Not so mighty Ducks pay Chicago Blackhawks a visit
Get ready, Chicago Blackhawks fans: The big, bad Anaheim Ducks are coming to town Monday night.
You remember, them right? You know, the team that nearly knocked the Hawks - literally and figuratively - out of the Western Conference finals last season?
Well, don't look now but Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Co. have been about as scary as a rubber ducky seven games into this season.
A popular pick to reach the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, the Ducks are off to a sickeningly bad 1-5-1 start. They have just 6 goals - SIX! - in seven games and were shut out for the fourth time in a 3-0 loss Saturday at Minnesota.
How many times Anaheim was shut out all of last season? You guessed it - four times.
"I'd be lying if I said it was easy to stay positive right now," Cam Fowler told reporters Saturday. "This is a tough go that we have. But we have to stay together through it. That's the only way that we can come out on the other side."
The Ducks have won three division titles in a row, going 135-56-21 in the process. Last season they were 51-24-7 and earned the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.
The problem certainly isn't in the goaltending as Frederik Andersen owns a sparkling .938 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against average.
No, the issue obviously is Anaheim's inability to score as there are seven NHL players with as many or more goals than the Ducks have as a team. Coach Bruce Boudreau's squad has a league-low 19 power-play opportunities and cashed in just once.
All of this has placed Boudreau, who had his team 1 win away from the Cup Final last season, on the hot seat.
The players, though, don't want to hear it.
"None of this is on Bruce," Fowler said. "Bruce is a motivator. He's a guy that sticks up for his players and someone that you want to play for. Unfortunately, when you lose in this business, the finger seems to be pointed at the coach."
Fowler wants the finger pointed at the players, so start with Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler. The three combined for 78 goals last season, yet they have all failed to score this season. Perry, a 33-goal scorer last season, has just 10 shots on goal.
"I feel heat on me," Getzlaf said after that 3-0 loss to the Wild. "We're not winning. I'm the leader of this hockey team. That's my job, to try and get these guys together and doing the right things."
Unlike Tampa Bay, who lost to the Hawks in overtime Saturday, Anaheim didn't stand pat in the off-season. Gone is 22-goal scorer Matt Beleskey and standout defenseman Francois Beauchemin. The new faces include D Kevin Bieska, LW Shawn Horcoff, RW Chris Stewart and LW Carl Hagelin.
Maybe the Ducks panicked and made too many changes because the new-look squad certainly hasn't jelled at all.
Like Fowler, Getzlaf doesn't want any of the blame to fall on the coaches' shoulders.
"The coaches can only put so many playbooks together to try and help us. It's got to be within this room. And it'll start with us."
And it better start soon, or their coach - and their playoff chances - might just be history.
Slap shots:
Although the Hawks have won both their games without Duncan Keith, they managed just 1 goal at even strength. … With a 1.84 goals-against average, Corey Crawford is tied with Nashville's Pekka Rinne for fourth in the NHL among goalies with at least three starts. The Ducks' Frederik Andersen (1.86) is sixth. … In just 9:51 of ice time Saturday, Hawks forward Ryan Garbutt racked up 6 shots on goal and 4 hits. Both were team highs.
He said it:
"I was just hoping something would go in. I think there was going to be a bounce like that at some point."
- Jonathan Toews on his game-winning goal 17 seconds into overtime Saturday in the Hawks' 1-0 win over Tampa Bay. It was Toews' first goal of the season.