Takeaways from the Ducks 6-0 Loss to the Flyers, 3-2 OT Win over the Canes

The Ducks continued their season-long six-game road trip with back-to-back games against the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes.

Takeaways from the Ducks 6-2 Loss to the Blues

The Ducks came into the weekend off the heels of a 6-2 blowout at the hands of the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

For Saturday's game against the Flyers, Ducks head coach Greg Cronin used a nearly identical lineup to the game against the Blues. The only change was the insertion of Ross Johnston on the fourth line for Nikita Nesterenko.

The Ducks lost 6-0 to Philadelphia in Cutter Gauthier's Wells Fargo Center debut and were thoroughly outplayed in every zone for the game's entirety.

John Gibson got the start for the Ducks against the Flyers, allowing six goals on 30 shots and saving -3.35 goals above expected. Like with Dostal against St. Louis on Thursday, those numbers aren't quite fair as there wasn't a soft goal allowed by Gibson, just several defensive breakdowns in front of him.

The Ducks answered with a 3-2 overtime win against the Hurricanes on Sunday, another game where they were handily out-possessed but one where they were less leaky and received quality goaltending. This game was similar to recent wins against cup contenders like the Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils.

Cronin shuffled almost every line and defensive pair in this game. Robbi Fabbri joined Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano on the listed second line, Brett Leason got shifted to the wing of Gauthier and Mason McTavish, and Nesterenko rejoined the fourth line with Isac Lundestrom and Jansen Harkins.

On the blueline, Drew Helleson came out of the lineup. Cronin split up his "shutdown pair" of Brian Dumoulin and Jacob Trouba, pairing each of them with a younger partner: Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov, respectively.

Lukas Dostal got the start in this game for the Ducks and stopped 35 of 37 shots and saved 1.03 goals above expected.

Here are my notes from these two games:

Defensive zone coverage and neutral zone forecheck: These two games exemplified the pitfalls of the man-to-man defensive zone coverage the Ducks run. The neutral zone forecheck and subsequent coverage is designed to force the puck off the sticks of their opponents quickly, move it back up ice, and deep into the offensive zone, not unlike how the Hurricanes play.

Issues arise when retrievals are even slightly disrupted. If they lose a battle for a loose puck deep in their zone, they have trouble generating those necessary turnovers to counter. They wind up shadowing their assignment for extended periods, defending the cycle, and expelling all energy in the process until either a quality chance is generated or they are able to harmlessly advance pucks to neutral ice.

As is natural, the longer they spend in the defensive zone, more seams open and the more likely it becomes a breakdown will occur, as demonstrated by the Flyers' fourth goal on Saturday.

Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier: Saturday was an emotional day for Gauthier as it was for the entire Flyers fanbase. Philadelphia dominated play from the opening puck drop, but Gauthier was one of the lone bright spots for the Ducks. He was defending well, often as the first backchecker and low forward in coverage, where he was attentive and persistent in breaking up pass attempts and boxing out in front of the crease. He did well to seek out and drive offense, but the Flyers defense was suffocating and did well to eliminate his options.

Carlsson's game was elevated with the addition of Sam Colangelo on his wing. He was able to find outlet lanes to catch second passes out of the zone in full speed, gaining easy entry into the offensive zone and drawing the attention of defenders.

Sunday's game, especially, was a vintage Carlsson game on the forecheck, where he was dominant as an F3, diagnosing opposing breakouts and timing stick lifts to dispossess opponents.

Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo: The two recent call ups from the AHL were impactful in their respective roles and were a few more bright spots on a weekend when they were few and far between.

Nesterenko only played Sunday, but was exceptionally disruptive with his stick on the forecheck with linemates Harkins and Isac Lundestrom. He took proper angles and manufactured a bit of offense in his limited time on the ice.

In either game, Colangelo wasn't afforded much time and space to operate with the puck on his stick, but was able to keep pucks moving, in teammates' possession, and displayed good decision making skills after gaining the offensive blueline. With time to establish chemistry, he and Carlsson could, in theory, develop into a potent offensive combination.

It has become clear that when the team is at full health, it might benefit them if Colangelo and/or Nesterenko assumed roles in the top nine of the forward group, perhaps prioritizing them over Robby Fabbri or Brett Leason. Their offensive potential is higher at this juncture.

Radko Gudas: Gudas has struggled this season to maintain proper gap and has shown a tendency to misjudge space and opponents' speed both against the rush and cycle. He often gets caught in "no-man's land" between the puck carrier and the net. Philadelphia's fourth goal is the most recent example of that trend.

The Ducks will continue their road trip on Tuesday when they'll match up against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals.

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