Anaheim Ducks’ Road Trip In Review
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up their two week long, eight game road trip on the West Coast, that started in Toronto and ended in New York by beating the Rangers 2-1. Winning five of the eight, and getting points in six, it can be seen as a successful road trip, all though it didn’t start that way.
Flying high after winning seven straight games, the Ducks got the road trip off on the wrong foot, losing the first two games to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens before finally getting on the right track, winning games against the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers before losing in a shootout to the Boston Bruins.
They finished strong though with wins against the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers to finish the road trip 5-2-1, with 11-of-16 possible points in the standings, overtaking the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the NHL.
Now with the road trip in the rear view mirror, a quick look back at the road trip;
Best Moment- Saku Koivu’s Return To Montreal
It wasn’t the first time he has played in Montreal since leaving in 2009, but you certainly couldn’t tell by the reception. Koivu is tied with Jean Beliveau as the longest tenured captain in Canadiens history, and was also the first European to get the honor of wearing the ‘C’.
Koivu’s defining moment in Montreal will always be his return from cancer, something that makes him a special player to more than just Canadiens fans, as I said in this article. The Ducks lost the game, but that seemed to take a backseat to quite possibly Koivu’s last game there.
Lowest Moment- The Power Play
In eight games the Ducks scored a grand total of one power play goal. That’s right, one. Operating at a horrid 3.5% (1-28), their lone goal came from Emerson Etem against the Blue Jackets.
The power play remains a low point on the season, and the season was officially rock bottom. In possession of the worst man advantage in the league, the Ducks will have to turn things around to maintain success this season.
An Even Closer Look At The Ducks Road Trip, By The Numbers
Leading Scorers
Goals- Corey Perry- 4
Assists- Devante Smith-Pelly, Ryan Getzlaf- 4
Points- Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf- 7
Power Play- 1-28 3.5%
Penalty Kill- 17-24 70.8%
Shots/Game- 28.9
Shots Against/Game- 24.6
Frederik Andersen built off earning his first career victory coming in relief of Jonas Hiller against the Dallas Stars, going 3-0 on the road to improve to 4-0 on the young season. Andersen stopped 76-of-81 shots for a .938 save percentage.
Hiller on the other hand did not see the similar success, being in net for all three losses, and sporting a less than stellar .870 pucks stoppage percentage.
Looking Forward
The Ducks will get almost a whole week in their own beds before heading on another brief East Coast trip that sees it start in Florida and end in Pittsburgh. In the meantime, Anaheim will look to build off of their two game winning streak with games against the Phoenix Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks at the Honda Center.
Anthony Murphy is the Co-Editor at Pucks of A Feather. You can follow him on Twitter @AMurphyTFC.