The Anaheim Ducks entered the 2016-17 NHL playoffs capturing their fifth Pacific Division title in a row. With a month to go in the season, it came down to a foot race between Anaheim, Edmonton, and San Jose. Anaheim ended up edging out Edmonton by two points to win the division and set up a first round matchup against the Calgary Flames.
The Ducks faced the Flames in the 2014-15 playoffs and eliminated them in five games. This time around the Ducks would knock the Flames out in four straight games in the first round. Anaheim is 8-1 against Calgary in the last two playoff matchups. The Ducks also own the Flames in Anaheim having beating them 25 times in a row during the regular season since January 19, 2004.
The Ducks would carry their momentum into round two against the upcoming Edmonton Oilers led by Connor McDavid. The series would equal that of a heavy weight bout going the distance. The Oilers stopped any energy the Ducks generated from round one by beating Anaheim twice at home in Games 1 and 2. The Ducks did respond winning the next two on the road in Edmonton to tie the series up at two games apiece.
In Game 5, the Oilers built a 3-0 lead and looked to take back control of the series. But with about 3 minutes and 16 seconds left in the game the Ducks started a crazy comeback. Ryan Getzlaf would score, followed by Cam Fowler 35 seconds later and the Ducks had pulled within one goal. Randy Carlyle pulled John Gibson for the extra attacker and Rickard Rakell would score the tying goal with 15 seconds to go in the game. The game would eventually end in double overtime with Corey Perry scoring the game winner. The momentum continued in Anaheim’s favor as they won what would be known as the “Comeback on Katella”.
The Oilers wouldn’t go away however. In Game 6, the Oilers blew the Ducks out of the water scoring five goals in the first period. Eventually, the Oilers would win 7-1 and force a Game 7 back at Anaheim. The Ducks and their fans knew this story all to well having seen Anaheim go to a Game 7 and lose the last four in each of the last four postseasons. This time the story would be different as the Ducks would exorcise their Game 7 demons and beat the Oilers 2-1.
The Ducks outlasted the Oilers setting up a rematch against the Nashville Predators, who eliminated the Ducks in seven games last postseason. The Ducks entered this matchup without Patrick Eaves, who sustained a high ankle sprain and bruise against Edmonton. The teams would exchange wins in Anaheim and Nashville resulting in a 2-2 series tie after four games. In Game 5, the Ducks would be without Rickard Rakell, who was hurt in the previous game. Anaheim would battle to a scoreless tie after 20 minutes, but then lost John Gibson to injury. It was later revealed he had a hamstring injury. The Ducks scored first, but couldn’t do much after that. Nashville was able to score twice and add an empty net goal to take a 3-2 series lead.
In Game 6, the Ducks would be without Rakell and Gibson again. Nashville built a 3-1 lead early in the third period, but the Ducks fought back scoring twice to tie the game at three. Unfortunately, the Predators would score shortly after that to take a 4-3 lead. They then added two empty net goals to eliminate the Ducks.
In the last five seasons, Anaheim has won five consecutive Pacific Division titles and made it to the Western Conference Final twice. However, the shortcomings have left the team and their fans wanting more.
What Went Wrong For Anaheim?
After dispatching Calgary with ease and getting past Edmonton by going the distance, many thought Anaheim would return to the Stanley Cup Final. The Ducks were set to face the Predators, while in the East the Penguins and Senators met in their conference final. Many were hoping for a 10 year reunion in the Stanley Cup Final with Anaheim and Ottawa meeting again. As we all know that didn’t come to fruition. Instead it would be the Penguins and Predators, who are still battling it out for the title.
For Anaheim a few things went wrong for them in playoffs. The special teams play was an issue for them on the power play and penalty kill. The Ducks were able to beat Calgary and Edmonton with subpar special teams, but they couldn’t do it against Nashville. The power play was 12.9% efficient, scoring seven times in 54 attempts which ranked 13th out of the 16 playoff teams. The penalty kill was an unsatisfactory 76.6% efficient, which ranked 14th out of all playoff teams. The Ducks were able to beat Calgary and Edmonton because those teams didn’t have an elite goalie in net and a ridiculous top four defensive blue line. Nashville’s defense, along with the play of Pekka Rinne made it difficult for Anaheim to win the series especially with underwhelming special teams play.
Another issue for Anaheim was the amount of injures the team sustained. Naturally every team in the playoffs has injuries because the Stanley Cup playoffs are grueling by nature. For the Ducks though, they lost three keys players that also made beating Nashville even more difficult. The Ducks lost Patrick Eaves to injury before the series even started, which meant other players had to step up. In Games 5 and 6, the Ducks were also without Rakell, so Anaheim had their two 30+ goal scorers out. To make matters worse, John Gibson was injured in the first period of Game 5 and wasn’t able to play for the rest of the playoffs. Jonathan Bernier couldn’t get the win in Game 5 and then played terribly in Game 6 giving up four goals on just 16 shots. Too many things went against Anaheim and they couldn’t quite overcome them.
Lastly a lack of net front presence hurt Anaheim’s chances of beating Nashville. Without Eaves for the entire series and Rakell for critical Games 5 and 6, there weren’t as many players going to the net. Ondrej Kase and Chris Wagner did step up their games and provide timely goals. But it’s difficult to replace the play making ability of Rakell and the willingness of him and Eaves to crash the net. The rest of the Ducks team needed to step up and make Rinne’s life miserable in net but they couldn’t accomplish that. If you are going to beat an elite goalie, then you have to disrupt his game. Forwards need to get in his field of view, crash the net, create chaos, and keep traffic around the crease. Beating an elite goalie takes redirections, fortunate bounces, screened shots, and sometimes even luck. The Ducks couldn’t get Rinne off his game especially in the last few contests of the series.
Despite all the obstacles, fans can still be proud of this Anaheim team. They fought Nashville hard and came up short in the two final games. They even fought back in Game 6 down 3-1 in the third period and nearly forced a Game 7. The team had plenty of fight in them and there should be no shame in that locker room. A healthy Eaves, Rakell, and/or Gibson and maybe I would be writing about the Ducks and the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final. But for now we will have to see what the expansion draft, NHL draft, and free agency will bring their team over the summer. Is it October yet?
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