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For those that have missed this segment, this is a weekly series on Anaheim Calling to take a look at how various players on the team have fared. I will arbitrarily rank a random topic along on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and place different Ducks within the categories based on their performance over the past week.
My reasoning for the rating of the Ducks will be based on stats, results, and probably some of my bias. My reasoning for the rating of the random topic will be completely biased #dealwithit. I will elaborate more on some players than others. I expect everyone to probably disagree with me on both topics and all of my takes will be outed. If there is something you would like me to rank please feel free to leave it in the comments. On to the fun!
The games included in the ratings for this week are Feb 24th against the Coyotes, Feb 25th against the Oilers, and Mar 2nd against the Blue Jackets.
Seeing as the Ducks are located within a stones throw of the most magical places on earth, Disneyland, I wanted to rank the rides at Disneyland this week. I was lucky enough to have a pass throughout my childhood and through high school (Before the price of a pass skyrocketed), so I have plenty of experience on these rides and consider myself a Disneyland ride aficionado! Shoutout to @MKton31 on twitter for the idea. Like past weeks, these rankings are 100% correct and no one can tell me otherwise.
5 Stars: Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Indiana Jones
These three rides are the top of the top, the best of the best, the pinnacle of all Disneyland rides. The all provide exciting thrills, while emerging you in a world that feels lightyears away from Anaheim, California. They are truly magical and will never get old to me. These are the rides that are worth waiting in line for
Cam Fowler - Brandon Montour - I had been begging for this D pair to get an extended run together and after a rough start, they have really found their groove with one another. These two were the Ducks best defenseman this week. They were the best on the team in CF%, SCF%, and HDCF% at 65%, 62%, and 79% respectively. Yep they were that good. They also were the best defenseman in CA/60, SCA/60, and HDCA/60, which means they were the best at suppressing shots, chances, and high danger chances on the week. The emergence of this pair is a massive development for the potential cup chances of this team.
Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry - “Big line keep on scorin’, Proud fans keep on cheerin’, Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the Ponnnddd, Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the Ponnnnddd” (To the tune of Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival). The top line as the song says kept on rolling this week. Getzlaf produced 1 goal, 1 primary assist, and 2 secondary assist for 4 points, Corey Perry produced 3 primary assists and 1 secondary assist for 4 points, and Rakell scored 4 goals and 1 secondary assist for 5 points. They also were all above 50% in CF%, SCF%, and HDCF%.
4 Stars: Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain
These three rides are also iconic, but for various reasons just are not as good as the 5star rides. Don’t get me wrong, they are still great but they have flaws. The Haunted Mansion does a fantastic job of emerging you in that world but does not provide the thrills of the 5 star rides.
Splash Mountain would be a 5 star ride if you did not come off of the ride drenched. On a hot summer day it is awesome, but it really limits the ability to ride it on a colder winter night. Thunder Mountain is very close to being a 5 star ride, but is kind of missing the flair to take it over the top.
Derek Grant - Writer Adam Hutchinson must be lovin’ this recent run of form from Grant. He was great for the team at 5v5 in his two games played (Above 50% in CF% and above 60% in SCF% and HDCF%) and he even pitched in with a secondary assist.
Ryan Miller - Miller played in both games over last weekend and posted a 1.93 GSAA in those two games. He was not at his best but he was pretty good on the week. He was as good as splash mountain.
3 Stars: Autopia, Pirates of the Caribbean
These two rides are the definition of average for Disneyland. If you are there on a crowded day, most of the time you will ride these two rides due to them having shorter lines. They are not the best out there, but they are still entertaining to ride and encapsulate what makes Disneyland great.
Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg - This is going to be a bit different that my usual reasoning for a ranking. These three this week were very good in terms of CF%, SCF%, and HDCF%. All three being well above 50% in all three categories. Just based on that they should be in the 4 to 5 star range. The big issue though is they collectively had 1 point and it was Cogliano’s SH goal on Friday night. This line is getting significant minutes each game and the puck needs to start finding the back of the net. They have been one of the least productive lines on the team and that needs to change for the team to have success.
Francois Beauchemin - Marcus Pettersson - These two this week were fairly average. They were both floating around 50% in CF%, SCF%, and HDCF%. Moving forward the Ducks main key to success is providing this pairing with soft minutes to guarantee success.
2 Stars: It’s a Small World
It’s a Small World definitely takes you away to a different world. The issue is that different world can sometimes be a bit terrifying with the creepy animatronics and the songs will infiltrate your mind, where you cannot stop singing them for days.
Nick Ritchie - Adam Henrique - Ondrej Kase - The third line for the Ducks has started to cool off a bit. They collectively only had 2 points and both were from Adam Henrique. They were below 50% in CF% and SCF% and just slightly above 50% in HDCF%. This line has been very solid for the team this season, but it is becoming apparent that if the opposition keys in on shutting them down, they struggle a bit. This line thrives when the other two lines are getting the tougher matchups.
Hampus Lindholm - Josh Manson - These two had an off week. They were well below 50% in CF%, SCF%, and HDCF%. A big reason for that is the fact that they were separated for the week. They were reunited though in Fridays game, which provides the Ducks with their steady shutdown pair again. I hope to see these numbers rise in the upcoming games with these two being reunited.
1 Star: Alice in Wonderland
This ride is bad. That is all.
Chris Wagner - Antoine Vermette - J.T. Brown - Sorry Chris but in your final week on the ranking you have to be compared with Alice in Wonderland. This line was the only line to be under 50% in all three categories on the week and were also on the ice for more goals against than form which es no bueno from your 4th line.
Unranked: Tarzan’s Treehouse
A ride that you just walk through really isn’t a ride.
Jason Chimera (1 Game Played), Chris Kelly (1 Game Played), John Gibson (1 Game Played), Kevin Bieksa (1 Game Played)
*All skater stats are from Naturalstattrick unless stated otherwise. All goalie stats are from Corsica unless stated otherwise