Playoff hockey has returned to Orange County after eight years, and the Ducks are looking to advance for the first time since they lost in the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
The opponent they last bested in the playoffs is the one they’ll face starting Monday, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers.
Nine years ago, No. 97 had just finished his first full NHL campaign, and No. 29 hadn’t yet cracked the 30-goal barrier.
Since then, that duo has combined to win seven scoring titles, lead the league in goals twice and compete in two Stanley Cup Final series, as well as capture four league MVPs and five MOPs.
The Ducks, on the other hand, have rebuilt completely, with even their longest-tenured player, Troy Terry, playing in his first postseason series. Their young core will lean on veteran imports for some guidance.
Dethroning the two-time defending conference champions is no simple task, but here are four reasons the Ducks might pull it off.
Leo and Cutter meet Connor and Leon
Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier cranked out 136 points — two shy of McDavid’s league-leading total — despite missing 18 games between them.
That shifted the discussion from future potential to current value, and at the right time for the duo, which is headed toward restricted free agency. Gauthier became just the fourth Duck to deposit 40 goals in a season, and his company is illustrious: Teemu Selänne, Corey Perry and Paul Kariya. Early in the year, Carlsson was a potent offensive engine and has recaptured that form when his linemates have permitted it.
They aren’t on McDavid or Draisaitl’s level yet, and few ever will be, but in any given game, they could produce in a similarly explosive fashion. Core players giving their squad a high baseline is always vital in the playoffs, and the Ducks finally have some chance at hanging with other teams’ nuclei thanks to Carlsson and Gauthier’s ongoing emergence.
Both players also showed leadership qualities on a team where know-how and can-do haven’t often aligned. Carlsson tried to take over shifts as malaise set in late in the year, while Gauthier’s shot mentality and finishing ability made a night-and-day difference after he returned from injury.
Experience and Familiarity
In just two years, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch has gotten to know his club and accumulated as much playoff experience as possible, playing in eight of a possible eight series the past two springs.
Yet the man he replaced, Jay Woodcroft, is now behind the Anaheim bench as an assistant. He coached Edmonton and the same Oilers core on two playoff runs to three series victories. He knows their power play, their personnel, their tendencies and as much as anyone knows about the Oilers.
Above him is Head Coach Joel Quenneville, who said he was “dreaming in color times 10” after his Blackhawks knocked off the Ducks in the 2015 Western Conference Finals en route to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons.
Quenneville has had plenty of reasons to ease off this season — a young roster, an intense predecessor and his own unsavory absence from the coaching ranks — but with four diamond-studded Stanley Cup rings in his dresser drawer, this is Quenneville’s moment to shine.
Before April Came March
The Oilers were unable to add anything of note at the trade deadline, widely appearing on the “losers” lists six weeks ago.
The Ducks, on the other hand, landed one of the biggest augmentations in the NHL, swinging a deal for seasoned defenseman John Carlson, who’d spent nearly 17 seasons as a Washington Capital. His extensive résumé included 14 prior trips to the playoffs and 23 series, as well as a Stanley Cup in 2018.
Going back to last season, the Ducks have added considerably more than the Oilers, who, outside of blue-liner Jake Walman, have not moved the needle much with their acquisitions. Meanwhile, the Ducks have snagged proven performers.
Since his playoff debut in 2012, Chris Kreider ranks ninth in postseason goals. He and rearguard Jacob Trouba made two trips to the conference finals with the New York Rangers. Mikael Granlund was in the final four last season, and Alex Killorn won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Ducks’ Streaky Nature
Yes, they went 2-6-2 to finish the season, but just before that, they were the West’s best team for a third of the campaign, going 20-6-1 from Jan. 13 to March 26.
They previously rebounded from a nine-game plummet that threatened their playoff potential, turning in seven straight wins for the second time this season despite missing many key producers.
In less than a month, they put up four seven-goal games at the outset of the campaign, though much more recently they were shut out three times over a similar span.
Though Edmonton sat back and trapped more at times, including late in the year, their pace and personnel allowed for plenty of chances in three head-to-head meetings. If the right Ducks show up, they could prevail in a series of track meets.