In the first round, Anaheim had a clear and direct game plan against two of the world’s top centermen, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Specifically, against McDavid, the coaching staff hard-matched defense pair, Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba, and as a five-man unit, pressured him the entire 200-foot ice surface, focusing on the backcheck and eliminating his ability to attack laterally.
