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Best: Offense
After only scoring five goals in their last four games, Anaheim’s offense finally decided to join the party. The Ducks exploded for five goals against the Bruins. Although one goal was an own goal, one was clearly offside, and the empty net goal never even made it into the net, Anaheim will take whatever it can get. Hopefully the players can build off this performance going forward.
Worst: I (Do Not) Like Turtles
Who knew a bad strategy was letting the other team play offense for an entire twenty minutes? Shot attempts favored Boston by a total of 28-13 in the final period of play. Ironically, Anaheim’s shutdown defense allowed a breakaway that tied the game at 3. If the Ducks want to consistently put teams away for the rest of this season, they may want to erase this strategy from their memory.
Best: Jonathan Bernier
John Gibson was a late scratch and is now considered day-to-day with a lower-body-injury. Bernier did not play all that well by stopping 19 of 22 shots (.897%) but made some incredible stops when his team needed him most. The veteran goaltender had to be watching Gibson tape on how to dive from out of position to make incredible saves. At least it was entertaining to watch.
Worst: The Power Play
Anaheim has not scored a power play goal since February 9th against the Buffalo Sabres. That was an entire seven games ago. Tonight the Ducks went 0 for 3 and never looked all that dangerous. Boston incidentally had the best scoring chance during that time, but Bergeron ended up hitting the post. Everyone knows that all Anaheim wants to do is keep the puck on the perimeter and get down low. May I suggest using the slot once in awhile? It forces defensemen and goalies to pressure leaving holes all over the offensive zone.
Honorable Mention: Hockey Gods
Thank you for the one game of puck luck. If only they could spread that around for a few more games. Boston hit two posts, wasted a challenge, could not challenge an offside goal, and even had an own goal. The game could have looked much different if a few bounces went the other way.
Three Stars:
3. Jonathan Bernier
2. Ondrej Kase
1. Rickard Rakell