Keys to an Anaheim Ducks Victory Against the Sharks

After a spectacular season opening victory against the Coyotes, the Anaheim Ducks are moving on to face their bitter rivals in the San Jose Sharks. Although the Sharks have struggled mightily over their first two games, this match-up will be nothing short of grueling.

The Ducks are back at Honda Center for their second home game tonight, and it will be a very important one to say the least. Another divisional foe comes into town, this time a fellow California team. There are two key things that the Anaheim Ducks need to do to win, but the most important key of them all is to draw out plenty of penalties.

Play the Penalty Game

The San Jose Sharks have already taken ten penalties in their first two games, and most of that stems from their incredibly bad attitudes and their knack for playing dirty when things don’t go their way. On the other hand, they made the Knights take plenty as well, so the Ducks are going to have to stay calm.

Head coach Dallas Eakins kept the Ducks calm during game one, and they only took one penalty all game. If he can keep them calm again, the Ducks will have a clear advantage. The main thing here is just to make the Sharks frustrated, that way they’ll be giving the Ducks constant man-advantages. The only other part of their game that the team needs to work on is making sure that their power play improves from game one.

Slow Down the Offense

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After only scoring two goals in two games, the Sharks are going to try to come out strong to change their fortunes. In order to stop that, the Ducks defense needs to really step up their game. They were great last game, but great won’t cut it against a potentially potent Sharks offense. They have to leap from great to miraculous.

Last game, key players like Korbinian Holzer and Cam Fowler were blocking shots and laying on the body, so the two vets need to lead the charge yet again to get the younger players going as well. The Sharks were held back by Vegas’ defense, so why not the Ducks’? Their struggles run deeper than bad-luck, and the Anaheim Ducks can finally capitalize on that to sink San Jose even further.

In conclusion, this match-up will be a crucial one in the future to decide the fate of the Pacific Division, and the Anaheim Ducks need to get off to a 2-0 record to keep up their confidence. The Sharks are already down, so all that’s left is to kick them until they give up the victory.

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