The Anaheim Ducks Have Plenty to be Thankful For This Season

November 23, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks center

(17), defenseman

(47) and defenseman

(45) celebrate with goalie

(31) the 2-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes following the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

(American) Thanksgiving is already here, but the fourth Thursday of November is not often associated with hockey. Usually, this holiday is about ingesting indescribable quantities of food while watching terrific college and professional football games, both on the Thursday and throughout the weekend.

Football is king during Thanksgiving, but hockey is beginning to put its stamp on the American Thanksgiving festivities. The NHL has displayed some marquee matchups the past few years with the “Thanksgiving Showdown” on the NBC Sports Network, where hockey games are shown at prime-time on Black Friday. Although the Anaheim Ducks will not be on NBCSN Friday, they will be playing on national TV when the team takes on the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Friday afternoon.

Though American Thanksgiving is most commonly associated with food and football, it is also a time to give thanks and show appreciation. The Ducks are 14-4-5 through 23 games in the season, which is just over a quarter of the 82 game slate. In the spirit of giving thanks, here are some areas that the Ducks should be very thankful about during this young season.

Nov 25, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen (31) during the third period of the Ducks 3-2 win over Calgary Flames at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

1. Consistent Goaltending

The first thing the Ducks should be thankful for has to be steady goaltending. John Gibson suffered a groin injury that doctors said would sideline him for around six weeks. He was injured in the Ducks’ 13th game of the season, so Gibson has missed almost half of the games thus far. In that time, Frederik Andersen has stepped in and played very well as the starting netminder. The Dane has not quite put his stamp on the job, but he has shown that he can handle the rigors of being the number one netminder for the Ducks, a question evaluators, experts, and pundits alike had entering the season. On most nights, Andersen has played well enough to give the Ducks a chance to win, and that kind of consistency is important for a goalie to have. Andersen ranks in the top 10 in save percentage (.922) and in goals against average (2.10). He is also tied for sixth in the NHL with ten wins. With a 10-2-4 record this year, Andersen has a career record of 30-7-4, which is quite impressive for a player who has appeared in 45 games (42 of them starts).

Nov 20, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler (17) skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

2. Strong Second Line

The next area the Ducks should be very thankful for is finally having a true second line center. The addition of Ryan Kesler has been tremendous for the Ducks this year. After a brutal exit to the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs, the Ducks felt that they needed to upgrade down the middle to truly have a chance at competing for a championship. The team acquired Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks, and he showed the Ducks exactly why they acquired him in the Ducks’ first game against the Kings this season. On the NBC Sports Network’s “Wednesday Rivalry Night” segment on November 12th, Kesler was instrumental in leading a comeback in the Ducks’ early statement game of the season. In that game, the Ducks were without leading goal scorer Corey Perry and veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin, so they needed a boost from the rest of the players in their lineup. Kesler provided that boost and even more, playing his best game of the season. He scored two goals and an assist while winning 15 of 27 faceoffs (55.6%).

While that was the best individual performance for Kesler with the Ducks, Anaheim should be thankful for more than just that one game. Kesler has been consistent all year long for the Ducks, sporting a Corsi For Percentage (CF%) of 52.44% during 5-on-5 play. Kesler has also won 55.7% of his faceoffs, and his 474 faceoffs taken are the sixth most in the NHL. Kesler has been massive on both special teams units, takes key faceoffs, controls pace of play at even strength, and elevates his game on the biggest stage. His presence gives the Ducks another legitimate top-six forward and the players who have played limited minutes with Kesler (Jakob Silfverberg, Kyle Palmieri, Patrick Maroon, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Emerson Etem) have been impressive. The Ducks wanted to improve in the offseason, so they went and acquired Kesler. With him, the Ducks are a considerably better team than they were a season ago.

Nov 18, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Anaheim Ducks center

(7) skates against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

4. Dependable Players

A final thing that the Ducks should be thankful for is the constant presence of Andrew Cogliano in the lineup. On Sunday, the St. Louis Blues announced that Jay Bouwmeester would miss their game against the Winnipeg Jets, ending his ironman streak at 737 games. That gave the NHL’s ironman streak to Cogliano, who has not missed a game since entering the NHL in the 2007-2008 season. He has been one of the constants for the Ducks and is a player whose contributions go beyond just scoring. Cogliano is one of the Ducks’ most important penalty killers, playing the second most minutes among forwards while the team is shorthanded this season (only behind Kesler). Cogliano isn’t a player who gets on the scoresheet every night, but he is always on the ice giving it his all on each shift, and the Ducks should be very appreciative of that.

Again, the Ducks have had to deal with multiple different injuries and the mumps virus, yet players like Cogliano, who step in each night and consistently give their best effort, have helped minimize the impact of the players who are missed.

Nov 18, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Anaheim Ducks left wing Matt Beleskey (39) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

There are many more things that the Ducks can be thankful for, but things aren’t all great for the team either. For example, they play in one of the harder divisions in the NHL, with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks having strong seasons and giving the Ducks even more competition with the Kings and San Jose Sharks. The team was hit with the mumps virus, which sidelined Perry and Beauchemin for five games apiece. However, there are positives in each: the Ducks are a young team that is being battle-tested through adversity, both with tough opponents and injuries. Players are stepping up and giving the team a lot of depth as well. Not everything this season has been perfect for the Ducks, but there are many things that they should appreciate through the first seven weeks of the season. They are well-equipped to make a deep run in the postseason, as long as they keep improving.