What the Duck?

Entering the Western Conference Finals, the Ducks glided in off a four game sweep over the team formerly known as the Colorado Avalanche, while the Oilers had two rough, emotional series eliminating the overrated Detroit Red Wings and the out of gas San Jose Sharks.

The Ducks had everything going for them including the home ice advantage (guess that doesn’t mean much when the number eight seed waits for the winner of Buffalo-Carolina, eh), so what the Duck happened?

They certainly had me fooled, as I picked the Ducks to sweep the Oilers, suggesting that Edmonton might win one game if Gretzky, Messier and Kurri suited up. Guess my status as a TFP "Expert" can be severely challenged with such rich analysis.

What DID happen is that Edmonton simply matched up well against Anaheim. Not unlike boxing, styles make for great matches. Anaheim’s style is more speed than brawn, more finesse than power (although this series is a continuing reminder to Ducks GM Brian Burke that he needs more power forwards like Dustin Penner to make this team a champion) and the Oilers were never going to get run out of the building.

In the first two games in Southern California, the defensive tandem of Chris Pronger and Jason Smith kept Anaheim at bay with counterpunching while Dwayne Roloson was just a smidgen better than his Ducks’ counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov. When the scene switched to the fast ice in Edmonton, the Oilers put on their track shoes and outlasted the Ducks in Game 3 as both teams engaged in a memorable eight goal third period.

With their backs to the wall, the Ducks dominated an Oilers team weary from the alternate night playoff schedule and a flu bug that made its way through a majority of the team. When the Ducks rode out of Edmonton with a dominating 6-3 win in Game 4, including out-shooting Edmonton 25-3 in the first period of the match, it seemed as if the momentum had switched to the team that trailed in the series 3-1 but had another home game at hand. Anaheim couldn’t finish the season losing three games in a row at the Arrowhead Pond, a home where they fared so well down the stretch of the season.

Think again.

Although they out-shot the Oilers in every game and had a whopping 62 more shots overall in the series, the Ducks’ game never really got on track. Although shots did get through to Roloson, who started getting leaky in Game 3 and 4, the Ducks could never capitalize on second and third shots because the aforementioned Smith and Pronger wouldn’t allow them.

"We weren't able to get any clear looks and clear shots and get them by their guys," Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer concurred.

The last nail in the coffin was the Ducks inability to cash in on the power play, going 1 for 11 in the final match and converted only 10.7% in the five games. Edmonton was the smart, better and luckier team this team around as they beat the Ducks seven out of eight combined in the regular season and playoffs. But since we’re not an extension of the Ducks’ PR team, we’ll be happy to lay some blame at the feet of the Ducks in three different ways:

YOUNG MCDONALD LAID AN EGG, E-I-E-I-O

Andy McDonald had sterling numbers in the regular season and formed a dynamic duo with Teemu Selanne. While Selanne was a force for the most of three rounds, McDonald shrunk in the spotlight. The post season scoreboard showed two goals, nine points and when your penalty minute total (10) is larger than your point total, it’s not a good playoff. Moreover, in the two games where the third year player did register a goal, the Ducks lost, so those tallies can’t be put in the "clutch" category. McDonald has one of two choices; learn from this experience, see why youngsters like Joffrey Lupul and Dustin Penner broke through or let this disappointment linger to a point where he becomes known as a good regular season performer and nothing more.

THERE WAS A ROOKIE BEHIND THE BENCH TOO

Yes, Randy Carlyle built respect in the room this year. Yes, under his watchful eyes players like Lupul, Penner and Francois Beauchemin gained confidence and blossomed. Yes, they came out of nowhere to get to the Conference Finals. But yes, he did get out coached by Edmonton’s Craig MacTavish in the Final Four. He had a week to figure out how to attack the Oilers after the Ducks swept out the Avs, but his team came out flat in Game 1, unproductive in both Games 1 and 2 and never recovered. Bryzgalov was good but not good enough to beat Roloson in Games 1 and 2 and if Giguere was healthy enough in Game 4, why not play the former Conn Smythe winner in a do or die Game 3? When the Ducks continued to struggle on the power play throughout the series, where was the change in strategy? What did he do to stop the Oilers’ swirling momentum? Certainly Carlyle is the right man at the right time for this team, but he’ll be second guessing himself as he sits down to watch the Finals.

EVERYBODY NIEDERS A PRONGER

In the blueline marquee matchup, Edmonton's Pronger got the best of Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer. While it wasn’t a runaway, Pronger was more dynamic and a bigger offensive force than his opponent; his two goals in the series weren’t game winners they were timely. Perhaps the Anaheim captain’s hideous playoff beard wore him down as the series ran on. Niedermayer is our vote to get the Norris Trophy with a wonderful regular season, but Pronger will give his teammate Roloson a run for the Conn Smythe award. In order to win this late in the season, your best players have to out play their best and so was the case along the blue line for Edmonton.

WHAT'S UP, DUCK?

As the summer starts for the Ducks, I'm not singing a sad tale of woe for them entering next season. On the contrary, they will open next season as my co-favorites to win the Pacific along with San Jose.

Analyzing the season as a whole, the Ducks did some pretty amazing things. GM Burke morphed this team from a north-south skating finesse team, into a east-west power one. He guessed right on replacing Mike Babcock, who had success in Anaheim, with an unknown quantity in Randy Carlyle and Carlyle proceeded to take his team two rounds further than the former coach. He took a chance on a former Duck great with a surgically repaired knee. He jettisoned players that were overrated and overpaid (Sergei Federov) or were crowd favorites but didn’t play up to his expectations (Keith Carney). He saw the potential of Lupul, Penner et al; when they didn’t produce the first time around, Burke didn’t bury them in the minors and gave them a second shot at the NHL. That major decision led directly to the Ducks making the playoffs. That's the good news but here’s where it gets tricky.

Can Burke really depend on Selanne to produce a 35 goal/90 point season when all he was expecting 15 goals and some tickets sold?

At 36, can he depend on his to be his first line right wing? Has McDonald's shrinking in the heat of the playoffs proven he’s better suited for a supporting second line role and go into market for a first line center?

Are those youngsters who performed so marvelously in 16 playoff games be emotionally ready for an 82 game regular season grind?

The number one need on this team is still scoring depth along the forward wall, so you can count on one major move by Burke, like last season’s Niedermayer signing. There’s some good inventory out there, Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias (although the GM shies away from Europeans), maybe a Jamie Langenbrunner for some gusto or a big bopper in Brendan Shanahan. He could look to make a minor move on defense by bringing in the husky Brendan Witt or even the former Duck Carney in a reduced role for depth.

Carlyle, for his part, has one major decision to ponder in the off season, making the call on who is number one between the pipes. Does he go with the younger Bryzgalov, who played pretty good in the first two rounds and good enough to lose to the Oilers or does he stay the course with the older, more experienced, more expensive and the more injured Giguere? Does Burke use Bryzgalov as currency for a proven scorer and then sign a guy like Chris Osgood, who has the mental approach to a back up role? More questions than answers in Orange County.

HERE AND THERE

The Ducks will cosmetically improve going into next season as well. They will officially drop the “Mighty” from their name, a moniker used as a running joke over the last decade and they will change the team colors to orange and black. The coffers of the team will be enriched by those young Ducklings wanting the new sweaters of their heroes, while we can see the older fans logging into Ebay to put their “collectible” purple and teal shirts up for bid as we write this.

Kings' GM Dean Lombardi looking at former Philadelphia goalie and current scout Ron Hextall as an assistant GM. Deano got to know Hexy well while both were scouting for the Flyers the last couple of years.

And in the big call of the week, not all the major free agents will be the on-ice variety this summer. Although, he’s riding the crest of a Hurricanes wave, there is a scenario that returns Coach Peter Laviolette to Long Island. The Carolina benchmeister could be offered the dual role of Coach and Director of Player Personnel as the Isles' look to reconstruct – again. Along with the title, there would be a seven figure salary in the offing, a taste too expensive for owner Peter Karmanos. If Carolina wins the Cup, everyone's off the hook; Laviolette delivered and gets paid, Karmanos finally gets the Holy Grail.
 

Dennis Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine.