Sharks California’s Last Hope: What Went Wrong for Kings and Ducks?

By MH
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Updated: April 30, 2018

For two of the NHL’s three California teams, the playoffs came to a grinding halt at the conclusion of the first round. Not only were the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings defeated, but they were royally destroyed. Both California clubs succumb to crushing 4-0 series defeats. Now, the only Californian team left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the San Jose Sharks, conquerors of the Anaheim Ducks, who will face hot newcomers the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. But how did it come to this? How is it that the Kings and Ducks both went out in such devastating fashion?

Kings stifled by their shooting

Last season, the LA Kings ranked among the worst teams in the league for goals scored, ranking 25th with just 201 netted. Subsequently, they missed the playoffs by quite a significant eight-point margin. This season, they came 17th in goals scored with 239, boasting a much healthier +36 goal difference, which can greatly be credited to having a full season of Jonathan Quick in net. In the season, the big-name skaters certainly stepped up. Anze Kopitar clocked his highest goal and point scoring season at 35 and 92, respectively. Dustin Brown landed his highest goal tally since 2010/11 with 28 goals and a career-best 61 points. Drew Doughty eased his way to a career-high 60 points and a mighty +23 rating. Tyler Toffoli was as goal-savvy as ever with his 24 goals and 47 points.
But, when the playoffs rang in and the Kings had to travel to Las Vegas, all of that seemed to fly right out of the window. Over four games, the Vegas Golden Knights held the Kings to three goals, which was completely unexpected given the performances of the regular season, as shown by Daily News. Greatly down to the efforts of Quick, Vegas could only muster seven goals themselves, but the Kings were simply unable to make plays into strong scoring areas and couldn’t capitalize on the few opportunities they were given. On top of this, they met a goaltender who is as determined as ever with his new team, Marc-Andre Fleury. To his credit, Kopitar dug deep to try and keep the sinking ship afloat, finishing with a goal, assist, and neutral rating, but there simply wasn’t enough help from his fellow stars.

Ducks couldn’t paddle fast enough

The Anaheim Ducks had yet another strong season which saw them breach the 100-point barrier. A strong finish to the season saw them claim home-ice advantage over the San Jose Sharks by a single point but, that would prove to be futile. San Jose looked as though they had rested up in the last few games of the season to enable them to go all-out in the first round. As THW explains, their almighty defensive base allows their power forwards to abuse the opposition, and this style of hockey caused the Ducks many problems. Over the four games, the Sharks scored 16 goals to Anaheim’s four. A single goal decided two of those games, but a Sharks victory never appeared to be in doubt. As was the case with the Kings, the Ducks simply couldn’t score. San Jose’s cool-headed defensive strategy and clinical shooting eased them past their California rivals and can now give Vegas a stern test in round two. As of April 26, the Sharks are +105 to Vegas’ -130 with Betway to win in their second-round series. This comes as a surprise considering how strong and composed the Sharks were against the Ducks. They’ll certainly pose the Golden Knights more problems at both ends of the ice than the Kings did.
The Ducks were defeated by a team that is strong in all areas and are well drilled in their very effective style of hockey. Anaheim simply didn’t have an answer for the stonewall penalty kill and flair-filled forwards. So, this begs the question, do the Ducks need to change up? If they make it to the playoffs next season, they’ll inevitably meet either the Sharks again, or the speedy Golden Knights, or the even the likes of the Calgary Flames or Edmonton Oilers. So, perhaps a transition towards more speed and skill over physicality is needed. There’s also the question of general manager Bob Murray’s competence. He can certainly get the Ducks to the playoffs, having done so eight of the ten times of asking. But, half of those postseasons have ended in the first round, and they haven’t returned to the finals in that decade.

It’s a harsh way for two California teams to see their seasons come to an end, but it’s not all bad for some. This can be seen as a step forward for the Los Angeles Kings. Last season, talk of a rebuild swirled. But this season, they improved their scoring game and looked a much better team to return to the playoffs. As for the Anaheim Ducks, perhaps it’s time for a change in ethos and the front office. At least the state of California can continue to enjoy the playoffs, with the San Jose Sharks looking like a very strong team right now.