They applied an aggressive forecheck when they could, and were energetic, strategic, and diligent with their backchecking F3 to pressure Anaheim’s puck carrier through the neutral zone, allowing Edmonton’s defensemen to seal and challenge earlier, at the defensive blueline. With cutback lanes mitigated, the Ducks’ attackers were forced to chip pucks in deep in an attempt to establish a forecheck of their own, not necessarily an area of strength for them.
