The Anaheim Ducks will look to take a 2-0 series lead on Saturday night at the Honda Center as they battle the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of the teams’ best-of-seven series.
Game 1 on Thursday night was a bit of a nail-biter for the Ducks as they trailed 2-1 going into the third period of the game. Corey Perry ended up saving the day for his team however, scoring a power play goal early in the frame to tie things up and adding a short-handed tally later on that ended up serving as the game-winner.
For the Ducks, Saturday’s game will provide an opportunity to grab control of the series, but they will once again have to do it without starting goaltender John Gibson, who continues to battle injury. Frederik Andersen had a solid game for the team in Thursday’s series opener, and he will have to once again be in top form as the Jets look to come out firing in the game.
That aggressiveness will likely start on the Winnipeg blue line as they look to take advantage of their quick transition game. The onus for that will fall on guys like Jacob Trouba, who had an assist in Game 1 for the Jets, and Dustin Byfuglien, who is one of the most dangerous offensive blue liners in the game today. If they can get the puck up ice quickly, it will put more pressure on the Ducks’ blue liners, but it will also demand a solid defensive effort from their forwards in the neutral zone as well.
For the Ducks, they can counter Winnipeg’s aggressiveness with some offensive tweaks of their own. Cheating a forward out near the point is one way of doing that, as it will allow the Ducks to potentially find odd-man rushes as the Jets’ defensemen pinch in on plays. Aggressive forechecking from guys like Ryan Kesler could also be a way to get things going the other way, as it will disrupt the flow of traffic through the neutral zone and prevent the Jets from getting their offense together before breaking across the blue line.
Finally, one thing for fans to keep an eye on with the Ducks’ offense is whether or not they can get some secondary scoring going in this game. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf carried a big chunk of the load in Game 1 of the series, scoring three goals and dishing out four assists combined, but guys like Emerson Etem and Kesler will have to take a more proactive role in the offense if the Ducks are going to secure a two game lead as they head north to a raucous MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
