Game 28: Montreal Canadiens vs. Anaheim Ducks
Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Ducks region: Victory+
Streaming: ESPN+ (USA), Prime Video (CAN)
The Pacific Division has often been the weakest in the NHL’s recent history, with some Canadian teams struggling to compete and the California trio going through rebuilds at the same time. You can’t say that this year because the Atlantic Division’s leader has the lowest point total of the four (Florida Panthers, 36 points) and four teams are under a .500 points percentage while no other section has more than two. That means the path ahead isn’t as easy for the Anaheim Ducks as it looked when their rebuild began.
The Vegas Golden Knights yet again lead the way in the group, with a couple of surprising teams , the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, occupying the other playoff seeds. Another relatively slow start for the Edmonton Oilers has them in fourth, and it’s been a truly shocking opening third of the season for the Calgary Flames who have seen their young prospects hit the ground running in the NHL. Calgary’s .554 points percentage is what it currently takes to sit as the second wild card in the Western Conference. Anaheim isn’t close to that mark having lost seven of the 10 intradivisional games its played so far, all of those losses in regulation.
Despite an off-season rebrand with a tweaked logo and more prominent orange jerseys, things haven’t changed much on the ice for the Ducks. They’re projected to finish no better than seventh in the Pacific for the fifth consecutive year.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Ducks |
|---|---|---|
| 10-14-3 | Record | 10-12-3 |
| 48.1% (25th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 43.3% (31st) |
| 2.78 (23rd) | Goals per game | 2.44 (30th) |
| 3.59 (30th) | Goals against per game | 3.04 (18th) |
| 21.4% (15th) | PP% | 15.1% (29th) |
| 83.0% (5th) | PK% | 75.4% (24th0 |
| 2-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record (23-24) | 0-2-0 |
On the surface it seems like the team has made some progress on the defensive side. The Ducks rank a respectable 18th in goals against per game, shaving about half a goal off of last season’s average. Looking at the underlying numbers, you’ll see that that progress is all attributable to the goaltenders. Anaheim allows the most shots of any team, and has the highest expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five.
It was Lukas Dostal standing on his head in the opening month of the season as John Gibson recovered from an emergency appendectomy. Dostal has now started 15 games and faced 520 shots, putting up a .921 save percentage in that time to rank fourth in NHL among goalies to play at least nine games. Gibson has begun to take over from the Czech following his return to action, and sits on a .914 mark, his best in several seasons. Both goalies are tested with high-danger shots for their full 60 minutes of play, but are doing impeccable jobs of keeping the puck out.
Offensively, the Ducks have the same goal rate as last season. Three players share the team scoring lead at just six goals, the total Emil Heineman has in his rookie campaign. Outside of Troy Terry who has 19 points through 24 games, you can’t say any player on the team is having a productive start.
That also applies to Trevor Zegras, the player heavily linked to Montreal in the off-season before the acquisition of Patrik Laine began to quiet the rumours. Zegras had to exit the last game versus Las Vegas with a leg injury, and he has since been placed on Injured Reserve. Even he had just four goals and six assists on the season, well off the 60-point pace he held for two years before his injury troubles began last year.
Anaheim will be without the centreman likely for the duration of a four-game road trip that starts tonight in Montreal. That’s one less weapon they have for the few offensive forays they get when the puck gets cleared from the front of their net. The Canadiens should be able to send the team off to Ottawa with another loss, and improve to 3-1 on their current homestand
