Might as well get my rant in now…
It’s not just about the kids doing well anymore, imo. Gotta get wins with those results as well. We need to stay competitive. This is where we can try and separate ourselves from the bottom feeders and no longer be in the “lottery team” discussions. I’m tired of it.
I supposed it's all on perspective. If you think we should be a playoff team, then yes, we should be very upset.
I don't think we're an expected playoff team yet. We're in a development season that is also conflated with two prominent players missing training camp due to contract negotiations as well as missing our 3C in Lundy. I'm just searching for improvement, but we've moved ahead greatly with our rookies showing up.
| Ducks | Goals | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Season | Games | GF | GF/Game | Rank | | GA | GA/Game | Rank |
| 2022-23 | 82 | 206 | 2.51 | 31st | | 355 | 4.33 | 32nd |
| 2023-24 | 13 | 40 | 3.08 | 21st-Tied | | 40 | 3.08 | 10th-Tied |
We have vastly improved in Goals For and Goals Against from last year. We are not bottom dwellers anymore, albeit a small sample.
| Ducks | Shots | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Season | Games | SF | SF/Game | Rank | | SA | SA/Game | Rank |
| 2022-23 | 82 | 2326 | 28.37 | 28th | | 3207 | 39.11 | 32nd |
| 2022-24 | 13 | 373 | 28.69 | 28th | | 428 | 32.92 | 18th |
Onto shots stats. The team far more accurate in shooting for goals this season. Anaheim has notched four games where a player has scored a hat trick: Vatrano x2, Terry, and Carlsson. Of course, having two short-handed goals will help our shots look more accurate, especially with a smaller volume of shot attempts.
We have improved our shots against in 13 games, but that's a small sample. In our last five games, the Ducks have allowed 35 shots or more four times. For those four situations, we have won two games on comebacks and lost two games.
We're still a work in progress, especially with forwards rotating properly on offense to prevent odd-man situations as well as assignments on the defensive end with our forwards, who get lost and makes it easier on opposing teams to score goals in the confusion.
| Ducks | Special | Teams | | | | |
|---|
| Season | Games | PP Eff | Rank | | PK Eff | Rank |
| 2022-23 | 82 | 15.72 | 31st | | 72.14 | 32nd |
| 2022-24 | 13 | 20.45 | 16th | | 80.33 | 14th |
Our PK has been tits since game 4! Asst coach Thompson + special asst. Stothers + new defenders (Gudas, LaCombe, and Lyubushkin) + PK forwards all get kudos.
The PP unit is evolving, getting hot since game 8. I still don't trust Brown. Carlsson and Mac need to be on the half-wall. Both were placed in the bumper position, with Carlsson recently moved to the half-wall. When Carlsson is moved to the half-wall, he scored 2 PP goals.
