ANAHEIM — Yes, the Ducks have equaled the best start in the franchise’s 25-year history by going 3-0-1, banking seven points out of a possible eight while matching the mark of the great 2006-07 team that went on to win the Stanley Cup championship.
No, the Ducks haven’t played with the same relentless efficiency of their ancestors. They haven’t come close to satisfying the hopes and dreams of Randy Carlyle, who knows good hockey when he sees it since he also coached the only Stanley Cup team in club history.
The Ducks are very much a work in progress after four games of the new season. Their passing and puck management could use some fixing. So could their defensive play in front of goaltender John Gibson, who has been their unquestioned MVP so far.
Gibson has stopped 128 of 134 shots in four games to start the season for a .955 save percentage that ranked among the best in the NHL going into play around the league Friday. He also has one shutout and a 1.44 goals-against average.
Some of the Ducks’ troubles could be linked to patchwork lineups Carlyle has been forced to ice because of injuries to top forwards Patrick Eaves, Ryan Getzlaf, Ondrej Kase, Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry. Kesler made his season debut Wednesday, but the others were sidelined.
Above all, the Ducks haven’t mastered their new up-tempo style of play.
Sloppy play proved costly at times during a shootout loss Wednesday to the Arizona Coyotes.
“We didn’t manage the puck properly in some areas,” Carlyle said. “We had some people on the wrong side of it in some of the battles. (Arizona) came out with puck in some of them along the wall and we were in poor position. We were more on the offensive side than the defensive side.
“And we got strung out.”
Small mistakes such as being a step out of position can end up resulting in scoring chances for the other team. An errant pass or a blocked shot or an off-target shot can also send the opposition racing in the other direction in a hurry, which is something the Ducks must also avoid.
“It seems like there are more end-to-end chances in the offensive end in the new hockey that is being played,” Carlyle said. “If it’s four men in a rush, like, Sam Steel tried to make a nice backdoor pass and it hit a shin pad and ended up being a 2-on-1 and a goal shorthanded.”
WHAT ABOUT RITCHIE?
Left wing Nick Ritchie remains unsigned and, as the season heads into its third week, it’s unclear when he might end his contract squabble with the Ducks. Ritchie is a restricted free agent and the Ducks control his rights and have the upper hand in any negotiations.
Ritchie’s negotiating leverage has taken a further hit with the standout play of several young players, including 19-year-old rookie left wing Max Comtois, who has two goals and three points in four games. Ben Street, who has one goal and two points, has assumed another role on left wing.
General Manager Bob Murray merely shook his head when asked for an update on Ritchie’s contract talks. He repeated his desire to avoid negotiating through the media, adding, “I won’t say a word. I just won’t say a word.”
NO EASY STREET
Street was 31 years, 240 days old when he scored his first NHL goal in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Coyotes. He was the oldest player in Ducks history to score his first goal in the league, according to research by the team’s crack media relations department.
Don McSween (29 years, 231 days) had been the oldest Duck to record his first NHL goal when he scored in a Jan. 26, 1994 game against the Winnipeg Jets.