Ducks Still Looking For Answers, Face Hardest Teams Out West
By Keith Rivas
In the Pacific corner of this year’s playoff bracket, the Anaheim Ducks secured the top seed but failed to find any other American teams in their path short of the Conference Finals. The other three teams in that respective region include the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets — this guarantees that the Ducks will play a Canadian team in more than just the first round should they move on past the quarterfinals.
But don’t count out Canada just yet.
The Vancouver Canucks have struggled finding a serious rhythm this season without rhyme or reason at the goalie position. Vancouver started off the year relying on Ryan Miller but then he got injured and everyone in Canuck territory nearly had a heart attack.
Unfortunately, the Ducks have been here before
Well, nearly is kind of an understatement.
Okay, it’s not, you got me.
But thankfully for the green-and-blue, goalie reserve Eddie Lack — who’s last name is opposite adjective to describe his play on the ice — has been playing out of his mind. With an entire city’s expectations on his shoulders, Lack has proven he can keep cool within the chaos.
This is a great thing because it’s what’s the Canucks have been waiting for — someone that can perform under pressure.
Aside from Vancouver, the Calgary Flames are another lively threat to watch for that the Ducks need to be aware of night in and night out. The Flames are in the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and it’s the first time facing Vancouver since 2004 when they defeated the Canucks in a shocking seven-game showdown.
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That was the same year that the Flames made their way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Every time that there has been a Vancouver – Calgary match up in the playoffs, the winner of that series has made it to the Final. The Anaheim Ducks are going to have their hands full in the second round, as regardless who wins between the Flames and the Canucks they’ll have to break a historic trend to even go any further.
But first they’ve got the Winnipeg Jets to worry about.
The Jets are going to be the biggest challenge to the Ducks having a deep and meaningful playoff run. They are the dark horse of the Western Conference and in recent memory the dark horse has always had either an improbable run or a record-setting one.
Chicago, Los Angeles, or even Boston can vouch for that.
In their season series, the Ducks won all three games between the two. The Duck victories came first in overtime, then a three-goal differential regulation win, closed out with a shootout victory. Unexpectedly, the Jets kept it close minus the second game played against the league and division-leading Ducks.
On top of the momentum that comes with all critics close to the post season not seeing you go far, Winnipeg also has on their side the historic pitfalls under pressure that the Ducks have been a part of lately.
Bottom Line: Anaheim isn’t going to be out of the woods for a while
Last year, the Kings overcame a 3-2 series deficit to keep the Ducks away from the Conference Finals. In the year before that, the Detroit Red Wings also overcame a 3-2 advantage in favor of Anaheim that disappeared before the eyes of the Ducks.
And guess what — both times that happened the Ducks finished first overall in their division, the same standing they’re in right now.
Guess the Jets are a bird of their own feather after all.