Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA TODAY Sports
The Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings will kick off a highly-anticipated first-round playoff match-up on Tuesday night, and as the Ducks start to focus on keys to success they can start by looking at special teams. The Red Wings’ power play success helped fuel their four-game winning streak to finish the season that resulted in a playoff berth, and the Ducks will need a strong performance on the penalty kill if they hope to advance.
The Ducks finished the season ranked in the top ten in goals per game, goals against and power play percentage. Their penalty kill was 13th, but they finished the season strong in only allowing one power play goal in their final six games. The goaltending of Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth has been a key to the Ducks’ success this season, and anything the defense in front of them can do to make things easier certainly won’t hurt. Neither goalie gives up many goals, and the defense has for the most part limited their work to facing 25-30 shots per game. Francois Beauchemin has turned in a fantastic season, and will likely continue to lead the Ducks in ice time when they’re shorthanded. Toni Lydman and Cam Fowler have also seen a lot of time on the penalty kill, while among the forwards Daniel Winnik and Andrew Cogliano are huge contributors. Cogliano had a pair of shorthanded goals this season, outdone only by Ryan Getzlaf, who had three.
The Ducks have been doing many things right this season, and if that trend continues they could go deep in the playoffs. Consistent penalty kill success will increase their chances of defeating a very hot Red Wings team in the first round.
Jonathan Katje is an NHL senior writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your circles on Google Plus.
