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Ducks look dominating


yave1964

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The Ducks made short work of the Flames, getting the brooms out to finish off a sweep of their series with a 3-1 victory last night and giving themselves plenty of time for their two best defensemen to heal before the next round.

 

  Cam Fowler has been out for three weeks since a knee on knee hit by Giordano in early April and Sami Vatanen missed all but one game of the series with an UBI. Both are hoping to be back by round two. Youngster Shea Theodore stepped in and simply OWNED the Flames in their absence. So they swept the Flames and their top defender missed the entire series, their second best played only one game. And now they get to heal up and rest while the Sharks/Oilers beat each other up.

 

  I have a new found respect for the Ducks organization over the last few months as I study their organizational depth chart they are likely the deepest team in all of Hockey from top to bottom.

 Everyone knows Bernier stepped in while Gibson was down and went 9-0-2 playing brilliantly leading the team to the Division crown. Goalie depth in the playoffs can be huge.

 On defense they have Fowler and Vatanen, two under the radar puck movers, Lindholm who does everything well, knuckle dragger Bieksa who is a rugged stay at home guy and then throw in immensily skilled young turks Theodore and Brandon Montour and truthfully no team in the game can match that top six if all are healthy. big and nasty Holzer and Josh Manson round out the games best defense. They are certain to lose a key piece in the expansion draft but are deep enough to withstand it.

  I preach that you win games down the middle and their centers are individually solid but as a group all fill certain roles. Getzlaf is on a mission, Kesler has been awesome as one of the leagues top 2C's all year, Vermette is an absolute faceoff God, Nate Thompson finally healthy may be the best scoring 4C in the game.

  If they have a weakness it is on the wing. Corey Perry was very human this year but has turned it up to elite so far in the postseason, Rackell came into his own leading the team with 33 goals scored, Silferberg quietly had a solid year and Eaves was a brilliant pickup with 11 goals in 20 games. Beyond that was the rugged Nick Ritchie and Cogliano who is a great P/K guy. So even their weakest position is a strength.

And they have drafted well. Young forwards nearly NHL ready are chomping at the bit, skilled players who will be middle six guys at the least are everywhere. Sam Steel, Kerdiles, Kase all will be regular shifters in the NHL within the next few years.

  I guess where I am going with this is the Ducks who are always good are going to be getting even better over the next few years. Even with aging Kesler/Perry/Getzlaf they are going to be fine. They are cup contenders this season and will be even better going forward especially if they can manage to keep their prized defense together.

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18 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

I picked them to make the Western Conference Finals......  IF .Chicago gets eliminated, it is not hard to fathom them making it to the SCF.

I picked the Ducks/Capitals in the SCF and nothing from the Ducks has made me feel otherwise. Playing without Fowler and then losing Vatanen they still easily put the Flames away.

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