EDMONTON – To fully grasp the quiet playoff exit made by the Anaheim Ducks in round one last April, you have to go back to a few months into the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Back to a time when the Ducks were caught in Chicago’s jet stream, clicking along just a few games behind the record-setting Blackhawks.
Chicago went 21-0-3 out of the gate, a National Hockey League record for the longest team point streak from the start of a season—by eight games. When the Blackhawks finally lost game No. 25 of the season in regulation it was March 8. Operating in typical West Coast anonymity, the Anaheim Ducks’ record that day was 17-3-3. The Ducks finished the season with the third-best record in the game, behind only Chicago and Pittsburgh, and drew the Detroit Red Wings in round one on what appeared to be the beginning of a collision course to the Western Conference final with Chicago.
But something wasn’t right.
“Everyone was kind of going through the motions,” Andrew Cogliano says. “Saying, ‘We’re just going to get to the playoffs, then turn it on.'”
History records that mindset as fallible. Anaheim went into the playoffs on a 5-4-1 stumble and, sure enough, in a series that featured four overtime games, the Ducks blew a 3-2 series lead and lost game seven at home to Detroit. It was a classic choke job by a team that did not respect the NHL playoffs enough to realize that even they had to find another level. “It was a tough matchup for us,” says Cogliano, 26, who has emerged as a mature leader under Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne. “They came in eighth, but they’re obviously (full of) veteran savvy. They’re the Detroit Red Wings. You can get a little bit uneasy.”
Almost a year later, as the Ducks battle for the Pacific Division lead with San Jose, coach Bruce Boudreau is reciting equal parts warning about last year’s playoff collapse, and revisionist history when it comes to his captain and best player. “Getzlaf was only at about 40 percent,” Boudreau says. “And (Francois) Beauchemin was playing with a torn ACL, they are our two best players at those positions.”
Well, we recall dropping in on game five of that series last spring, and the one thing that is vividly recalled was Getzlaf’s dominance in a 3-2 overtime win. “Drew a penalty, scored a goal. Went in, patience, patience, patience, and puts it right where he wants to. That’s what great players do,” defenceman Sheldon Souray marveled post-game. “He’s won, he’s a champion, he’s a leader.” Doesn’t sound like a guy at “40 percent,” eh? Well, give Boudreau credit. At least Beauchemin did have that torn ACL, and you’ve always got to leave a coach a little room for sculpting a storyline.
This spring—with the Ducks only two points in arrears of Pacific-leading San Jose and holding three games in hand on the Sharks (and three games left with Edmonton)—Boudreau might just have the best shot at making a Stanley Cup final of his seven seasons behind an NHL bench. The Ducks are big, deep, fast, strong in net, and have a ton of pedigree. Anaheim’s leadership group sports Olympian names like Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Saku Koivu. Beauchemin is a horse on the blueline. Young Hampus Lindholm, chosen sixth in the 2012 draft, is plus-29 and playing more than 20 minutes a night at age 20. He’s bigger and better than Morgan Rielly (picked fifth by Toronto) so far—the Oilers would almost certainly take Lindholm over their choice at No. 1 overall, Nail Yakupov.
Then there is the Italian Air Force, with speed merchants like Cogliano, Nick Bonino and Kyle Palmieri. “We’ve made some good additions,” says Boudreau. “Patty Maroon has turned out to be a really good player. (Jakob) Silfverberg has come over and done a real good job. Our defence is far deeper than it was last year. The goalie (Hiller) is the same. His numbers are pretty well identical.”
At times in Anaheim, if Getzlaf or Perry didn’t produce, it simply did not get done. Those days are long gone now. “That’s the key to our season,” tips Boudreau. “Yes, Getzlaf and Perry are great hockey players. But I still think of us as a four-line team.”
Cogliano is a perfect example. He kills penalties, gets around the ice like Selanne in his prime, and this season he’s got 21 goals coming off the third line—with very little power play time. “We have guys sitting out every night who probably shouldn’t be sitting out,” Cogliano says. “There are nights when Palmieri and (Daniel) Winnik are healthy scratches, where on any other team they would play. You have guys playing on the fourth line who have almost 30 points. You know Getzlaf and Perry are scoring. They’ve been great offensively, but you kind of expect them to—because they are the guys. When guys like myself, like Perreault, Koivu can step up, it just adds another element.”
An element that Detroit did not face last season. And one that might make a poolie take a second look at these Ducks.