The Anaheim Ducks find themselves down three games in their best of seven series with San Jose. We asked our experts “Who is to blame for the Ducks 0-3 start to the
The Anaheim Ducks have been beaten pillar to post by San Jose. Where does the buck stop? As you can imagine our experts, Ciara Durrant, Ed Stein, Redan Lopez, and Greg Johnson have some very strong opinions.
Ciara Durrant – Contributor, Pucks of a Feather
Before I get into answering this question, I have to address what is bothering me most about this series. That is all of these penalties Anaheim has picked up throughout this round of the playoffs. The Anaheim Ducks ended Game Three with 21 penalties in the series. Six of which resulted in Sharks power play goals, that’s too many. So, who is to blame? I think it all comes down to the leadership, or lack thereof, of the Ducks.
Randy Carlyle
First of all, as a coach, you are hired to keep your team grounded and accountable. If your team is constantly getting penalties, most of which were easily avoidable, there is an issue. If there is an issue with your team, you have to address it and do something to change it.
I don’t get to hear what Coach Randy Carlyle (RC) says to the guys during intermissions, but a simple, “Come on, no more penalties” isn’t going to fix anything. Carlyle has all of the power in the world to say his players, “get one more penalty and you’re getting benched!” or something along those lines. If RC is not willing to step up and make a change, even if that means making an example of someone, then how is he going to expect his players to stay out of the penalty box?
In my opinion, Carlyle’s switch of Corey Perry and Ondrej Kase on the first and third lines in game two was a poor decision. Playoff hockey is more intense than it is in the regular season. The coach has to give his players a hot minute or so to find their chemistry together. Throwing them on a new line is pretty much a guarantee they won’t.
Lack of Positive Veteran Leadership
Additionally, veteran players like Ryan Getzlaf and Perry are a big part of this team. They are leaders both on and off the ice. Their attitude and their gameplay are going to be an intrinsic part of how the team carries itself. So far they have not provided a good example.
Taking nine penalties and missing 24 minutes of penalty time between the two is not acceptable. Especially the ten-minute misconduct penalty bestowed upon our Captain. As the leadership of this team, you need to put your pride aside and be part of finding the solution and not be part of the problem.