Next season will mark twenty years since the Anaheim Ducks last won the Stanley Cup. A lot has changed since the days of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan, but the Ducks have powered through the rebuild process and are finally seeing those efforts pay off for them as their young core led them successfully into the second round in a playoff run they can look back on and be proud of. <\/p>\n
Expectations<\/p>\n
The Ducks finished last season with 80 points, which left them quite far from the playoff picture and just ahead of the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks, who finished below them in the Pacific Division. They were slowly beginning to show signs of a team taking those next steps. They made the big move to acquire Chris Kreider for pennies on the dollar and kicked off free agency by inking Mikael Granlund to a three-year deal. Beyond that, they really didn\u2019t do much else on the open market, aside from finding a diamond in the rough of sorts in Tim Washe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anaheim\u2019s offseason priority was getting some big name RFAs signed to new deals, namely Jackson LaCombe, Mason McTavish, and Lukas Dostal. Goaltending was the first piece of the puzzle to fall into place. They traded John Gibson to Detroit and signed Dostal to a five-year, $6.5 million AAV deal, making him their established number one goaltender. Once the dust settled there, they signed LaCombe to a massive eight-year, $9 million AAV deal and eventually got McTavish under contract on a more significant deal than many probably expected (six-years, $7 million AAV).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was on the trade front where the Ducks really made significant moves. They picked up Jeffrey Viel for a fourth round pick back in January, which ended up being a really good move for them as the season progressed. At the trade deadline, they were pretty quiet aside from sending Ryan Strome to Calgary. But in the eleventh hour, they acquired long time Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson for a first and a third round pick. That really rounded their defense out well, as they had an experienced and difficult to play against right side with some young and talented players on the left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Series Recap<\/p>\n
The Ducks got off to a rough start on the road but quickly rebounded to win three in a row. They trailed Game 1 of the opening round after giving up a pair of goals in the final three minutes of the first period in Edmonton. However, a strong second period, including a pair of goals from Troy Terry and another from Leo Carlsson, gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead heading into the third. Kasperi Kapanen would secure the game-winner with less than two minutes to go, but the Ducks were motivated to respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And not only would the Ducks respond, but they would learn to deal with adversity, as the Oilers would score first in both Game 2 and Game 3. Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Poehling each had a pair as Jacob Trouba and Alex Killorn added to the scoresheet to secure a 6-4 win in Game 2. It would be the same final score in Game 3, as Beckett Sennecke, Jeffrey Viel, and Jackson Lacombe all picked up their first career playoff goals in the third period to come back from a 3-2 deficit.<\/p>\n
Game 4 was, of course, the most talked about game of this series, as the Ducks battled back from a 2-0 first period deficit. A third period goal from Viel forced the game to overtime. Ryan Poehling\u2019s game-winner would be controversial as the puck definitely maybe crossed the goal line to secure the win and give the Ducks a 3-1 series lead. <\/p>\n
The Oilers responded accordingly with a 4-1 win in Game 5, but the Ducks took care of business in Game 6. Three goals from Poehling, Gauthier, and Chris Kreider gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. Troy Terry extended that lead late in the second period, and an empty netter from Carlsson finalized a 5-2 win to punch Anaheim\u2019s ticket to the Conference Semifinals. This was undoubtedly the high moment for the Ducks as it was their first playoff series win since 2017, as they sent the two-time defending Western Conference champions packing.<\/p>\n
The Ducks got lucky with the good goal call in OT of Game 4 against the Oilers, but they\u2019d have no such luck in Game 1 in Vegas. After Mikael Granlund tied the game in the third period, Ivan Barbashev scored on a goal that almost certainly shouldn\u2019t have happened. Just prior to the play unfolding, Barbashev dumped the puck in well before reaching the red line, which should have resulted in an icing call. Instead, the officials waved it off. Pavel Dorofeyev set up Barbashev for the go-ahead tally, and the Golden Knights went on to win Game 1 by a score of 3-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once again, Anaheim responded well and found the back of the net midway through the second to take a 1-0 lead in Game 2. Goals from Carlsson and Jansen Harkins extended the lead to 3-0, with the latter coming on an empty net. Lukas Dostal was six seconds away from a shutout when Mark Stone found the back of the net on the power play, but the series was now tied at one game a piece.<\/p>\n
Aside from the obvious Game 6 that ended their season, there really wasn\u2019t a clear low moment for Anaheim. But Game 3 was probably as close to one as you\u2019ll find. It was a rough night for Dostal who gave up five consecutive Golden Knights goals, including a hat-trick from Mitch Marner. The Ducks found some life in the third as goals from Sennecke and Kreider got them on the board, but an empty netter from Brett Howden secured a 6-2 victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Game 4 proved that Anaheim wasn\u2019t going to go down without a fight. A power play goal from Beckett Sennecke got them on the board, and even though Vegas was quick to answer, the Ducks continued to hold their own. A power play goal from Alex Killorn gave them the lead late in the second period, and Ian Moore\u2019s first career playoff goal gave them an insurance lead. Tomas Hertl brought Vegas within one with a minute to go, but the Ducks held on and tied the series up at two with a 4-3 win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Game 5 was the game-changing moment of the series with the tide turning against the Ducks. The importance of a Game 5 in any series that\u2019s tied two wins apiece is obvious, and with it coming down to overtime showed just how close it was to being anyone\u2019s series. Sennecke opened the scoring again and Olen Zellweger would tie it with just over three minutes to go in regulation. It was a huge momentum shifter for the Ducks. But it was Pavel Dorofeyev who was the hero in overtime. The Ducks outshot Vegas, stayed out of the penalty box, and did all the right things to stay in this game, but they just couldn\u2019t get it done in extras.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorofeyev would continue to be the difference maker in Game 6, as his pair of goals in the third period put a pretty contest out of reach for Anaheim. But it was Mitch Marner\u2019s entry best goal of the playoffs that put Vegas on the board just 62 seconds into play. <\/p>\n
Granlund had the lone goal for the Ducks in the second period on the power play in the 5-1 loss. Coming off the loss in Game 5, the Ducks also lost a key part of their team in Ryan Poehling, who suffered in injury following a hit that earned Brayden McNabb a one game suspension. That certainly didn\u2019t help their cause, as Anaheim\u2019s season came to an end in Game 6.<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/p>\n