Anaheim Ducks: Defensemen need to take offensive responsibility
By Redan Lopez
Lack of Offensive Production
Fowler has not contributed a single point in eight games since his return from facial surgery in early January, and Manson has not provided an assist or goal in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Montour has generated four assists in his last 10 and Lindholm has two assists.
That’s simply not going to get it done.
What’s most unbelievable is that none of the four Ducks’ defensemen mentioned have scored a goal since their last home win on Dec 12th against the Dallas Stars where both Montour and Lindholm scored. Needless to say, this says a lot about the players’ mentality as well as their inability to get onto the scoresheet. They just aren’t working hard enough.
Elite teams in the NHL have defensemen contributing on a nightly basis. Think the Nashville Predators, who consistently receive goals and assists from their top four defensemen (Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, and P.K. Subban). Or the San Jose Sharks who have defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson launching countless shots to the opposition’s net.
The key here is that these defensemen are heavily involved in their team’s offense and are a big reason why their teams are indeed successful.
Yet in general, even on the few times the Ducks defensemen enter the offensive zone with some speed, the mentality has been to make the safe play and not the aggressive play.
They often pass to each other on the perimeter or send it around the boards for the forwards to forecheck. While this may be adequate to establish the offensive zone, the pucks need to go toward the net if they have any chance at going in.
Its extremely irritating to watch when one of them holds onto the puck for an inordinate amount of time only to have their shot blocked when they wait too patiently or when they keep passing to each other, only for the puck to come out of the zone. This is where that quick decision making comes in to push play toward the net and not to the edges.
They need to take more responsibility in the offensive end and start to impose their will on their opposition; otherwise, this team will continue to suffer.