Our Anaheim Ducks Expert Panel: What is the Ducks biggest weakness heading into the playoffs?
This week’s Anaheim Ducks Expert Panel was asked, “What is the Ducks biggest weakness heading into the playoffs?”
The Anaheim Ducks faithful know that the Stanley Cup playoffs are a time when a team’s weaknesses get exploited. It could be a shaky goalie. Maybe its that a team only has one productive line. Sometimes the problem has to do with poor coaching.
That issue often comes up during the regular season, but this time of year is when a vulnerability can make a good team look bad.
Greg Johnson – Contributor, Puck of a Feather
I’m tempted to say the Ducks’ biggest weakness will be depth. But then I look at the organization and I see the players who don’t get a regular shift. The forwards include face-off specialist Antoine Vermette, grinder J. T. Brown, and highly skilled Kevin Roy.
The defensemen include injured veteran Kevin Bieksa, puck-moving rookie Andy Welinski, Korbinian Holzer, and 6’6″ Jaycob Megna. In net, if our hero John Gibson gets hurt, the Ducks will start the solid veteran backup in Ryan Miller. The Ducks have plenty of depth.
If it’s not depth, then their weakness has to be scoring, right? But the Ducks have three lines that can score. And playoff hockey is notoriously tight checking. Low scoring games won’t scare the Ducks.
Since scoring won’t be the soft spot of this team, it has to be the coaching. Head Coach Randy Carlyle just loves to play grinders on the fourth line when he has plenty of skill in the organization. Also, he still doesn’t trust the youth. The Ducks should dress more young, fast skaters. Unfortunately, those guys shuttled back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego all season.
Hole in the Bucket
That coaching brings us to what is truly going to be the Anaheim Ducks’ biggest weakness in this year’s playoffs. That will be their presence, as in they won’t be present in the playoffs. This team can’t seem to get out of its own way this season. Carlyle doesn’t seem to know speed is the name of the game in 2018. Hence the Ducks are dangling on the precipice of missing the postseason for the first time since 2012.
That outcome is Okay. The San Diego Gulls will welcome Marcus Pettersson, Korbinian Holzer, and Andy Welinski back for their own playoff run. Gulls coach Dallas Eakins understands the state of the game in 2018.
Redan Lopez – Contributor, LA Sports Hub
The Anaheim Ducks biggest weakness and challenge in the playoffs will be the lack of speed overall among their forwards. The Ducks are not one of the fastest teams in the league. They are one of the most skilled teams. Their lack of speed is their Achilles’ heel as it does not resonate throughout the lineup.
Other teams in the Western Conference that the Ducks will eventually have to go up against have tons of speed on their wings and defense – The Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, and even other teams like the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche (assuming they make the playoffs). These teams can really skate. While I do think the Ducks have speed on the back end, especially their top four defensemen of Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, Cam Fowler, and Brandon Montour – their forward corps lacks those speedsters.
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This is mostly due to the age some of their top players. The Ducks, however, are a physical, skilled team. They outwork you with their tenacity and energy versus getting to the puck quickly. In other words, tiring other teams out and causing them to create unforced turnovers by excellent positioning and physicality.
Shorten the Ice
As a result, the Ducks will need to make it a shorter rink by spending more time in the attacking zone. The Anaheim Ducks do have some quick players, such as Adam Henrique, Andrew Cogliano, newly acquired Troy Terry, and Ondrej Kase. The truth is that their top six is not the fastest, their most important players are Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, are not as swift.
If the Anaheim Ducks are able to contain the speed of their opponents and are not forced into a 200-foot game consistently, I like their chances to make a great playoff run. However, if they get stuck in their end of the rink and are forced to move back and forward throughout the entire rink, I see a tired Ducks’ team that may not have the legs to keep up come playoff time.
Ed Stein – Editor, Pucks of a Feather
The Anaheim Ducks biggest weakness headed into the playoffs is lack of a defensive depth. This issue isn’t anything new. Their lack of defensive depth has been on display since Sami Vatanen was traded to New Jersey.
Top Four
The Ducks top-four defensemen are Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, and Brandon Montour. Individually and as a unit, they are a solid group. Any NHL team would like to have any of them in their post-season lineup for several reasons.
First, all are plus skaters and Manson is second in the NHL among defensemen in +/-, with a +26 rating. That’s on a team up until a week ago had a goal differential hovering around even. Next, each one plays over 20 minutes a night and used in all situations. Finally, aside from their defensive prowess, three of them have over 30 points and the other, Lindholm, has 29 this season.
The Rest
The above situation brings us to the heart of the issue. Hockey is a 60-minute game, in regulation. Two defensemen on the ice come out to 120 minutes (depending on special teams) of game time. The top four average 22 minutes per night each (some higher, some lower).
Let’s say for argument sake, the top four average 24 minutes per game because its the playoffs. Coach Randy Carlyle can’t be thrilled at the prospect of having to use two of Marcus Pettersson, Francois Beauchemin, Kevin Bieksa, or Korbinian Holzer 10 to 12 minutes each per game.
Pettersson will be a good NHL defenseman soon, but the rookie is still green and his inexperience can be a problem. Holzer is at best a fill in and should have a great seat to watch the playoffs from the press box. Beauchemin and Bieksa (when he returns from a hand injury) have proven many times this season that the game has become faster than they are. At 37 and 36 years old respectively, their experience doesn’t overcome their physical limitations.
Next: Where does Troy Terry fit into the Ducks lineup?
Worst Case
If one of the top four gets injured, the Ducks will be in a world of trouble. Not only will someone have to step up to prime time minutes, but a player best left out of the lineup on most nights will have to play.