in goals against. Although, they aren’t the worst team in the league they have a lot to work on. They need to help out their goalies and not let them face at least 40 shots every night. Their next game is Wednesday at home against the Minnesota Wild which they will continue to look for their first regulation win.
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