Anaheim Ducks: Can Playoff Dreams Still Take Flight?
We’ve long since put the hopes of a playoff run behind us, but the Anaheim Ducks recent point streak has turned some doubters into dreamers.
We’re nearing the midway point of February, and with the All-Star Break long gone, it’s time to focus on the flight to the finish for the Anaheim Ducks. Right now, the Ducks are 11 points behind the second wildcard in the West, held by the Arizona Coyotes. While some fans have said that it’s best that we settle for a high draft pick and miss the playoffs, the run by the Ducks during their Canadian road trip has started to turn some doubted into dreamers.
Even I game up on this season a month ago, but since then, this team is only 11 points out. While I don’t know if they’ll make the playoffs, compare this year to last year, and I’ll be fine with doing some scoreboard watching.
With the trade deadline upcoming, and the season hitting the testy waters, it’s time to evaluate how the Anaheim Ducks can make a miracle trip to the playoffs. So, buckle up tight and grab some popcorn, because it’s time to have some fun.
Finding Their Way to Success
Early this season, the Anaheim Ducks were like the Bad News Bears on ice; they were a team that couldn’t get goals, play solid defense, and their goaltender was left to fend off the onslaught that was coming upon them. Yes, there were times in which the team showed the bright spots, but there were times that it was bad, and I do mean, fish sticks left out of the fridge three days old bad. There were talks of firing the coach and trading away the young players; it was just not good at all. It even got to the point where the only highlights were off the ice, i.e. Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano coming back to Anaheim a few weeks ago.
However, lately, things are changing: the youngsters are spreading their wings and flying, contributing either with huge goals and or defensive plays. One person that I love is Max Comtois. Despite playing in San Diego right now, he has been a guy who has improved his play on both sides at the NHL level. Has he been perfect? No, but neither have his teammates; he may not lead in the stats department, but he, along with the other young guys, have stepped up, and I’m proud of them.
I also want to give some love to the vets, including three players who have stepped up when we needed them to: Derek Grant, Jakob Silfverberg and the Captain, Ryan Getzlaf. I could go in other directions, but Derek Grant came up huge on the road trip, helping us claim eight of ten points available. His two biggest moments were two game-tying goals in back to back games, that helped the Ducks push both games into overtime, and his play on defense has also helped as well.
Jakob Silfverberg has also been a vital part of the recent success. His goal against Buffalo jump-started the offensive explosion in which the Anaheim Ducks were able to hold on and win. Second on the team in goals, and third on the team in points, Silfverberg has been hot lately, scoring three points on the five-game road trip. If the Ducks want to continue their push in the playoffs, Silfverberg must continue shooting “Silfverbullets” at the net.
And then there’s the Captain, the leader of the flock that must guide the team through the tumultuous ups and downs of adversity: Ryan Getzlaf. Now, why do I bring his name up as one of the most important players over the last few games? Well, it’s the intangibles, that’s why: while he has only scored two points in the last six games, his goal against Buffalo gave Ryan Miller some cushion to work with, and that’s why we have one of the best captains around.
Getzlaf has been around the block, and knows that around this time of the year, time for play is done, now it’s put up or shut up. If the Anaheim Ducks are going to make the playoffs, Getzlaf must continue being the leader that he is, guiding the younger guys into their roles.
While there were others that you can’t ignore like Adam Henrique, Ondrej Kase, or Rickard Rakell, the three I mentioned had a visceral impact because of how they’ve contributed to the team in their own ways. In the end, it’s going to take a team effort by all players to get them where they want to be and that is playing in mid-April.
Now, even if they don’t make the playoffs, the guys who I mentioned that have been an integral part of the team, are pieces of the team that, in the future, can bring in success. If the Ducks don’t make the playoffs but make a good showing over the last month and a half, the future looks absolutely bright. I would only consider trading a few of the pieces only if it can net us some younger players who can score. Other than that, I would leave the team as it is, and let the team learn how to play with one another and then make the tweaks in the offseason.
Putting the F in Fight
Over the last few games, sans Calgary 6-0, the Ducks have shown that the fight in this team has stuck despite what has happened. When things looked bad, the Ducks relied on their moxie and grit to push games to overtime, and they either lost barely but gained a point, or they ended up victorious. Either way, the Ducks have shown that they haven’t given up yet, which was the one thing that was absolutely lacking last year. They have put back the F in Fight, and that is one thing Ducks fans can and will appreciate.
For example, during their five-game road trip, three of the five games went into overtime or shootout, and the Ducks gained four of six games that went into extra time. No matter how big the deficit was, the Ducks showed that when push came to shove, they weren’t going to lay down and die, they did everything they did to make things interesting. After the Calgary game, they will have twenty-five games remaining, including the rescheduled Blues contest. If they want to make the playoffs, they’ll have to win more than lose, but if they do lose, pushing the games into overtime or a shootout could be beneficial.
One of the ways that the Ducks have shown fight is having each other’s back. Last year, when the guys got pushed around, no one was there to have each other’s back. This year, the attitude is different, and I credit that to the veterans who are protective of the rookies, making sure that they don’t get roughed up. When the veterans step up and protect the young guys and not let them get crushed by the opposition, then the young guys have the belief that they belong and, more importantly, the team is one.
Now the Hard Part…
Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, it’s time to figure out how the Ducks make a miracle run to the playoffs. As I said before, the Ducks have twenty-five games remaining after the Calgary game, and if they win that, they’ll move closer to Chicago. That’s a good lead-in to my first point: win and get points at all costs. All the other teams can lose in front of them, but if the Ducks don’t capitalize in any capacity, the journey is all for naught.
The good news for Anaheim Ducks fans is that in the stretch run, the Ducks will have 15 to 16 home games to only 10 more road games. Also, of the 26 games that they’ll play, 19 will be against Western Conference teams, including seven home games in this month alone. To climb the mountain may be hard, but if they can get some points, plus get some breaks, then the road to the playoffs may be reachable.
The Anaheim Ducks’ best chance to get back into the fight for a wild-card spot is inside their division: half of their games are against their division, and outside of Arizona, the Ducks play every one in their division, which is perfect for them. Outside of their division, they have games against Colorado, Chicago, St. Louis, and Dallas.
With most of their games against the best of the West at home, the Ducks must take advantage of the home cooking. They have to get ahead of the opposition, every time, and not let the opposition pin the Ducks in bad situations which will take them out of their game early. They must stay out of the penalty box, a habit that they have struggled to break so far, but if they’re going to stay in the game against the West’s best, that is one key that can’t be ignored.
Another struggle that must be corrected for them to make a move is capitalizing on the power-play. The Ducks have hit a rut on special teams, partly because they don’t get a lot of power-plays in their favor, and when they do, they don’t make the opposition pay for committing those penalties with goals. The one good thing about the power-play is that the Anaheim Ducks have done a good job of trying to manufacture some good shots, but if they’re going to be a force down the stretch, they got to make do with the opportunities that they’re given in the game.
Now for the more interesting part: all the four teams that they’re chasing are from the Central Division: Winnipeg, Nashville, Minnesota, and Chicago. Nashville, Chicago, and Minnesota have twenty-seven games remaining while Winnipeg has twenty-five games remaining. All the teams that are in front of the Ducks have tough games remaining, including games against one another in the division.
That could balance everything out in that sense, but the Ducks can’t rely on that as a path to the playoffs. The good news for Anaheim is they do play St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago, and Minnesota in the remaining months of the season, so that is a plus in their Ducks’ favor, but it only will be a plus if they win those games.
And What If?
A question that a lot of Ducks fans are going to be asking is this: what if the Anaheim Ducks don’t make the playoffs? Is this season a failure? They missed the playoffs last year, so it would be back to back years in which the Ducks would be home for the playoffs. And, in back to back years, the Ducks got off to rough starts, which could be catalysts as to why they didn’t get to the big show last year and probably won’t get there this year.
To me, it would still be a failure, but not as huge as it was last year. Last year, things were a complete crapshoot. No one wanted to play, no one wanted to coach, no one wanted to be there. Last year, it felt like everyone was playing the blame game and it was a dumpster fire galore. This year, it’s different; as much as there have been struggles, the one thing that Ducks fans can say without question is that the Ducks have shown the fight that was missing last year, and they have made strides as far as making sure that the future isn’t going to be all for naught.
While I don’t think that they haven’t bought into Dallas Eakins‘ strategy, I do think that with the way they’ve been playing with one another and their continuity has become stronger, that they have at least not decided to mutiny against their coach either. I believe that within a few years, the Ducks will not be just a playoff contender, but a Cup contender, a team that will be competing against the best in the West.
One of the best moments that has happened so far was the honoring of the past: Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano coming back to Anaheim a month ago. Those two were a part of the success in the past including what will go down in history forevermore as one of the most incredible playoff series comebacks we’ve seen against Edmonton; especially Corey Perry’s double-overtime game-winner, and Andrew Cogliano, who scored the game-tying goal in game seven in the second period, leading to Nick Ritchie’s game-winner that vaulted the Ducks in the Western Conference finals.
One of the best moments on the ice was against the Nashville Predators at our home ice last month when we won in a shootout. Despite giving up a two-goal lead late in the third period, the fact that the Ducks beat a team that had been a thorn in our side is something to look at and say that things were looking up. The best part of that game was when the captain Ryan Getzlaf potted home the game-winner to complete the win because he’s been through the wars with them, so to see him get the job done for us was something that all Ducks fans were glad to see, even if the win wasn’t in the playoffs.
If the Ducks don’t make the playoffs, there is some hope that next year, the team will finally breakthrough because the young guys had a year and will now have a full year in the league to learn from and find ways to improve going into. Plus, there will be some offseason tweaks and trades that will improve the roster, so don’t expect the Anaheim Ducks to look the same regardless of the outcome.
Predictions, Predictions
So, in closing, I gave the blueprint as to what the Ducks must do in order to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs. The question now is, will they make the final cut? My gut says no, and that’s mainly because the teams that are in front of them are going to keep winning to keep themselves in the playoff race.
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The one saving grace that people are looking at is that four teams from the Central are fighting for the remaining two spots and they’ll be fighting against one another to make the cut and some teams will fall along the wayside.
To that point, I agree with that sentiment, particularly when you consider the divisional games that loom ahead for those four teams, that possibility of them having to play one another and eliminate one another is something that can be counted on.
Even still, those teams will win just enough games to push us out of the racetrack and we’ll be on the outside looking in. The lone way I can see the Ducks making the playoffs is they win at least twenty of the twenty-six games remaining, and I don’t see that in the slightest, so that knocks them out of contention just like that.
But, that doesn’t mean that this season will be a waste. If anything, they’ll spoil some teams’ chances to enhance their seeding and that could set up playoff matchups for other teams to deal with come mid-April. Meanwhile, that can give Bob Murray and co. time to make some moves to make the team younger, faster and fresher. That is something for all Anaheim Ducks fans to look forward to because even if we do make the playoffs, I don’t think they’ll make a run as they did in 03. But, maybe next year, with a team that is more suited to change life in the OC, and maybe hopes can rise again.
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