Pre-Game Puck Drop: Anaheim Ducks vs Dallas Stars
By Eddy Jones
After starting the season 5-1-1, the Anaheim Ducks have lost 3 straight following a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Today they’re on the road in Dallas and are looking to get back on track before heading back to Honda Center to face the San Jose Sharks.
Game 11: Anaheim Ducks vs Dallas Stars
Season Record: 5-4-1
The Anaheim Ducks are finishing their two-game central division road trip in Dallas as they face off against Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars. The Ducks are coming off another disappointing loss on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. That is now 3 straight losses and despite John Gibson‘s consistent play, the shortcomings of this team are coming back to haunt them. They have a lot to work on if they are going to make this any different than the Ducks first meeting with Dallas earlier this month.
Location: American Airlines Center – Dallas, Texas
Time: 5:30 p.m. PST
TV: Prime Ticket
Radio: AM 830
Anaheim Ducks Projected Lineup:
Nick Ritchie–Ryan Getzlaf–Rickard Rakell
Andrew Cogliano–Ryan Kesler–Isac Lundestrom
Ben Street–Adam Henrique–Pontus Aberg
Brian Gibbons–Sam Steel–Kiefer Sherwood
Hampus Lindholm–Brandon Montour
John Gibson
Anaheim Ducks Injuries: Corey Perry (Knee), Patrick Eaves (Shoulder), Ondrej Kase (Concussion), Carter Rowney (Upper Body), Jakob Silfverberg (Hand)
Last Game (1-3 L vs Chicago Blackhawks)
In what was once a building that was impossible to win in, United Center hasn’t lived up to the hype this season for the Blackhawks. Heading into Tuesday’s game against Anaheim, the Blackhawks were 1-2-1 at home and had been outscored 20-14. The Ducks have been out-shot in all but one game, this season and Tuesday’s game was no exception. Chicago finished the game with a 37-25 shot advantage and ultimately a 3-1 victory.
The Anaheim Ducks inability to score goals has been a problem all season, they ranked 27th in GPG with 2.40. This inefficiency has also translated to the power-play where they are ranked 19th with a success rate of 19.23%. Tuesday was no different as they went 0-4 on the PP, including one with 2:31 remaining in the game.
The Ducks are in bad company when it comes to defensive futility. They’ve started the season allowing 25 or more slot shot attempts against in 10 consecutive games. If the same happens in Dallas they’ll tie the 2017 Arizona Coyotes for the most consecutive games allowing 25 or more slot shot attempts against. That is not very good company to keep.
However, there are a couple important things to note from Tuesday’s game. Maxime Comtois played in his 10th game of the season, effectively burning a year off his ELC and booking his place with the Anaheim Ducks for the foreseeable future. Rickard Rakell scored his first goal since opening night against San Jose, fending off Jonathan Toews and sending a shot upstairs on Corey Crawford. Finally, once again John Gibson was on his best form. He stopped 35 of 37 shots against and brought his GAA down to 1.93 and SV% to .949. He has also faced a league-leading 294 shots against, 35 more than the next highest.
Looking to Shine in the Lone Star State
The Anaheim Ducks are looking for someone to shine, other than John Gibson, when they finish their two-game road trip against Dallas tonight. Anaheim is coming off a 3-1 loss against Chicago on Tuesday, while Dallas trounced the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on the same night. Despite only scoring 6 goals in the last 4 games, the Ducks have plenty of reasons to worry of the Stars offense.
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The line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov is one of the best in the entire league, and they’ve proven that so far this season. The trio has combined for 29 points this season, of which Benn has 8, Radulov has 10 and Seguin has 11. The rest of the Stars forwards have combined for only 19 points, which is part of the reason their GPG is ranked 21st at 2.88.
The Ducks will have to keep an eye on John Klingberg, as he often likes to join the rush to create space for others. He is on pace to shatter his career high in goals (13) with 5 goals already in the first 8 games. Adding 3 assists, Klingberg sits in a tie for 6th for points by a defenseman.
His 5 goals put him in a tie with John Carlson for the league lead at the position. A player often seen as a Karlsson-lite, John Klingberg possesses elite offensive capabilities with high hockey IQ paired with the ability to pick out a pass from anywhere on the ice. The goal-scoring has only solidified his position as one of the leagues top offensive defenseman.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including Dallas Stars netminder Ben Bishop. Standing at 6’7″, Bishop is among the tallest goaltenders in the league. After posting some of the best numbers in the preseason, Bishop has more-or-less carried that play into the regular season. He currently sits with a 2.38 GAA, .923 SV% and a record of 3-3-0.
The Stars biggest weakness is their lack of secondary scoring after the Benn-Seguin-Radulov line. Other than Jason Spezza, no Stars forward has more than 4 points. As such, Dallas’ power-play is particularly lethal, ranking 3rd in the league with an efficiency of 33.3%. Whichever line is given the onerous task of shutting them down could potentially sway this game in the Ducks favor.
Keys to Win
- Handling Benn, Seguin, and Radulov
- Avoid handing Dallas the man advantage
- John Gibson, John Gibson, John Gibson
dark. Next. Hockey Breed Rebellion
Be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates during the game, and as always, Let’s Go Ducks!