Well, who saw that coming? The Anaheim Ducks traveled to Colorado to wrap up their six-game road trip with a matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. The Ducks were fresh off of their Mullett Arena debut, where they handily defeated the Arizona Coyotes and looked to end their road trip on a high note. The Avs entered this one hanging on to the second wild card slot in the standings. They’ve been riddled with injury in 2022-23, and in this one, they would be without the services of Darren Helm, Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, Bowen Byram, and Josh Manson. Colorado was also riding a six-game win streak heading into this matchup against one of the worst teams in the NHL.
The Ducks would be without Kevin Shattenkirk in this game with a lower-body injury. John Klingberg missed Anaheim’s last outing in Arizona with an undisclosed illness. John Gibson would get the crease for the Ducks and was set to oppose Avs backup Pavel Francouz. The lineup Dallas Eakins sent out to face the defending champions looked like this…
The first two periods of this game went according to script. The Avalanche controlled play with their relentless forecheck, leading to extensive time in the offensive zone. With that extensive time, the Avs utilized their trademark five-man cycle where they keep a forward high and weave through lanes from high in the zone to low to open up lanes and options for dangerous chances. For the most part, the Ducks had a tough time tracking assignments through the zone and could barely come up for air with a clear to the neutral zone. They caught the occasional break when they were able to get sticks in lanes and send forwards on odd-man rushes. They escaped the second period only down 3-2 on the scoreboard.
The third period started on a completely different note. Eakins changed up the line combinations hoping to spark some offense. It worked. The three top offensive players for the Ducks were reunited (Adam Henrique, Trevor Zegras, and Troy Terry), Mason McTavish centered two forechecking spark-plugs (Frank Vatrano and Max Jones), and Ryan Strome assumed a more defensive role between Isac Lundestrom and Jakob Silfverberg. With this new look, Anaheim was able to tie the game at 3-3 before catching a lucky break when Mason McTavish was able to beat Francouz on a soft goal with an outside shot to take the lead with 10 minutes left in the third. The Ducks were able to fight off wave after wave of attack from Colorado before sealing the game with an empty net goal.
Offense
As mentioned before, the Ducks weren’t able to sustain a whole lot of offense in the first two periods. A few chances came in transition when they were able to make defensive plays high in the defensive zone that would spring forwards on rushes. Defensemen had a tough time breaking out to forwards who were hounded by forechecking Avalanche defensemen immediately. When the lineup changes were made to start the third (and Colorado was on their heels protecting the lead), things started to open up. The forwards were then able to cause havoc of their own with the forecheck that led directly to the Ducks’ second and third goals. After acquiring the lead, the offense dried up again, but they got just enough in the end.
Frank Vatrano was the story of this game. He got the Ducks on the board when he built up speed cutting through the neutral zone as an outlet option for Cam Fowler, utilized Isac Lundestrom’s center-lane drive to get a shot off, followed his rebound to the right of Francouz, and buried it past him. He added another late in the second period when he, along with McTavish and Jones, were able to put together the team’s best shift of the night, getting in on the forecheck, cycling, getting shots off, and pouncing on loose pucks. That shift ended with Vatrano’s effort on display again on a second opportunity that found the net. He ended the night with an empty-net goal with 50 seconds left in the game to seal it.
The line-shuffling Eakins pulled off in this game was unexpected, and it paid off. The Jones-McTavish-Vatrano line was nothing but energy when they touched the ice. They hounded players and pucks in all three zones and didn’t take their foot off the gas. The Henrique-Zegras-Terry line was able to display its creativity on a few occasions. It was refreshing to see Zegras actually play center on that line (earlier in the season, he spent about 80% of the time on the wing). It will be interesting to monitor if Dallas Eakins will pursue keeping some of those players together moving forward.
The powerplay only got two chances in this game. Both opportunities were uninspired. Zegras seemed to be playing higher in the zone to create a better passing angle to find McTavish on the right flank, but it didn’t amount to much. Personally, I’d like to see the puck worked down low to Troy Terry in order to set up either a backdoor attempt to McTavish or a touch pass for Henrique in the bumper. There’s talent on the top powerplay unit, but the coaching staff may want to go to the drawing board when they get back to Anaheim.
Defense
The team defense had to suffer wave after wave of attack from the Avalanche. The Avs utilize their defensemen at will to confuse the opponent’s defensive zone coverage. This game was no different. The Ducks were caught scrambling on occasion, which led to two goals against and a few more quality chances. Max Comtois, in particular, had a rough time in the defensive zone in this game.
Cam Fowler was the standout on the blueline in this game for Anaheim. He played over 25 tough minutes and found the scoresheet with a pair of assists. He was effective all game at finding his forwards for outlet passes with speed through the neutral zone or exiting the defensive zone. He was the quarterback of the defensive zone as he remained steady when Colorado’s offense seemed unbearably strong.
The penalty kill was 1 for 2, with the problem being those two opportunities came back-to-back in the second period. The Avs capitalized on a tired PK unit late in the second penalty when Rantanen hammered a one-timer past John Gibson to send the Avs up 3-1.
Goaltending
Like he usually does, John Gibson showed up in this one. Unlike most of his outings, his defensemen did a decent job of clearing screens and limiting second chances. He made a handful of show-stopping saves throughout this one and came up biggest when it mattered most. When the final buzzer sounded, he had stopped 41 of 44 shots. This felt like a statement game from #36 to the rest of the league that he’s still here and capable of being one of the league’s best goalies.
Gibson was square to shooters all night, efficient in his movements, and calm when plays broke down in front of him. He was great at tracking the puck when it was high in the zone and put his athleticism on display when it called for it. He even found the scoresheet earning himself a penalty when a referee interpreted his knocking the net off its pegs as intentional.
Summary
Thursday was a night in the NHL where three of the four bottom teams triumphed over teams with playoff aspirations. The Ducks, Coyotes, and Blackhawks each defeated their opponents, and all scored five goals in the process. To the surprise of many, Dallas Eakins has made some effective adjustments to his systems throughout the team’s six-game road trip that just wrapped up. Over those six games, the Ducks managed to pull out seven points in the standings. We’ll see if Eakins sticks with these adjustments and if he continues to shake up the lines when the Ducks return to Honda Center on Saturday to take on the Coyotes.
