Ducks zero in on key issue
0-for-20 slump on power plays has team looking for answers ahead of Game 2.
Just after the Ducks lost Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Patrick Eaves made his way down a dimly lit service-level hallway of Honda Center.
He looked sharp in a dark suit and walked gingerly.
It was representative of the Ducks’ power play, which looks great at times but is still hobbled and been in the dark for too long. It has gone scoreless in six games and takes an 0-for-20 slump into Game 2 against the Nashville Predators on Sunday at Honda Center.
While penalty killing is usually the special-teams ingredient that equates to playoff success, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said Saturday that their power play is a significant issue with his team trailing 1-0 in the series.
“We’re 0 for 20, and it has to change dramatically,” Carlyle said. “One thing that we’ve stated is that the will that has been demonstrated by the penalty killing … has exceeded our power play’s will. And that means work ethic, puck recovery, establish a shot, net presence. All of those things are staples in which we try to create a strong power play with. Right now our power play is
not running anywhere near its capability.”
Eaves was a big cog in the Ducks’ first unit. He was sixth in the NHL with 13 power-play goals in the regular season but got injured in Game 3 of the second round, and the Ducks haven't scored with the man advantage since he’s been out.
Carlyle said they have other capable personnel. They got good looks in two of their four power plays in Game 1, but both units missed a prime opportunity after the Ducks killed a twoman advantage.
Nashville’s Ryan Johansen subsequently took a needless neutral-zone slashing penalty and the Ducks got only one shot on the ensuing power play, with the score 2-2.
“I think a lot of responsibility falls on me to get things organized,” Cam Fowler said. “Once we get set up and organized, we feel like we can execute. But part of our problem right now is getting to that point. At times, we’re not even getting set up into our spots … At the very least we have to give our group momentum. We can’t suck life out of the group.”
The Ducks admitted they were lifeless in an unengaged start to an eventual 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1. Still spent from Game 7 vs. Edmonton, they couldn’t find the intensity again so soon. “It didn’t feel like the conference finals, to be honest,” Andrew Cogliano said.
That won’t be the scenario Sunday as the roller coaster of the week took a breather Saturday. The Ducks owned up to their post-Game 7 letdown, but they also recognized that the Predators are a much tighter outfit than their previous two playoff opponents.
They don’t have a superstar like Connor McDavid of Edmonton but a lineup that executes coach Peter Laviolette’s aggressive attacking style. They hold on to the puck and don’t allow a lot of odd-man rushes, much like how the Ducks beat Edmonton.
“I feel the Game 7 against Edmonton is the team that we need to see [Sunday], which was a tight-checking, relentless team that went after them,” Cogliano said.
“They’re a team that comes at you really hard and forces you to make plays under pressure and gives you absolutely nothing of free ice. We have to earn it. Sunday’s the game that we need to establish home ice and show what we’re about.”
The Predators, who stole Game 1 for the third time in three playoff series against the Ducks, said they expect Sunday to be more representative of a close series.
“We have a hell of an opportunity and we know that they’re going to come out hard, but it’s going to be a big game,” Nashville’s P.K. Subban said.
Mobility needed
Carlyle said that Kevin Bieksa “will be an option” for Game 2 but suggested that he wants to continue with the same defensive lineup.
“We felt that with a sevengame series, and the type of skating team and pressure team that we’re presented with, with Nashville, we’re going to need as much mobility as we can possibly have on the back end,” Carlyle said. “But we’re always open to minor adjustments as we move forward.”