The Anaheim Ducks preseason has officially come to its conclusion. This means that the regular season is only three days away. Final roster cuts are being made as eleven more players have been sent down to San Diego.
The Anaheim Ducks end their preseason 3-3. They struggled to find their footing during the first three games against the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes. However, after the roster was shaved down to 43 men, they finally started to look like a cohesive team.
Going into Game 4 against Arizona, panic ensued at the news that the team’s star right wing, Corey Perry, would be sidelined for the next five months. Injury to his MCL and meniscus required surgery; it is estimated that he will make his return in February close to the trade deadline.
Coach Randy Carlyle has been preaching since day one of training camp that he wants his team to be relentless. The team banded together during the last three games and finally found the chemistry they had been lacking during the start of preseason. They were, as their coach wanted them to be, relentless. They were tenacious, and from the looks of it, the team as a whole has become a lot faster.
The roster is finally starting to look similar to what it will be on October 3rd. Although the Ducks have been pegged as “old”, I am of the opinion that this season we have the perfect mix of youth and veterans. We can only hope that their performance over the last three games is a picture of what the rest of the season could look like.