Duck calls: Week ten recap for the Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks have recaptured first place in the Pacific Division with 44 points, and a record of 21-13-2 in 36 games. However, the Ducks had a .625 week, going 2-1-1. After kicking off week ten with an emotional win over the Rangers, the Ducks lost steam and fell to the Blue Jackets in overtime, to end their east coast road trip.

The Ducks then took to ice at Honda Center on Friday night and got punched in the mouth by the Central Division powerhouse Dallas Stars. In the second game of back-to-backs and for the second time in a week, the Ducks faced off against the Columbus Blue Jackets again. This time though, the Ducks secured the victory, to close out week ten.

Three stars of the week

Third star: Pavel Mintyukov

From requesting a trade earlier in the season, after being passed up on the depth chart at the quarter season mark, Mintyukov has slowly turned his season around. Mintyukov was paired with Ducks captain, Radko Gudas, all week and scored two goals in the process. None was more impactful, than his game winner against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Second star: Ryan Poehling

The key return from the Trevor Zegras trade in the offseason, Poehling has been the constant pivot on the Ducks fourth line, for a majority of the season. While his wingers have been interchangeable, Poehling has provided reliable depth play, despite lineup shakeups. His hard work was rewarded, as Poehling notched one goal and five assists, to lead the Ducks in scoring for the week.

First star: Mikael Granlund

Another offseason acquisition, Granlund has been a reliable third line center, after dealing with injuries that sidelined him earlier in the season. Much like Poehling, Granlund has dealt with a rotating cast of wingers too. Whether it has been the struggling Frank Vatrano or the typically two-way force in Troy Terry, Granlund thrived this week, with three goals and two assists. In the second game against the Blue Jackets, Granlund scored his third goal in three games.

Biggest Concern

Defensive play

The margin for victory has begun to narrow even further for the Ducks. While the team is third in the NHL in goals for per game, with 3.44, their goals against per game is still awful at 3.42. That number is third worse in the entire league, only better than the lost season Nashville Predators and the middling Columbus Blue Jackets. While some of that putrid number can be chalked up to Lukas Dostal's absence from the net, due to an injury, defensive issues have been a problem in Anaheim for years now.

The struggles in the defensive zone were readily apparent in the loss to the Stars, as they were regularly allowed to skate into high danger areas for clean looks at the net.

Or the Ducks defenders were unable to box out attacking players in front of the goal crease.

While the Ducks do have a stable of young defenders such as Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Drew Helleson, Ian Moore, and to some extent, Jackson LaCombe, there are veterans on the blue line who should help negate some of the mistakes from the youngsters. But that has not happened either.

Amongst all the negatives from the Greg Cronin seasons and his mandate for defensive play, the biggest detriment from his tenure, is that the Ducks do not look like that they learned anything from that time. The team is still porous defensively; despite all the positives the defenders bring in the offensive zone. The Ducks have leaned into outscoring their problems instead of solving them; and that has become an issue. While that style can earn a playoff berth, the Ducks cannot hope to succeed in the post season with it. Just look at the game against the Stars as to how that kind of matchup would go.

What's next?

It will be a short two game week for the Ducks, with the Christmas holiday a few days away. The Ducks will face the Seattle Kraken at home on Monday night, before heading up the 405 to Los Angeles to renew the Freeway Faceoff series against the Kings on Saturday.

As a side note, Anaheim fans should take the opportunity to get a picture with the Wild Wing statue in front of Honda Center, as that will be removed soon. I've personally taken many pictures with my family and that statue, when we still resided in So Cal.