Ducks Staying Afloat Despite Adversity

It’s been four games now since the Anaheim Ducks canned head coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with general manager Bob Murray and the team has responded by winning three of them. However, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than just wins and losses as the team continues to face adversity. Starting goaltender John Gibson, who has struggled mightily since getting bombarded at the All-Star Game, is shelved with an upper body injury and backup Chad Johnson is also sidelined. On the bright side, 38-year-old veteran Ryan Miller recently returned to the crease after missing 23 games and 26-year-old Kevin Boyle was called up from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL to lend a helping hand.

Boyle got his feet wet in the big leagues when he replaced Johnson for the last two periods of a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 9^th and allowed two goals against. Carlyle was fired less than 24 hours later and Boyle got the start again three days after that. He responded by posting a 35-save 1-0 shutout against the Vancouver Canucks at home in his very first NHL start with Murray making his league debut behind the bench.

The 6-foot-2-inch native of Manalapan, New Jersey wasn’t as successful two nights later though as Boyle was beaten twice in a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins. He managed to post a goals-against-average of 1.51 in his three appearances up to now with a 95.5 save percentage and did an admirable job of holding the fort until Miller took over.

Miller was back between the posts on Feb. 17^th for the first time since Dec. 2^nd and made 23 saves in a 5-2 home triumph over the Washington Capitals. That win was significant for the native of East Lansing, Michigan as it was the 375^th of his 16-season NHL career. It allowed him to move past John Vanbiesbrouck and Miller now holds the record for the most regular-season NHL wins by an American-born netminder.

After the game his mark stood at 375-270-80 in 748 regular-season contests with Anaheim, the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. Miller was originally drafted in the fifth round with the 138^th overall pick in 1999 by the Sabres and his career GAA now stands at 2.60 with a 91.6 save percentage and 44 shutouts. Before turning pro he won the 2001 Hobey Baker Award while playing for Michigan State as the best NCAA college player in America.

Miller took the Vezina Trophy home for his play with the Sabres in 2009/10 by going 41-18-8 with a save percentage of 92.9, a GAA of 2.22 and five shutouts. He signed a two-year $4 million deal as a free agent with Anaheim in 2017 and went 12-6-6 in 28 appearances last season with a 2.35 GAA, 92.8 save percentage and four clean sheets. After setting the wins record against Washington, Miller made 31 saves in a 4-0 whitewashing of the Minnesota Wild. He’s now 6-2-1 this year with a 2.39 GAA, 92.9 save percentage and one shutout.

With the 25-year-old Gibson still on the shelf the ball is in Miller and Boyle’s hands. The team is now just three points behind Minnesota and the last Western Conference wild-card playoff spot as of Feb. 20^th. However, they still have to climb over four teams in the standings before they reach the Wild. The Ducks are a streaky bunch though and have had a habit of winning or losing several games in a row this season. If they can continue their current semi-hot stretch they could still be hanging around the wild-card positions when the last week of the season arrives.

It’s still unclear if the Ducks will be buyers or sellers at the Feb. 25^th NHL trade deadline, but Murray is already preparing his roster for action. Patrick Eaves, the 34-year-old veteran winger was placed on waivers on Feb. 20^th.

Anaheim acquired Eaves at the tail end of 2016/17 from the Dallas Stars and he notched 11 goals and 3 assists in 20 contests. The Ducks topped the Pacific Division that year, but were knocked out of the Conference Finals by the Nashville Predators. Eaves chipped in with a pair of goals and assists in seven playoff outings.

He suffered from a post-viral syndrome in 2017/18 and played just two games, scoring a goal. Eaves then underwent shoulder surgery prior to this season and he returned to play in seven games without scoring a point before being sidelined again.

Eaves is making $3.15 million against the salary cap this season and next and has 132 goals and 110 assists for 242 points in 633 regular-season NHL games with Anaheim, Dallas, the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators. He was originally drafted by Ottawa in the first round in 2003 with the 29^th overall pick. But since he’s played in just nine games since 2017/18 it’s highly unlikely any of the other 30 NHL teams will take a chance on him at this stage.

Trade deadline day will likely tell fans a lot about how Anaheim will tackle the rest of the season. If they deal assets for prospects they’ve probably given up hope of playing in the postseason. In addition, finishing near the bottom of the league looks a little brighter these days since there are now a few good prospects available in this summer’s draft.

Young American Jack Hughes is widely touted as being the number one pick, but fellow forwards Vasili Podkozin of Russia and Finland’s Kaapo Kakko could give him a run for the money. It looks like they’ll be the top three selections in the draft regardless of order, and the Ducks may be tempted to ease up the rest of the way with the hope of landing one of them.

But with a playoff spot still within reach it’s more likely Anaheim will go for it until it’s no longer a mathematical possibility.