Anaheim Ducks overcome early obstacles to clinch postseason spot

It wasn’t pretty, but the Anaheim Ducks have clinched a sixth consecutive postseason spot

The Anaheim Ducks are a battle-tested team. With their win over the Minnesota Wild, they’ve clinched their sixth straight postseason spot. Even though the Ducks’ five-year run of winning the Pacific Division is over, this might be their most impressive season of the past six years. They’ve overcome a lot in the past five months and should be proud of making the playoffs. It’s a testament to their character and persistence.

Anaheim faced a ton of early obstacles in the form of injuries. Captain Ryan Getzlaf missed over 20 games. Meanwhile, Ryan Kesler has missed nearly 40 games and didn’t even play until December 27. Ondrej Kase missed about 10 games but is putting together a solid sophomore campaign.

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Underrated defenseman Hampus Lindholm missed the first few weeks of the season. No Duck is going to appear in all 82 games, largely thanks to a controversial suspension of iron man Andrew Cogliano. Star defenseman Cam Fowler is going to be out to start the postseason. But hey, the Ducks have overcome a ton of injuries already. So it’s not like they’re strangers to playing without a key player.

Forward Rickard Rakell deserves a ton of credit. He’s taken a significant step forward this year. Rakell will be the first player other than Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and former forward Teemu Selanne to lead the Ducks in points since Sergei Fedorov did it in 2003-04.

Goaltender John Gibson should be getting Hart Trophy consideration. He’s been the Ducks most consistent player all season. Even when Anaheim was struggling mightily on defense, Gibson kept them in games they didn’t deserve to win. The Ducks had to choose between Frederik Andersen and Gibson back in 2016. It turns out they wouldn’t have gone wrong with either one. But Gibson is both younger cheaper than Andersen.

Thanks to injuries, the Ducks offense has been inconsistent at best. They rank 20th in goals scored. However, Randy Carlyle‘s defensive system and Gibson have led the way, as the Ducks have allowed the fourth-fewest goals in the league, as of April 5.

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Anaheim is battle-tested in the postseason. They’re coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance. The playoffs are the natural element for Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, and the rest of the Ducks. However, Father Time has finally caught up to their older core. Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler deserve a ton of credit for avoiding Father Time for so long. But the clock is clearly ticking on their careers. This could be their last chance at a Stanley Cup.

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