After a barnburner on Wednesday (March 11) against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals, the Anaheim Ducks face a different challenge tonight against the Nashville Predators; one that comes playing a team beneath them in the standings and struggled mightily in the first meeting of the season back on Jan. 25. One might call this a trap game for the Ducks, who must have this game to maintain a grip on their hopes for a wild card spot in the West.
With the 2024-25 season down to its final quarter, the Ducks need points where they can get them. With 63 of them in just 65 games played, they have already surpassed their point totals from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons (58 and 59, respectively), which is cause for celebration. However, a strong finish puts the 80-point mark within reach for this club, which would be its first since 2018-19. The Ducks won’t finish strong, though, if they lose the games they should win, and they should beat the underwhelming Predators despite their four-game winning streak. Let’s preview the matchup by looking at matchups and storylines.
Ducks Can Get Back on Track Against Offensively Deficient Preds
The Predators are just one of three teams that have scored fewer goals than the Ducks this season. The Ducks have put 175 pucks in the back of the net to the Predators’ 170. The latter’s inability to consistently produce offense is the biggest reason behind the club’s immense disappointment this season after an offseason that included flashy signings in free agency like Johnathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos, and Brady Skjei.
Therein lies an opportunity for the Ducks, who, despite delivering disappointing results in March (two wins, five regulation losses), have scored three or more goals in five of those games. The numbers significantly favor the Ducks when they can hit that three-goal mark – they have only lost twice in regulation all season when scoring that amount. A solid offensive stretch combined with the stellar goaltending they have received from the John Gibson-Lukas Dostal tandem puts the Ducks in a great position to bounce back tonight.
Predators Player to Watch: Steven Stamkos
Perhaps the biggest free agent signee of them all, Stamkos remains one of many Predators skaters who likely aren’t enjoying the lack of personal and team success this season. With 42 points in 64 games, he sits far off his usual point-per-game pace but has been especially hot during the club’s winning streak. He has five goals in his last five games, including a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 8. He had all of the Predators’ goals in that contest.
Stamkos may be 35 in the midst of a tough debut season in Nashville, but he is very much a threat to score when he is in the offensive zone. He is dangerous both with and without the puck and is the only rival to Capitals’ ageless wonder Alexander Ovechkin’s title as the most lethal current one-time threat on the power play. Each Duck on the ice will need to remain aware of his whereabouts when he is on the ice tonight. Should the Ducks neutralize him, their chances to win go up significantly.
Ducks Player to Watch: Sam Colangelo
Let’s have some fun with this one. Sam Colangelo has been a lineup regular since Robby Fabbri was placed on injured reserve toward the end of February. In the eight games since his latest call-up, he has scored five times and added an assist. Suffice to say, he has done much with the opportunity, and has spent most of that time with fellow youngsters Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier.
Like Gauthier and McTavish, Colangelo is a six-foot, 200-plus pound body that skates well and can get after pucks. Three guys that can skate as well as they do given their size is rare, and the cohesion they have developed together is a promising glimpse into a potential future line in Anaheim. Assuming the Ducks retain the restricted free agent to be McTavish, of course. That aside, the line likely wasn’t one that head coach Greg Cronin drew up in the offseason, but as he stated in his postgame comments after the win against the Islanders, he likes what he sees from this trio. It’s not hard to see why. Look for them to make some noise against a vulnerable Predators defense tonight.
Win Special Teams, Win the Game
This will continue to be a focal point for this club until it shores up its power play. The Ducks have hovered around the .500 mark for the majority of the season despite having the league’s second-worst power play conversion rate at 13.3%. Can you imagine where they could be if they produced at merely 15%? Maybe 20%? The additional goals to get them to that mark would easily have resulted in enough wins to have them firmly entrenched in the wild card hunt. Instead, they are on the outside looking in with 17 games to go. The talent is there, but the execution isn’t. Not yet, anyway.
Despite that, the Ducks find themselves playing meaningful games in March, which is exactly what general manager Pat Verbeek wanted, which he stated before the season and reiterated in comments following the trade deadline. There was a time early in the season when the Ducks looked completely lost, but that is firmly behind them. They are in a position to gain valuable experience over the season’s final stanza. Let’s see if they can get a second straight win over the Predators. Puck drop is 7 PM PST at Honda Center.
