Anaheim Ducks

Pacific · Western Conference

Wins

Losses

OTL

Points

3rd

Pacific

Team Snapshot

🔍

Key Insight

The Ducks sit 19th overall with a negative goal differential despite a playoff-viable 89 points through 79 games, exposing a fundamental contradiction: their 12th-ranked offense generates adequate scoring, but their 29th-ranked defense bleeds goals at a rate that has turned a potential wild card push into a late-season collapse. With three games remaining and the team hemorrhaging 4.2 goals per game over their last five, defensive structure has become the sole determinant of whether this season ends in the playoffs or as a cautionary tale about unsustainable goal support.

Strengths

12th-ranked offense at 3.33 goals per game has kept the Ducks within playoff contention despite defensive catastrophes, demonstrating sufficient firepower to win games when goaltending and defense reach even league-average competence

Home record of 24-13-3 (.638 points percentage) shows the team can control outcomes in favorable environments, suggesting tactical or psychological advantages that evaporate on the road but remain exploitable in the final homestand

Second-period scoring of 91 goals represents their strongest 20-minute segment, indicating effective in-game adjustments or matchup exploitation that could be replicated in other periods with proper tactical emphasis

29th-ranked defense allowing 3.51 goals per game is the primary risk that outweighs all other factors—no team has made the playoffs in the last decade with defensive performance this poor without elite goaltending, which Anaheim demonstrably lacks

Third-period collapse allowing 100 goals is costing the Ducks winnable games: the 28% increase from first-period goals against suggests late-game execution failures that opponents now exploit systematically, turning 2-1 leads into 4-3 losses

Recent form of 4.2 goals conceded per game over the last five represents a 20% deterioration from season average, indicating either injury-related depth issues or complete tactical breakdown at the worst possible time with playoff implications on the line

22nd-ranked penalty kill at 77.3% combined with bottom-tier 5v5 defense creates compounding failure: every penalty becomes a high-percentage scoring chance that further destabilizes a defense already surrendering goals at unsustainable rates

The last five games reveal a team in freefall: 1-4 record with 2.8 goals scored and 4.2 conceded per game, a -1.4 differential that projects to catastrophic outcomes if continued. This recent form contradicts the season average of 3.33 GF/3.51 GA, indicating either a temporary slump or opponent adaptation that has neutralized Anaheim's offensive schemes while exploiting defensive vulnerabilities. With three games remaining against Vancouver, Minnesota, and Nashville, the Ducks must immediately reverse a trend that has seen them concede 21 goals in five games—a pace that makes every remaining fixture unwinnable regardless of offensive output.

Core Analytics

Core Performance

Offence

Anaheim ranks 12th in goals scored at 3.33 per game, a mid-pack output that has kept them competitive despite systemic defensive failures. However, their 23rd-ranked power play at 18.2% represents a significant missed opportunity—converting even at league-average rates would add approximately 8-10 goals over the season, potentially flipping their goal differential positive. The recent offensive downturn to 2.8 goals per game over the last five signals either fatigue or opponent adjustments that the Ducks have not countered, turning close games into blowouts when combined with defensive breakdowns.

3.33Avg 3.08

12th in NHL

Defence

The 29th-ranked defense allowing 3.51 goals per game is the season-defining liability, compounded by a 22nd-ranked penalty kill at 77.3% that provides no safety net when discipline lapses. Third-period performance is catastrophic: 100 goals against across all situations indicates systematic late-game collapses that have directly cost standings points. Period-by-period data shows the Ducks surrender 78 first-period goals but allow 100 in the third, a 28% increase that suggests conditioning issues, depth problems, or tactical predictability that opponents exploit as games progress.

3.51Avg 3.08

28th in NHL

Special Teams

Power Play

23rd-ranked PP underperforms relative to overall talent — a costly inefficiency that gets magnified in playoffs.

18.2%

23rd in NHL

46 of 253 PP chances converted

Penalty Kill

22nd-ranked PK is a vulnerability opponents will exploit — especially those with elite power play units.

77.3%

22nd in NHL

Killed 194 of 251 penalties

Period-by-Period Danger

Most dangerous: 3rd

Goals scoredGoals conceded

1st

2nd

3rd

100

Most vulnerable: 3rd period

3rd period is simultaneously their most active — high-tempo play creates both chances scored and chances conceded.

Goaltending

Lukas Dostal

Starting Goaltender · #

0.890

SV%

3.09

GAA

Lukas Dostal's .890 save percentage and 3.09 GAA represent below-replacement-level performance that amplifies every defensive mistake into a goal against. With 30 wins despite these metrics, Dostal has benefited from offensive support rather than providing the elite goaltending required to compensate for the league's third-worst defensive structure—a dynamic that becomes unsustainable in playoff-intensity games.

NHL regular season only — stats update as games are indexed