Game Notes: Ducks Handle Business in Nashville
Here are my notes from a convincing Ducks 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. I have broken this up into three sections: “Pluses” (positives from the game), “Minuses” (negatives from the game), and an “Open Ice” section for overall thoughts and random notes.
Pluses
Ross Johnston Legacy Game (Gordie Howe Hat Trick)
Yes, you read that right. The Ducks’ enforcer picked up a goal, two assists, and a fight.
However, it was the way he did it that stood out. Both of his assists came off of aggressively pressuring the opposing puck carrier in the offensive zone, wreaking havoc that eventually led to goals.
Johnston was a forechecking machine all night, pressuring opponents both in the offensive and neutral zones. Egg on my face after I said that he shouldn’t be in the lineup.
Mikael Granlund
Granlund had his best game as a Duck so far. He drew two penalties, both of which resulted from his transition ability. Consistently transporting the puck through the neutral zone over the offensive blueline, this was the version of Granlund that the Ducks signed up for. He was also setting up his teammates in the offensive zone, keeping plays alive with smart, quick passes.
The New Pairings
Head coach Joel Quenneville shook up his defense pairings prior to the game, going with LaCombe-Helleson, Mintyukov-Gudas, and sticking with Zellweger-Trouba.
The changes make some sense. Zellweger-Trouba has been the Ducks’ best pairing this season, as they were rocking above a 60 percent expected goals percentage going into last night. The other two pairings’ numbers were below 50 percent, so a change was warranted by the numbers.
LaCombe and Helleson really stood out with their quick puck moving ability. My only concern is that both players are somewhat error prone, but you take the good with the bad when there are two blueliners who can make so much happen with their puck moving.
The only thing that stood out with the Mintyukov-Gudas pairing was that Mintyukov seemed a bit less aggressive offensively than usual. Could just be a one-off, but something to look out for moving forward.
Radko Gudas
I said it last game, and it was truer this game: Radko Gudas is having a good start to the season. He’s combining his trademark physicality with an efficient style, which is what we saw from him in his first season in Anaheim. Granted, there was an error on the first goal against, though it’s not clear if that can necessarily be pinned on one player.
Lukas Dostal
Dostal did not necessarily have to make any jaw-dropping saves, but 26 saves on 28 shots is a tidy night of work. His goals-saved above expected from Evolving Hockey was “only” +0.36, which shows that he was slightly better than expected, but nothing spectacular. That might undersell how consistent he was all night long, as he seemed to be tracking the puck well throughout the game. The Ducks don’t need Dostal to be all-world every night, but stacking up these solid, if unspectacular nights will go a long way.
A Relative Lack of Mistakes
After a stretch of games where the Ducks had at least a handful of defensive gaffes per game, a relatively quiet night on that end was welcome. By avoiding the self-inflicted wounds, the Ducks allowed their offensive firepower to eventually take over the game.
Minuses
Power Play
The power play has struggled after a promising night against Pittsburgh. There are times where the unit can’t even successfully enter the zone, let alone set up thereafter. The broadcast discussed how Nashville plays a “pressure” style on the penalty kill. They also said that about Carolina.
The point is, it’s not unusual for teams to pressure on the penalty kill. The Ducks will have to adjust accordingly. When they did get set up, there was a lot of settling for low value options, with a Jackson LaCombe point shot that led to a clear out, punctuating the matter.
It’s not a cause for concern as of now. New system, new power play coach, new looking units. This will take a little time to gel. The Ducks were also missing Chris Kreider, a power play regular.
Defensive zone (in rare instances)
There were two instances (including on the second goal against) where five Ducks players got stuck on one side of the ice in the defensive zone, with the puck finding its way to the weak side. The point of a zone defense is so that these kinds of issues don’t crop up. The players are still learning the system, so it’s not something to hammer on too much. There was also a weird bout of miscommunication on the first goal against, where no one seemed to pick up the Nashville player going to the net off-puck.
Open ice
Overall Thoughts
The Ducks were largely in control of this game. They didn’t dominate at five on five, but they had a leg up on Nashville throughout the majority of the game. There are more stretches so far this season of extended offensive zone possession, and that happened again against the Predators. This was a step in the right direction.
Ryan Poehling Assist
Poehling’s pass on Troy Terry’s goal was a thing of beauty, cutting back on a dime before whipping the puck into the slot. Nice play.
Olen Zellweger
Zellweger was a bit more chaotic in this game, but he was still dangerous offensively. He ripped a shot off the post early in the game, and had another great chance later on. Both came off of him joining the rush, which is what a player of his skill set should be looking to do. Even when Zellweger makes small mistakes like over handling the puck at the blueline, it still feels like a positive, as this is the style he should be playing. He’ll learn to strike a better balance.
Nikita Nesterenko
Nesterenko played on a line with Terry and Granlund, and did not look out of place. Big step forward for a guy who was in the AHL last year.
Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier
The two kids got on the board in this one. Gauthier, with a perfect shot that Saros had no chance on, and Sennecke with a sneaky backdoor play off of a perfect Mason McTavish pass. Solid night of work for the two.
The Predators
What is this team exactly? It’s not easy to tell at this juncture.