National Hockey League

Ducks' Maroon no longer flying under the radar after strong start to postseason

Published May. 1, 2015 7:15 p.m. ET

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Patrick Maroon says it's easy to fly under the radar playing on a line with a pair of world-class players in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but it's becoming more and more difficult to stay there as the Ducks, and that top line, continue to win in the postseason.

The media contingent next to Maroon's locker stall swelled to double its normal size the night after a nine-point night by the top line in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames. Maroon can chat with the best of them, but this wasn't about breaking down his second goal of the postseason. This was about the piece that his been missing on the Ducks' top line: That big body in front of the net.

Under the radar no more.

"People say they can go to the front of the net, but you actually have to get there and be willing to get there and pay the price to get the goals," Perry said. "Playoffs aren't about going out there and making it look pretty. It's tough work, man. But if you're willing to pay that price you'll find success."

Maroon not only is willing to go to the net for the rebounds and the greasy goals, he's adept at it. At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds he's a bruiser who knows how to use his body to attract the opposing defensemen, effectively taking them away from Getzlaf and Perry.

"I get in front of the net and put my stick on the ice. That's what I am," he said. "I have good hands, I can move up and down, but at the end of the day, you want those guys to have the puck and me in front of the net so I can bang home the rebound."

Finding a linemate for those two sounds simple in theory. Two of the best in hockey (Getzlaf and Perry) have played alongside one another since they were drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2003, won Olympic Golds and a Stanley Cup together.

But in reality, it's been the one spot that has been the most difficult to fill.

There's so much skill and will between Perry and Getzlaf that sometimes they play as if their left wing isn't even there. They've had other skilled wingers up top with them, like Kyle Palmieri and Matt Beleksey, but smooth skating and proficient scoring isn't necessarily what those two need.

What they need is a big body that can come hard on the forecheck and wear down the opposing defensemen in front of the net, while Perry and Getzlaf cycle the puck.

"It's guys that are going to get in on the forecheck, get the puck, hold on to the puck and go to the front of the net," Perry said. "Patty is a big body out there and he's creating space for us. You look at that first goal, he had the puck down low, gave it to Getz and he threw it on net and banged it in. That's pretty much how we play. It's not a cute game, it's a rugged game, but someone has to go out there and do it."

Maroon has found his way back there after a season that proved more trying than he anticipated.

After scoring 11 goals in his first full NHL season, Maroon came in this season intending to score many more. But it soon became evident that his sophomore season wouldn't go quite as smooth. He was injured early, shuffled from line-to-line and scratched from lineup more than once. All of it got to Maroon's head and then to his play, as he began to get away from his game.

"I think it was just me trying to figure out where I was at," he said. "I was everywhere, I was playing everywhere. I was nervous getting taken out of the lineup and I wasn't playing that good. There was a lot going in my mind and I think that kind of effected my play a little bit. My goal count was two down this year, but sometimes you have those seasons and sometimes you get away from yourself, but that's why you have the playoffs. You get a second opportunity to shine again."

Solidifying a role on one line, be it the first or the fourth, has helped Maroon develop consistency. No longer is he deviating from his game.

"When you've only been in this league for a little over two years, the consistency sometimes isn't there. And that's the only thing that's plagued him during the course of the year," said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau. "When he's on top of his game he's a big force for us. But he's back on that line because he has consistent of late and he's been playing the same way, there's no let-down in his game."

Maroon has four points in the postseason thus far, but he's slowly realized that it's not all about the numbers on a scoresheet: It's about playing the role that he needs to play and playing it effectively. The top line has dominated two postseason series now and while it's Getzlaf and Perry that might get most of the credit, the big body in front of the net deserves plenty too.

"You want that space, you always want someone at the front of the net," he said. "And if I have to keep doing that - banging bodies and doing the things I need to do like getting pucks out of our defensive zone and getting pucks in -- jeez, I love it."

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