Anaheim Ducks – Upon Further Review – Three Fixes after WCQF Game 3
By Jacob Robles
The Anaheim Ducks suffered a humiliating 8-1 loss to San Jose in Game 3. To say the Ducks are gonna be a desperate team Wednesday night is an understatement.
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs series between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks took a sour turn for the Ducks after last night’s 8-1 loss. Anaheim is now on the verge of elimination.
Can the Ducks keep their playoff hopes alive or will they be the one of, if not the first casualty of the 2018 postseason? In this article, I address key points Anaheim needs to follow if they want to salvage this series.
Leadership
Anaheim Ducks on ice leadership has been nonexistent this series. Besides Captain Ryan Getzlaf being tossed from Monday’s game, leadership has been completely invisible. There have been sparks of tenacity and drive out Anaheim, but when they’re not in the box, those sparks disappear.
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Someone needs to step up. A team with no direction isn’t going to get anything done. It may take someone not wearing a letter on their sweater to get these boys rolling.
Containing The Sharks
This has been an absolute nightmare of a task to accomplish. The Sharks can absolutely wheel. They can also make you pay in a number of ways offensively. Combine the two, and oh boy do you have one deadly combination.
The Anaheim Ducks are giving them way too many chances in the form of 2-on-1’s which has burned us way too many times. I don’t know if it comes down to the defensemen being a little too aggressive in the attacking zone, but it’s been a glaring issue that has no real solution.
Cam Fowler‘s untimely injury has left a void that can’t be filled. I’ll be the first to admit that I shrugged it off, believing that it wouldn’t make that big of a difference. But, here we are. The overall play needs to be tighter, plain and simple. Anaheim is out of their element in regards to speed but playing their physical game without letting emotions run high is key to getting back on track.
Goaltending
As much as it pains me to say this, I believe we need a fresh face in net. Without question, John Gibson is the reason Anaheim has made it this far. After his recent injury though, Gibson just hasn’t looked like himself.
He’s made some highlight reel worthy saves. some of which kept the Ducks in games at times where the San Jose offense was running wild. At other times, he doesn’t seem all there. I’m in no way saying it seems like he’s given up, but mentally, he looks defeated. If I were Randy Carlyle, I’d certainly think about potentially letting Ryan Miller man the crease for Game 4.