How the Ducks’ Last-Second OT Heroics Left Sharks Stunned and Fans Speechless
Defensive Details-It’s been made clear by head coach Joel Quenneville and the players from training camp until now that the goal of their defensive systems is to kill plays with quick secondary pressure. There’s still work to be done when it comes to how that pressure engages, how the tertiary pressure reacts, and how to minimize damage when the first two waves fail, because it will happen every so often.
Those areas are where the Ducks struggled in this game. A strong-side defenseman (Radko Gudas) pinches in the neutral zone, and the supporting forward (Mason McTavish) leaves too big a gap, which led to the Sharks’ first goal. Five players are caught on the ice for a minute and a half, and the weak-side winger (Cutter Gauthier) doesn’t or can’t stay with his activated point man (Mario Ferraro) on the Sharks’ third goal. Those small details are, in theory, easy to clean up, but they can lead to quick goals if not refined.
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