Taking a look at the Anaheim Ducks’ miserable start

James O'Brien

Oct 11, 2010, 7:36 PM EDT

3 Comments

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Judging a team by its first three games is incredibly hasty in an 82-game season, but the Anaheim Ducks are making it pretty difficult to refrain from “fire and brimstone” talk. They haven’t just gone 0-3, they’ve been absolutely decimated.

Most people assumed that their defense would be a weakness thanks to the retirement of Scott Niedermayer and departure of other pieces over the years, and that’s exactly right. The Ducks allowed a disturbing 13 goals in three games so far, more than 4 goals per game. You cannot lay the blame solely at goalie Jonas Hiller’s feet or point to bad luck, either. When your team allows more than twice as many shots (145) as they produce (72) and that total is just a sniff under 50 shots per game, your defense is putrid.

It’s not as if these contests have been a shooting gallery, either, as the Ducks offense is as impotent as their defense is clueless. Despite dressing talented forwards such as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, Anaheim only scored two goals so far this season (both by Koivu).

No doubt about it, Anaheim’s opening performances have been downright abysmal. The question is, will they right the ship? There are a few reasons why they might but justifiable cause to wonder if this might be a nightmare season. Let’s take a quick glance at both sides of the argument.

Why things could get better

The Ducks are slow starters: As Earl Sleek points out in a Battle of California post that gave reasons to be positive while pointing out how bad the first two games were, Anaheim is a team that takes a while to wake up in the regular season. Sleek wrote that the Ducks made the playoffs twice in the three times the franchise started a season 0-3.
The Ducks have talent: While they missed the playoffs last year, they still have some of the best forwards in the NHL and a talented goalie in Hiller. They’re not quite as hopeless as some of the NHL’s worst from 09-10 from a talent standpoint.

Why things might not get better

Their defense is brutal: Even at 100 percent health, the Ducks blue line is a stark contrast from the group that helped them bully their way to a Stanley Cup. When Lubomir Visnovsky is probably your best defenseman, you better score a lot of goals.
The Curse of Chris Pronger: The Blues still aren’t regular fixtures in the playoffs since Pronger left while the Oilers continue to pick up the pieces. Oddly enough, it’s hard to replace a guy who menaces the competition into timid play for nearly half of a game.

If you ask me, the Ducks will get a bit better (you can only lose by 3-4 goals so many times, right?) but will need a drastic change to make the playoffs. Let’s just say that coach Randy Carlyle might want to update his resume if things don’t improve soon.

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