Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Ducks fail to hold another lead; dropped fifth straight at home.

November 15, 2019, 3:35 PM ET [9 Comments]
Steve Palumbo
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
My, oh my...the wheels have really fallen off the Anaheim Ducks and their promising start to this season.

Following another blown lead, and a 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, the Ducks dropped their fifth consecutive decision at the Honda Center (0-3-2) and concluded the season-high seven-game homestand with a 2-3-2 record.

Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, and Max Jones scored goals for the Ducks, who are struggling on home ice since opening the season 6-1-0. Anaheim let leads of 1-0 and 2-1 slip away before San Jose used its special teams to take the game over for good.

Through the first 12 homes games, the Ducks are 6-4-2, but this latest loss brings to light an annoying trend - bad third periods.

- When tied after the first period on home ice, Anaheim is 0-3-1. When leading they are 6-1-1. That's all well and good but the third-period numbers are a bit surprising.

- The road team is outshooting Anaheim 122 to 104 in the third period and outscoring them 12 to 6.

- In the Ducks last four games, they were outscored 9-2 in the final period and throughout the entirety of this homestand, they were outscored 11-5 in the third.

Anaheim is near the bottom of the NHL in almost every offensive category and the power play is beyond brutal to watch. They have a minus-5 goal differential and the special teams are less than special. I mean, the Ducks have a grand total of FIVE power-play goals - FIVE! - all season and that includes that one against the Sharks.

Despite all of that, the Ducks had plenty of opportunities to wins games i.e. Minn and Detroit, They will rue those losses because the upcoming schedule is not a kind one. Anaheim hits the road for four games in St. Louis, Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay before returning to Honda Center to face the Islanders, Arizona, and Winnipeg. It's not out of the question for the Ducks to lose every single one of those games...just sayin'.

We knew the Ducks would experience growing pains. The hot start masked a team full of deficiencies. Hockey is a numbers game and eventually, the numbers catch up to you and then numbers just don't lie.

Hang in there Wild Wingers you knew it was going to be a bumpy road so buckle up and you might want to put a helmet on.

Thanks for reading,
Steve
Join the Discussion: » 9 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Steve Palumbo
» Avalanche Stay Active On The Trade Market
» Red Hot Avalanche Trade For An Old Friend
» The Colorado Avalanche Are Stanley Cup Champions!
» Avalanche On The Verge Of Hockey's Pinnacle
» Stanley Cup Final: Avalanche Take Thrilling Game One In OT