Coach Dallas Eakins said: Ducks must improve their play in all areas –
IRVINE – If the Ducks go on to enter the Stanley Cup playoffs, if they want to cement their position as a postseason contender rather than a pretender, if they will complete a remarkable rise surprised from the depths of the NHL rankings last season, they have to improve every aspect of their play.
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said so after Monday’s practice at Great Park Ice.
“We had to go above and beyond everything,” Eakins said of raising their level of play on a three-match trip with the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. “We are going to have to have some great goals. We’ll have some real defenders step up. We will have to score from all our lines, but especially from the ones we expect. We will have to stay out of the box. We will have to keep scoring in our power play. ”
High order?
“We tried to check as many cells as we could, but the error rate was very, very low,” says Eakins.
That’s right, the Ducks are winning 4-1-2 in their past seven games, including a 3-0-2 record in a five-game run through the Eastern Conference that resulted in an All-time break. -Star. However, there’s been some pretty obvious slippage in their overall play lately, and that’s what worries Eakins.
“Through the first 20 to 25 games, I really think we can surprise some teams,” he said. “No more surprises. They actually took down some of our attackers. They are very sensitive. They finished their scouting job. We’ve played enough games that they can see our in-game habits. So scoring is going to get harder and harder, that’s for sure. ”
POWER GENERATION PROBLEMS
The Ducks have spent a lot of time training to improve their strength this season, and it has paid off. Their 25.4 percent success rate was the fifth-best in the NHL on Monday’s matches around the league, a significant improvement from their league low of 8.9 percent. in the previous season.
However, their power play has dropped to 20% in the last 10 games.
“I think it hit,” said Duck right wing Rickard Rakell when asked for the key to successful power play. “That’s what we talked about. At the beginning of the year, when we were successful, we basically exploited everything from everywhere and we started playing explosively there.
“When it didn’t go the way we wanted, it felt like we were trying to find a one-tap search. It’s nothing terrible, but we’re just trying to get back to that mindset about filming a little bit more and people feel like they’re a threat out there. ”
PREPARATION OF FRONT
Rakell scored the Ducks’ most recent powerhouse goal after a save from defender Jamie Drysdale’s shot from outside the box in Friday’s loss to Seattle Kraken, an example of what needs to be done to keep playing the game. success this season.
Rakell said he learned the art of playing in front of the net from former team-mate Corey Perry, a master at sifting through goalkeepers, parrying teammates’ shots and catching the bounce. It’s hard work, often accompanied by rough play from opponents, but it pays off.
“Having been through difficulties this year, not scoring goals, I feel like I need to get closer to the net and work hard for some goals,” he said. “Sometimes you feel like you’re doing the same things and that’s not going anywhere, and sometimes it’s happening and that’s because you’re in the right area.”
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/14/ducks-must-improve-their-play-in-all-areas-coach-dallas-eakins-says/ Coach Dallas Eakins said: Ducks must improve their play in all areas –
