The Anaheim Ducks are the worst team in the NHL. The Ducks rank bottom five in goals for, expected goals percentage, and goal differential. The season the Ducks are experiencing comes as a bit of a surprise considering the team was in contention for a playoff spot for most of the season. The Ducks are certainly not a team that is filled with talent, but their star players have fallen short of carrying the team to more victories.
Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry
Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry are the stars of the new look ducks. Truth be told, however, the offensive duo isn’t skilled enough to carry the team to a sufficient amount of wins. It seems like Zegras has highlights posted to the NHL social accounts constantly, but that doesn’t equate to wins for the team. In his 70 games played, Zegras has 22 goals and 36 assists for 58 total points. Zegras has also scored 3 game winning goals, 2 of which have come in 3-on-3 overtime.
Troy Terry, like Zegras, is also an elite player in the NHL. The Ducks struck gold with Terry in the fifth round of 2015 NHL draft, and he has truly come of age the past few seasons. Terry has played in 63 games this season and has accumulated 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 total points. Terry has also accounted for 3 game winning goals.
Terry and Zegras are clearly the catalysts on offense, but it comes down to whether the team can secure the back end of the ice.
John Gibson
Although he hasn’t gotten much help in front of him, John Gibson has been rather abysmal this season. Gibson has a save percentage of .902 and a 3.86 goals against average for a grand record of 14-26-8. This is certainly a season Gibson would like to soon forget about.
Gibson needs to regain the form he was able to provide for the Ducks a few years back in 2017. In 2017 Gibson sported a .926 save percentage, 2.43 goals against average, and a stellar 31-18-7 record.
The team needs to play better in front of Gibson to give him a chance to perform at the level everyone knows he can. Far too many times have I seen Gibson stand on his head to keep the Ducks in games only for them to lose by letting up a prime scoring opportunity that he can’t possibly stop.
The front office as well as the coaching both need to step up and take a role providing Gibson with the tools he needs to survive. Until then, the Ducks will be bottom feeders in the NHL.
The Anaheim Ducks are the worst team in the NHL. The Ducks rank bottom five in goals for, expected goals percentage, and goal differential. The season the Ducks are experiencing comes as a bit of a surprise considering the team was in contention for a playoff spot for most of the season. The Ducks are certainly not a team that is filled with talent, but their star players have fallen short of carrying the team to more victories.