Ducks 10 Game Review: Games 51-60

Logo: Anaheim Ducks

By Thomas Harrington

Over the last 10 games, Anaheim’s struggles continued, as the team went 3-7-0 and picked up only six points. As a result, Randy Carlyle was shown the door and Bob Murray has taken over as the Ducks’ coach.

Since that coaching change, the Ducks are 3-1 and are just outside the playoff picture. However, even with the playoffs so close, Anaheim’s focus should really be on next season, especially with the trade deadline less than a week away.

Best & Worst Forwards 

Anaheim’s best forward over the last 10 games was Jakob Silfverberg. He led the team with four goals and his five points were tied for second on the team. All four goals came in the last four games, and he is heating up down the stretch. On most nights, he’s one of Anaheim’s most consistent forwards in terms of his effort level. Also, he scored the game-winning goal in two of the Ducks’ three wins. Silfverberg was also second on the team with 23 shots.

The Ducks’ worst forward over the last 10 games was Carter Rowney. At times this season, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with his play, but he was scoreless over the last 10 games. While Rowney isn’t a big-time scorer, he was the only player to play in all 10 games and not record any points.

Best & Worst Defenseman

Hampus Lindholm was Anaheim’s best defenseman over the last 10 games. Though he still struggled at times, he looked much more like the player that we’ve seen in previous seasons than he did earlier this season. He also led the defense with four points and was the only blueliner to score a goal.

Josh Manson was the Ducks’ worst defenseman over the last 10 games. While his play has improved as well, he’s still struggling on the ice. In 10 games, he recorded one assist and had a team worst -9 rating.

Between The Pipes

In net, Anaheim used four goalies: John Gibson, Ryan Miller, Chad Johnson, and Kevin Boyle. Gibson and Johnson both struggled, and are both are currently injured. Boyle shutout Vancouver in his first career starts, in one of a few feel-good moments of this season for Anaheim. Since returning from injury, Miller has been in net and looked great over the last couple of games, including a shutout of Minnesota.

Injuries & Rookies

On the injury front, Anaheim is healthier than it’s been all season. Ondrej Kase is out for the season, and both Gibson and Johnson are out, but everyone else has finally gotten healthy. Corey Perry is back and even has a couple of goals. Patrick Eaves has been on and off IR all year, but he’s currently in San Diego. Ryan Kesler missed a couple games, Jakob Silfverberg missed a game, and so did Nick Ritchie.

Anaheim used a few rookies over the last 10 games: Troy Terry, Max Jones, Jaycob Megna, and Andy Welinski. Welinski only played in one game, while Megna played in seven. It was Megna’s first seven games of the season with the Ducks, and he’s looked good on the third pairing and picked up an assist. Jones played in five games and finally recorded his first career assist against Minnesota. Terry played in four games and he went scoreless.

Final Thoughts

A few more things that caught my eye over the last 10 games. After recording only one assist in his first six games this season, Perry has three points in his last two games. Ryan Getzlaf led the team with six assists and seven points. Rickard Rakell’s nightmare season continues, as he only scored one goal and two points. Adam Henrique was second on the team in goals with three, and also recorded five points. Michael Del Zotto has been a useful addition on the bottom pairing and recorded a pair of assists.

The Ducks have played much better over the last few games. It remains to be seen if they can keep up this level of play through the rest of the season. The good news is that the Ducks have been much more fun to watch over the last few games.

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