Anaheim Ducks: Three Keys to Riding the Lightning
After an unfortunate overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the Anaheim Ducks are hoping tonight is the night they finally break their five-game losing streak.
On Saturday, the Anaheim Ducks were back at home and played what was easily their most entertaining game of the season. The Arizona Coyotes, despite their struggles, pulled out all the stops at an attempt to defeat their foe.
The Ducks took an early lead, led by Ondrej Kase and Daniel Sprong, but unfortunately, the Coyotes caught up with two unanswered goals in the third period. This allowed them to push the game into overtime, where a goal from Nick Schmaltz won the game just 0:33 into the OT period.
Despite the loss, however, the glass is always half full. The Anaheim Ducks had the recipe for a win, they just had a little bit of bad luck down by their net.
They overwhelmingly outshot their opponents, Ondrej Kase scored the game-opening goal as well as the Ducks final goal, and Nick Ritchie had a three-point night.
They had everything they needed to be successful, they just need to work on protecting their goaltender a little more. Going into tonight’s game, that is going to be the key to shutting down a relentless Tampa Bay Lightning team.
Did You Know? The Tampa Bay Lightning have not lost a game in regulation since November 27, 2018, when the Anaheim Ducks were in town. Since then, they have gone on to win 13 and lose one game in OT to the Winnipeg Jets.
Game 41: Anaheim Ducks vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Season Record: 19-15-6
Location: Honda Center — Anaheim, California
Time: 5:00 pm PST
TV: Prime Ticket
Radio: AM 830
Anaheim Ducks Injuries: Rickard Rakell (Ankle), Ryan Miller (Sprained MCL), Cam Fowler (Complex Facial Fracture), Corey Perry (Knee), Patrick Eaves (Broken Rib/Back Spasms)
Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries: Mathieu Joseph (LBI), J.T. Miller (UBI)
Ride the Lightning
The real test begins tonight. The Anaheim Ducks are up against one of the most relentless teams in the league. They are skilled, poised, and losing is not in their vocabulary.
Quite frankly the best team in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to stop at nothing to continue their streak of being undefeated in regulation.
The challenge ahead is going to be brutal, but the Anaheim Ducks have already proven they have what it takes to break the strength of their opponent’s electrical conductivity.
What makes the Tampa Bay Lightning so unique is that their roster is filled with talent from the top to the bottom. While their bottom six may not be as big of a threat as their top six, their bottom six is producing points similar to what the Anaheim Ducks top six is producing.
There is going to be no rest for the Ducks tonight. The Tyler Johnson, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov line are probably going to their largest hurdle. These three players alone have a combined point total of 143. That is more than half of the entire point production of the entire Anaheim Ducks roster so far this season.
The defense is going to have to be in tip-top shape tonight, and hopefully introducing Andy Welinski back into the lineup will aid the Ducks defense in working a little smoother.
The offense is going to need to utilize every moment the puck is on their stick to try and capitalize on an opportunity. Protecting John Gibson is a must, and with the absence of Ryan Miller, Gibson also needs to be on his A-game.
Tonight’s game is not an impossible win, but it will certainly prove to be one of their most difficult challenges yet.
Anaheim Ducks Player to Watch: Nick Ritchie
Nick Ritchie has been stepping up his game this season, proving he is deserving of the contract Bob Murray gave to him. Many of us thought he was the last player to deserve a contract from the Anaheim Ducks, but he is on pace to have his best season yet.
The biggest concern for Ritchie going into the season was his hot-headedness and his inability to stay about of the sin bin. It seems, however, that he has finally found the balance in being physical.
His three points in Saturday’s game was a game high for the young left wing and he seems to improve every time he is on the ice. He has proven to be versatile throughout the lineup, having chemistry with both the Getzlaf and the Henrique lines.
If we forget the fact that he was a first-round draft pick, which it’s about time we did, we can learn to appreciate him more as a player. He has found a spot where he fits in well, and he has shown vast improvement from last season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player to Watch: Nikita Kucherov
Nikita Kucherov is quite possibly Tampa Bay’s star player. The 25-year-old already has an outstanding 63 points so far this season, which is more than the Anaheim Ducks entire first line. He is quite possibly on pace to break his 100 point season record.
Kucherov is currently on a 10 game point streak and a 5 game multi-point streak. He is an offensive weapon that, once released, cannot be contained.
He is most dangerous on the power play, and if the Anaheim Ducks have any hope of keeping him at bay, it would be extremely wise to stray away from the unnecessary penalties.
The Anaheim Ducks Three Keys to Tonight’s Game
Shoot the Puck: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, nothing is going to happen if the puck isn’t being shot at the net.
The Ducks did a fantastic job against Arizona and they need to keep the momentum going as they face off against Tampa Bay. Jumping on the rebounds are going to be essential in generating chances tonight.
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Limit the Amount of Time the Puck is in Their Zone: The Lightning are an offensive machine and it is more likely than not that they will be shooting the puck whenever they have it.
The Ducks, especially their defense, need to make sure they have their eye on the puck at all times. John Gibson is a phenomenal goaltender, but he can only do so much without the help of his team.
Anaheim needs to make sure they aren’t leaving their goaltender to fend for himself down in the Ducks zone. Keeping the puck out of their own zone as much as they can is a good place to start.
Step Up on the Power Play: One of the Anaheim Ducks biggest struggles this season has been their power play. It’s time for them to do some shuffling, which would include removing Ryan Kesler off of the first unit, in order to find success.
Studying the way Tampa Bay constructs their power play would not be a bad place to start. They have had tremendous success with their special teams this season, and from the looks of it, all of the successful power play units are constructed the same way.
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