Pucks of a Feather
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Three on-ice lessons the Anaheim Ducks can learn from Vegas

By Jacob Robles

ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 27: Ondrej Kase #25 of the Anaheim Ducks falls to the ice with the puck after colliding with Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights on December 27, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 27: Ondrej Kase #25 of the Anaheim Ducks falls to the ice with the puck after colliding with Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights on December 27, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Against all odds, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. What lessons can the Anaheim Ducks learn from the first-year team’s experiences this year?

So how about those Golden Knights, eh? There’s no doubt that the NHL’s newest franchise is white hot in every realm of the hockey world right now. They’re inescapable. Everyone is talking about them, including the Anaheim Ducks.

Whether you love or hate them, the Vegas Golden Knights are killing the expectations of almost everyone. Great coaching and breakout performances are helping fuel this raging wildfire of a team. So what can the Ducks take away from this?

Heart

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I am in no way implying that the Anaheim Ducks are a team that doesn’t play with any emotion or snarl because that would be a lie. It’s one of,  if not the sole reason we are the most penalized team in the league. It’s just different with Vegas.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse here but they’re a group looking to prove people wrong, and they’re having fun doing it. It’s hard to say they’re underdogs, especially considering that they get home ice in the Finals, but, no matter what they do, they’re always going to be counted out. I think it’s what has made them so deadly.

They know that there’s nobody expecting them to succeed, outside of their fanbase of course, and it drives them. I think we could use that kind of confidence. We already say everyone’s against us, Why not play hard to silence the doubters? I hope this year’s abysmal playoff run serves as a gut check for our boys.

Locking It Down

Oh man, Vegas can sit on a lead. I think we all wish the Ducks could do this better. Watching them these playoffs reminds me a lot of our series with Nashville in a way.

For one, You absolutely cannot let them back into games. Once they’re rolling, they are hard to contain. Also, once Marc-Andre Fleury is comfortable, good luck. Our inability to hold leads has been something that’s always driven me nuts.

There are many things we can point the finger at and blame for it, but for the sake of this article, I’m not going there. I’m hoping there will be fresh, new faces this year that can help strengthen the team in certain areas, but until then, it is a glaring issue that needs to be fixed.

Speed

This is kind of a no-brainer. Teams that aren’t fast just can’t hang anymore. We’re not in the 90’s, where its all about smashing the other guy through the glass. I believe Winnipeg is the best example, but Vegas can play a very fast game.

They’re good at creating rushes, they can pass really and they are strong in their transitions. Not everybody has to be a fast skater like Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon to excel in a speed-based game, but there has to be urgency.

Teams are starting to get good at making others pay for slight mistakes caused by lollygagging. We’re not always gonna get lucky like we did in that quote-unquote “Disgrace” of an OT against the Oilers this year.

Next: The Ducks must trade Jakob Silfverberg

It’s promising that Ducks General Manager Bob Murray is finally starting to realize that changes like this need to be implemented ASAP to be successful. I just hope its something that actually pans out and works.

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