Is it Open Season on Duck Hunting?

The Anaheim Ducks are in town tonight to battle the Vancouver Canucks.  Last night the Ducks salvaged a third period collapse with a win in a prolonged shootout.  Managing to finally score in regulation was a something that the Ducks succeeding in achieving after going over 2 games without a goal.  However, they weren't able to put away the Oilers and the young team clawed back to force overtime.

What do the Canucks need to do tonight?  Simply jump on the Ducks early.  Anaheim struggles to score, so putting up a goal or two against them early in the game should make the Ducks press.  Look for the Canucks to take advantage of more open ice if they get up early in the game.

Allowing a weaker team to stick close throughout the game only allows them to take advantage of lucky bounces.  Anything can happen in a close game and the Canucks would be wise to attack the Ducks defense early and often.  Vancouver should be well-rested while Anaheim played last night in Edmonton.  Whether this means a tired Ducks team or a team capitalizing on adrenaline from the previous night's win will be answered once the puck drops.  In my opinion Vancouver better win tonight.

Taking a quick look at the standings would suggest that Anaheim is a comparable team to Vancouver.  Taking a closer look suggest something else.  Anaheim has 14 wins to Vancouver's 13, but the Ducks have played 5 more games than the Canucks, and both teams currently have 31 points in the bank.  Vancouver ranks second and third respectively on the Power Play and Penalty Kill.  Anaheim is 10th and 19th.  Vancouver scores 3.20/games and allows 2.48 while Anaheim's numbers are 2.43 and 2.93.  Even 5-on-5 is an advantage for the Canucks (1.04 to 0.83 Goals for and Against Ratio).  The numbers point to a Canucks win tonight, but those are just numbers.

As I mentioned earlier, Anaheim has struggled to score lately.  Their 2 goals against the Oilers last night doesn't lead me to believe they have solved their goal scroring problems.  Vancouver needs to score early and score often.