Anaheim Ducks: Bearing Down for a Win in Boston

Quack Back and Start a New Streak

The Ducks have landed in Boston after not playing their best game in NYC. Minus a lucky bounce for Pontus Aberg and the Ducks would have been shut-out. And the one goal wasn’t enough as a late goal and late empty net goal by the Rangers led them to a 3-1 win. The Ducks had been playing their best hockey of the season but in this game, they just didn’t have it. Chalk it up to the second night of back to backs or just an inevitable loss amongst the many many wins. Either way, they have had a night to move past it and focus on this next game.

The Ducks have been able to score with the best of them as late of getting contributions all through the line-up. That will need to continue as the Ducks are missing two big offensive pieces in Rickard Rakell and Cam Fowler. Last year Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg paced the scoring for the Ducks and they will be two to watch this game as well.

The Bruins meanwhile are coming off a sound 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. The Bruins got goals from David Krejci and Brad Marchand as well as Joakim Nordstrom and the first NHL goal for Colby Cave. Meanwhile, Jaroslav Halak picked up the shutout with 22 saves. The Bruins have deployed a goalie by committee plan this season between Halak and longtime starter Tuukka Rask.

Rask and Halak have both played in 17 and 19 games respectively. Rask is a mediocre 8-7-2 with a GAA of 2.57 and an SV% of .915. Halak is having a better year with a 10-5-2 record, a 2.27 GAA and a .929 SV%. Both goalies present their own challenges but both can be beaten. The Ducks will need to generate lots of shots and get to either early and often in this one.

Anaheim Ducks Player to Watch: Ryan Getzlaf

The captain of the Ducks is leading by example with his skill and toughness this season. Getzlaf is a point of being a point per game player and has been using his leadership in ways that don’t appear on the scoresheet either. If you need no evidence of that look no further than his defense of brand new teammate Chad Johnson in NYC Monday night. Getzlaf is the heart and soul of the Ducks and as he goes they typically follow. He has been shooting more, making slick passes and is responsible in his own end as currently sits at +6 on the year.

Getzlaf is also getting it done without his usual linemates of Rickard Rakell and Corey Perry. Getzlaf is getting it done with rotating linemates but is building chemistry with the likes of Pontus Aberg and Ondrej Kase which could pay dividends down the line. With the likes of Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara out Getzlaf will have a fairly easy time asserting his will and if he does the Ducks will be in a much better place to take this game

Boston Bruins Player to Watch: David Pastrnak

In the absence of Bergeron David Pastrnak is the Bruins best player hands down. And even with Bergeron Pastrnak may be the Bruins best offensive weapon. He currently sits at 21-20-41 points. Of those 41 points, 17 of them have come on the power-play. Further reason to not put this team on the power play. He and linemate Brad Marchand make one of the better duos in the league and they will need to be kept in check by the Ducks defensive units. He is shifty, quick, and his release is something to behold.

Pastrnak is also a player whos confidence builds. If you give him time and space early he just gets better as the game goes along. The one thing working for the Ducks is he is a player that enjoys his time and space. He’ll go into the corners but he isn’t a below the goal line type of player. He hurts you on the rush and he hurts you coming off the half wall. Playing physical and limiting his time and space will go a long way to neutralize him and take away one of the two big guns for the Bruins.

Two Keys to the Game:

Play Physical:

As mentioned the Bruins are missing three of their key players and two of their team’s leaders and physical presence. The Ducks need to take advantage of this. This isn’t the Bruins of years past and playing physical will put them on their heels early. This team has become more skilled and finesse and you cannot allow them to wind up in the neutral zone and attack with speed. This needs to be a grinding mucking kind of game. A game the Ducks should be able to get in on the forecheck and impose their will. And if they can play down low and cycle the Bruins won’t be able to match up

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Take the Crowd Out:

Doesn’t matter if its game 1 or 82 TD Garden is always packed and always rocking. The team feeds off that energy in a huge way and taking them out of the equation early is key. The sound seems to resonate in this arena more than most and when it gets loud it’s extremely hard to quiet down. Scoring early and controlling the play needs to be of utmost priority. Make no mistake this is a good Bruins team but they aren’t elite and they’re missing two key cogs that elevate them to that level. Take advantage of a team dealing with significant absences and pick up a good win before Christmas. The Ducks can and should win this game. Now they have to go out and do it.