Why The Anaheim Ducks Didn't Win The Cup

Why the Anaheim Ducks Didn’t Win the RHL Cup

Another season gone. Another Disappointing playoff experience. Another bank account deficit. GM VideoJ is finally showing his face, after his disdain for the incompetence of the Simon T hockey sim engine. While the Ducks organization has respect for the San Jose Sharks and their manager Brrr, the Ducks were clearly the better team and should have won the cup. The Ducks have a team rated significantly better than the Sharks in nearly every important category (Do not fact check this).

Up front the Ducks have an offensive core that is anchored by veterans and youth. Top tier snipers like Marchand, Debrincat and Jarvis. The Ducks are well-equipped with leadership a strong leadership presence upfront as well as defensive minded shut down centres in Mikael Backlund, Shane Pinto, and Isac Lundestrom. Their offensive prowess was also not able to shine due to only having two powerplays throughout the entire series. Meanwhile the Sharks iced a team headlined by scrubs such as Dylan Larkin, Zach Hyman and Tyson Foerster. The Sharks neglected to even set proper lines, featuring Ryan O’Reilly on two lines. Their bottom six featured players like Gatcomb and Parsinnen, whom wouldn’t even make the San Diego Gulls starting line.

On the back end, the Ducks have a strong veteran presence. Roman Josi and John Carlson are offensive powerhouses. Jaccob Slavin and Mikey Anderson represent two of the best shut down defenders in the league, and Brock Faber is a rising star capable of everything you could possibly need in a defender. The Sharks… well, let’s just say the sharks lack more than they possess. A couple of guys showing some promise for the feature in Matthias Samuelsson and Jakub Chychrun, and a broken-down Brent Burns “lead” the way”. With a combined average of 76.5 defensive rating, they are a pathetic group that the Ducks should have taken advantage of. Team Anaheim in comparison features a defensive average of 81.5. 5 whole points higher.

What ended up being the biggest downfall of the Ducks was something they had going for them all season long. No, we aren’t talking about GM VideoJ’s impeccable managerial skills (That is what the Ducks have had going for them for 8 seasons). We are referring to their atrocious goaltending. Throughout the season Jonas Korpisalo seemed to get better and better and eventually succeed Joey Daccord to be the #1 goalie. He posted staggering numbers of a .926 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average. He only faced 7 regulation losses in 35 games (2 of which he didn’t even start). He evidently earned the starting role, however posted a 5.6 GAA and an awful .829 save percentage. This left Anaheim with a deficit too deep to climb out of, despite Daccord’s efforts to rally the troops for a comeback in game 2. Meanwhile at the other end, some no name Mackenzie Blackwood stood on his head as if he had a vendetta towards them. When it counted most, the Ducks were fish food for the Sharks.