Duck Calls: Week nine recap for the Anaheim Ducks

A disappointing loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon, despite the long-awaited return of Lukas Dostal in net, left the Anaheim Ducks with another .500 week. Smack dab in the middle of a long road trip, the road woes are beginning to sink the Ducks in the standings, as they are 8-8-1 away from Honda Center. Conversely, the Ducks have posted a 11-4 record at home. With two more games on this road trip, coupled with the resurgence from the Golden Knights and Oilers as they begin to round into form, the Ducks would do well to close out this East Coast road trip with a couple wins.

The Ducks kicked off week nine with a convincing revenge win against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks followed that win up with a literal last second come from behind victory against the Pittsburg Penguins, powered by Beckett Sennecke's game tying goal with 0.1 seconds left in the game. The Ducks proceeded to fall flat against the New York Islanders, in a game that should have been a rookie showcase, that was anything but. The Ducks capped off the week with the aforementioned loss to the Devils. All in all, another mediocre week. But let's move on to something a bit more cheerful, this week's three stars.

Three stars of the week

Third star: Beckett Sennecke

Sennecke had a respectable week offensively, scoring two goals and tacking on two assists. He is still the NHL's rookie scoring leader with 26 points (10 goals and 16 assists) in 32 games played. The big highlight of the week though, was his rush up the ice, while the Ducks were shorthanded against the Pittsburg Penguins, to tie the game late (thanks to Erik Karlsson for the assist on the play).

Second star: Troy Terry

The always dependable two-way winger, Terry probably still does not get enough credit for his game, as he should be on team USA's long list for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Terry had a solid week on the scoresheet, posting five points (three goals and two assists), and had Anaheim's only goal in New Jersey.

First Star: Ville Husso

Credit to Husso stepping in for the injured Dostal and Petr Mrazek, who went 4-2 as a starter in their absences. Husso's stats are not spectacular from his run of play, with a .899 save percentage and a 2.97 goals against average, but he kept the Ducks afloat.

Biggest Concern

Team defense

The Ducks have thrived this season on being a rush attack team, with defenders joining the play to help generate more offense and currently rank second in the NHL with 3.44 goals per game. The defense though, is eighth worse in the league, allowing 3.34 goals per game. The expected goals against per 60 is even worse, at 3.65, which highlights how consistently the Ducks defense has broken down.

Not only will the Ducks defenders make bad reads on when to pinch in the offensive zone, which lead to breakaways against, the defenseman have also developed a habit of not clearing out the front of the net. Time and time again, the opposition muscles their way in the crease uncontested leaving the Ducks goalies hanging out to dry, resulting in either tip or rebound plays. The Ducks' defense is not lacking in toughness, see Jacob Trouba or Radko Gudas, yet the defense cannot control the front of the net, and the season is 32 games old already. Adjustments must be made to the defensive structure; it has become tiring seeing the team struggle defensively year after year.

What's next?

The Ducks will head to MSG to take on the New York Rangers in a game that should carry significant weight for Trouba and Chris Kreider, after their exodus by Rangers GM Chris Drury. The Ducks will close out the road trip in the second game of back-to-backs against the Columbus Blue Jackets. When the Ducks take to ice at home, it will be with another set of back-to-backs with the Dallas Stars and then the Blue Jackets again.