Can the Anaheim Ducks Downgrade the Hurricanes to a Tropical Storm?
The Anaheim Ducks are still at Honda Center, coming off of an impressive 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Tonight, they host to the gutsy Carolina Hurricanes.
The Anaheim Ducks are enjoying a short home-stand after a 5 game road trip. They are coming off of their 5th straight win, in a 4-2 win against the fallen titan that is the Chicago Blackhawks.
The streaking Ducks are finally in a good spot in the standings as they’ve continued to win games that they arguably shouldn’t have been winning.
The Hurricanes are spinning into town from North Carolina, hoping to pepper California with rain in the form of hockey pucks. Unfortunately for them, they’ve been unsuccessful to this point.
The Canes are coming to Honda Center, riding a 3 game losing streak, losing to the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks in relatively quick succession. The rest of California has locked down the Hurricanes, making them look more like a light drizzle.
If the Anaheim Ducks can continue that tonight the Hurricanes will head back to Carolina winless against the West Coast.
Did You Know? The Ducks and Hurricanes drafted their most well known forwards and defenseman during the same draft. Both Ryan Getzlaf and Eric Staal were taken during the 2003 draft, and Cam Fowler and Justin Faulk during 2010.
Today in Anaheim Ducks History: In 1993, both the Mighty Ducks and the Florida Panthers celebrated their inaugural season. On December 7th, 1993, the teams faced one another for the first time in franchise history. The Ducks, unfortunately, fell to the Panthers 2-3 after they failed to score a third goal in the final seconds of the third period.
Game 31: Anaheim Ducks vs Carolina Hurricanes
Location: Honda Center — Anaheim, California
Time: 7:00PM PST
TV: Prime, FS-CR
Radio: AM 830
Ducks News: Rickard Rakell is dealing with an ankle injury suffered during the last game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Brian Gibbons will likely fill the empty roster spot, with Nick Ritchie likely moving up the depth chart.
Anaheim Ducks Injuries: Rickard Rakell, (Ankle) Cam Fowler, (Complex Facial Fracture), Patrick Eaves(Broken Rib/Back Spasms), Corey Perry (Knee)
Carolina Hurricanes Injuries: Jordan Staal (Concussion), Michael Ferland (Concussion), Curtis McElhinney (Undisclosed)
Can the Anaheim Ducks Downgrade the Hurricanes to a Tropical Storm?
The Anaheim Ducks are flying high, on their first 5 game win streak of this season. They are looking to extend that streak to 6 tonight as they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2nd time in 7 days.
The Ducks, during this 5 game win streak, have looked better than they have at any other point during this season. However, that doesn’t mean they’ve been flawless. The Ducks still have a long way to go to prove that it isn’t just a short hot-streak and they are actual competitors.
The Ducks currently sit 2nd in the Pacific Division. A strong start to the season in the standings and their recent string of wins have been a big help. They’ve been winning by committee with very few players standing out every single night. Not exactly a bad way to be for a team that’s ravaged by injuries during recent times, the depth of a team like Anaheim is crucial to their success.
The last time these two teams met, the Ducks won in overtime after a game-tying goal by Pontus Aberg in the waning moments of the 3rd period. It was capped off by a beautiful overtime goal from captain Ryan Getzlaf. That win was the start of the Hurricanes current losing skid and the third straight victory for the Ducks.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes sit 12th in their conference, a team who’s record is also slightly deceiving. The Hurricanes have lacked any consistent goal-tending which has sincerely hurt them to this point. Although, their biggest issue may be their lack of consistency at scoring goals.
The Hurricanes sit at a -9 goal differential, and although it is better than Anaheim’s, isn’t good. What is even more worrying is how they’ve reached that differential. The Hurricanes will go out and score 5 goals in a couple games, and then follow that up with 4-5 games where they score 2 goals if they’re incredibly lucky. In 11 of their 27 games they’ve scored 1 goal or fewer. You can’t win games like that. Although the Ducks have given it their best effort early in this season.
Sebastian Aho continues to impress, looking like a true stud and showing why he was considered the only untouchable Hurricane to management. He has led the team with 26 points in 27 games. Teuvo Terevainen, a cap casualty of the Blackhawks team, is second on the team with 18 points in 27 games. Second overall pick in last year’s draft Andrei Svechnikov has shown flashes of brilliance as well, putting up 12 points in 27 games.
Curtis McElhinney has impressed since taking over as the starter in the wake of Scott Darling‘s continued regression posting a respectable .920% save percentage. If he can continue to find his groove and stay steady the Hurricanes might stand a fighting chance the remainder of this season. Unfortunately, it is still unknown whether he will be ready for tonight’s game.
Anaheim Ducks Player to Watch
Former Edmonton Oiler, Pontus Aberg, has been a standout player since being claimed off waivers by the Ducks. He is currently the Ducks leading goal scorer with 9 goals, and his 15 points are good enough for 4th on the team.
There was a lot of concern that Aberg would be another one of Bob Murray’s pointless pickups. As we know, GMBM loves to sign players from the “island of misfit toys” in hopes that they might find themselves in Anaheim. Seldom does it work out, but every once and a while he finds a diamond in the rough.
Luckily, despite never producing more than 18 career points in the previous two seasons, Pontus Aberg has found his niche in Anaheim. He has found chemistry on the top line, despite only being seen as a bottom-six forward prior to his first game with the Ducks.
With the injury to Rickard Rakell, the Ducks will turn to Aberg. A healthy dose of Nick Ritchie and new-comer Daniel Sprong will also help to carry the load offensively to complement Ryan Getzlaf and Adam Henrique.
Aberg finds himself on a fairly impressive run. The Swedish winger currently has 7 points in his last 5 games, and points in the last 4 out of 5. Aberg is playing on a 1-year contract and will continue to look to prove his value in hopes of finding a permanent home with a nice pay-day, be it from the Ducks or another team in the off-season.
His recent performance in North Carolina is a sure sign that he will yet again impress tonight when they meet again.
Three Keys to Tonight’s Game
Extinguish Aho: This is easier said than done. However, at this moment the Hurricanes are pretty shallow in terms of elite scoring. Sebastian Aho is the only guy on their team with over 20 points. If you can keep him from getting open shooting lanes you’re likely to continue Carolina’s trend of not being able to light up the scoreboard.
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Matching the shutdown line against Aho and Terevainen and having them focus on defending them would go a long way to shutting down the Hurricanes altogether and securing a “W”
Shoot EVERYTHING: What the Hurricanes lack in elite offensive, they make up for with a really talented defense. It’s going to be a real chore to be able to beat the defenders, as most are very good skaters.
The best bet for the Anaheim Ducks to put up goals tonight will be to take every shot imaginable in hopes of beating journeyman McElhinney. Taking more shots could also open up the possibility for the Ducks to try and muscle a rebound into the net as opposed to trying to beat the smooth-skating defenders to find open passing lanes.
Play Physical: The Hurricanes are a team that’s built primarily for skill. The core of the team isn’t overly great at playing a physical game and rely more on their speed and skill than sheer force to make plays happen.
The absence of Michael Ferland and Jordan Staal tonight exacerbates that even further for the Hurricanes. The Ducks have a fairly balanced team right this minute when it comes to skill vs. grit players and the Hurricanes might be one of the best teams to use that physicality against.
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Overall, this should be a fun game for the Ducks. I expect to see Daniel Sprong get a long look in the absence of Rickard Rakell and if his first game is anything to go by he could be a real gem to watch. I expect a low scoring game but a hard fought one.