Ben Shelley: Ducks’ six-game losing streak shows team still has a ways to go

It’s killing me…

Play Leo all the time… … bring up baby Z…

What the hell is going on with Zegras & Drysdale…

It’s killing me…

Play Leo all the time… … bring up baby Z…

What the hell is going on with Zegras & Drysdale…
- dozerD10

Both of them have pretty bad groin injuries. Speaking from experience, they take forever to heal. However, I didn't have a full-time training staff at my beck-and-call, so who knows?

I'm not bothered by the losses, per se. If you look at this team objectively, they're not a playoff team...yet. No, what's bugging me is the regression toward last year's play. They lost some games early in the year but they were competitive throughout the game. You could tell they were a different team. Now they are getting sloppy. Hell, 3 breakaways in the first period against the Oilers! I could see making a mistake on one, but dammit, how about keeping an eye out for the rest of the game???
It might be time for a little tough love for Troy Terry, too. The dude went 3 games without recording a shot on goal! A buddy of mine who is a Gulls STHer says that as bad as they've been, Pavol Regenda has looked really good. Maybe it's time for Troy to hang out with me upstairs, have some popcorn and let Pavol have a go at this.

I hear corey perry is available.

I think this slump demonstrates the impact Zegras made during this time with the team. His offensive threat helped get Terry more space and took some focus off of the second line. He was also much more solid defensively than he had been getting credit for.

I hope both he and Drysdale heal fully and are able to get back into the lineup. I am happy to have Killorn's leadership, but he cannot be a consistent first liner.

I have been pleasantly surprised with Gudas and Vaakanainen defensively. I also think the league has woken to Mintyukov's skill and is gameplanning better against him. I think this will be a good challenge for him and hope he is able to raise his game.

Both of them have pretty bad groin injuries. Speaking from experience, they take forever to heal. However, I didn't have a full-time training staff at my beck-and-call, so who knows?

I'm not bothered by the losses, per se. If you look at this team objectively, they're not a playoff team...yet. No, what's bugging me is the regression toward last year's play. They lost some games early in the year but they were competitive throughout the game. You could tell they were a different team. Now they are getting sloppy. Hell, 3 breakaways in the first period against the Oilers! I could see making a mistake on one, but dammit, how about keeping an eye out for the rest of the game???
It might be time for a little tough love for Troy Terry, too. The dude went 3 games without recording a shot on goal! A buddy of mine who is a Gulls STHer says that as bad as they've been, Pavol Regenda has looked really good. Maybe it's time for Troy to hang out with me upstairs, have some popcorn and let Pavol have a go at this.
- duxcup07

This is of Vertanks own making by jerking these guys all summer... I don't think either one is long term for this team .. just a feeling from Vertanks actions towards both...

And "My ass is Glass" Drysdale is basically retired at this point... BUST if there ever was an example...

I think this slump demonstrates the impact Zegras made during this time with the team. His offensive threat helped get Terry more space and took some focus off of the second line. He was also much more solid defensively than he had been getting credit for.

I hope both he and Drysdale heal fully and are able to get back into the lineup. I am happy to have Killorn's leadership, but he cannot be a consistent first liner.

I have been pleasantly surprised with Gudas and Vaakanainen defensively. I also think the league has woken to Mintyukov's skill and is gameplanning better against him. I think this will be a good challenge for him and hope he is able to raise his game.
- hdd23

Vaaks has been solid... some hiccups... And Radko is as advertised... A hard case.

Would love to Luneau play more... A Lot more... dude is a find.

I found last night's game aginst Vancouver very interesting. The strategy that the Canucks deployed was very strange. They played defensively the first two periods. Constantly surrounding Dempko and blocking the Ducks from getting to the net or crease. Then after the Ducks wore themselves out, they blitzed the Ducks in the third period. Basically the Canucks set a trap and the Ducks got caught. Of course it was risky. If the Ducks score two or three goals in the first and second that game goes way different. But I admire the risky move Rick Tochett and his Coaches made. They plan was worthy of Willy Coyote setting a trap for the Road runner. And yeah it could have blown up in their faces like a Acme Dynamite kit. But it didn't. And that was funny to me.

And the risk came with a good reward. The Canucks basically got two points from a division opponent for minimal effort. They did just enough to win the game. Very efficient. Expelling to much energy just to get a loss was a bad out come for the Ducks. But Cronin and his staff need to watch out for these kind of games. And losing 7 games in a row in really bitter. But let's just hope the Players and Coaches are learning from the mistakes.

Also I'd like to say I'm happy this kind of strategy based hockey is making a comeback. For a while Analitics killed the strategy based hockey game. Every team played fast open hockey and it was so boring. Just Cookie Cutter offense. No different schemes or game plans. Just fore checking and skating. But now every team plays a little different. It's hard to tell what's going to happen every game. It's different every time. Coaches have to think and plan more. No more mindless game plans brought on by graph charts and Corsi. And the Coaches who are good at game strategy are flourishing. While the Analitics Coach's are having a harder time. But that's hockey. Things are always changing. Teams just need to keep adapting.