When the New York Islanders rolled into town on January 6, the Ducks were sitting at 10 wins and were one point above the Columbus Blue Jackets for the lowest total in the league.
Their meager 26 points 38 games into the season led to speculation over the future of key performers, most notably Bobby Ryan, who played through a stretch of hockey where there were those who called his trade from Anaheim "imminent". Key offensive performers weren't only missing their marks set last season, they were also well off career paces as the club battled injuries to veterans and a rotating door of prospects shuttling between the Syracuse War Memorial Arena and Honda Center.
Bruce Boudreau, who hadn't been able to wring much success from his fragile unit through much of his first month after being introduced as head coach on December 1, has finally laid the foundations of confidence and defensive responsibility. The Ducks finished the pre-All-Star Break portion of the schedule with an 8-1-1 record, at times dominating games at the same pace as they were getting bullied for much of the first half.
"You can feel it out there no matter what position you play. You can feel that something changed in the team," goaltender Jonas Hiller said.
"At the same time, you have to know it happened because we worked hard for it. It seems like sometimes we got outworked. A lot of times we got outworked. Now we're outworking the opponent. If you don't do that, no matter how much skill you have in the dressing room, it just won't work."
As rosy as Hiller's comments sound, the Ducks won't be able to fall significantly from their current 8-1-1 pace if they want to play hockey well into April. It took 97 points to make the playoffs in the Western Conference last season, a total Anaheim will reach if they take 54 points from their final 34 games. How does going 26-6-2 sound?
Past precedence isn't encouraging. After Anaheim defeated Phoenix 6-2 on January 18, they pulled with 11 points of a playoff spot, equaling the largest point deficit any playoff-bound team had faced after 45 games in the post-lockout era. The 2008-09 St. Louis Blues were also 11 points back on January 20, 2009; their first round loss to Vancouver lasted all of four games.
"Every day to us has got to be a playoff game if we want to hopefully get back into the race," Boudreau said last week. "Our sense of urgency is three weeks ago."
Defense and goaltending were the team's rudder up to the midway point – when the team limited shots and cleared rebounds and Hiller was solid, they won. On most other nights, they lost. Hiller entered the season faced with questions regarding his slide at the end of last year spurred by the nebulous "vertigo-type symptoms" that wreaked havoc on his balance and focus. It didn't appear there were any lingering effects – he helped lead the team to a 4-1 start, including a shutout over rival San Jose in the home opener. Unfortunately, the next two months marked one of the steepest slides in franchise history as they won only six more games – and only two road games – through the remainder of 2011.
While there were plenty of injuries – Jason Blake's gruesome arm laceration, Lubomir Visnovsky's broken finger, George Parros' torn retina or Hiller's pulled groin – Anaheim's tougher issues were more cerebral than physical. Body language suggested a lack of confidence, often viewed by a quick succession of goals by the opposition.
"We were questioning ourselves, like 'What's going to happen today? Are we good enough? How are we going to play?' And you can't just play like that," Hiller said.
The defense solidified in January, led by the versatile efforts of Francois Beauchemin, who signed a three-year, $10.5 million extension. His seven points and plus-nine rating, along with the nine blocked shots in his first game after signing the extension, led a resurgent Anaheim defense that allowed just nine goals in its final seven games before the break. Luca Sbisa became much more comfortable in all situations as the season progressed, and Cam Fowler – while challenged with just five assists in his last 22 games – has been better in his own end of the ice.
"I think as a group, when you have group success, it equals individual success and individual confidence," Fowler said. "I think a lot of us have that going right now."
Though the team has scored at least four goals in over half its games this month, there are still questions about certain offensive performers, namely Ryan Getzlaf. After maintaining a point-per-game pace for four seasons, he's on pace for just 14 goals and 58 points and has endured long stretches without scoring as Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan's numbers have been affected by the surprising lack of production from what was hockey's best line in the second half of last season.
It has been 41-year-old Teemu Selanne leading this Ducks offensively with 45 points in 48 games and finding chemistry with fellow Finns in Saku Koivu and waiver addition Niklas Hagman. Devante Smith-Pelly had shown good adjustment into the league as a forechecking, physical 19-year-old with upside prior to breaking a foot while blocking a shot at the World Junior Championships in December.
Anaheim was finally able to pick up the pieces after a disastrous two-month stretch, and it appears the confidence Bruce Boudreau has ventured to instill has finally seeped through into his players. Stranger sports feats have happened than a potential Ducks run to the playoffs – the Cardinals' run to win the World Series, for starters – and they may very well be able to stay close to a 17-points-in-10-games pace. But their fortunes are also tied to the teams in front of them, and each three-point game in the Western Conference that Anaheim doesn't play makes the effort that much harder.
More important than the Ducks' current standing is that Boudreau's message is getting through and that the team is playing with confidence and purpose. Considering their 15-5 record over their final 20 games last year, they have a history of playing their best hockey down the stretch.
"We were here for the first three months of the season, or whatever it was, and it's been not fun," Getzlaf said. "So, it's time for us to have a little fun, not loosen up. We've got a strong, strong task at hand here, and we're aware of that. It's not a matter of taking anything for granted right now."
