Ducks Unlimited?

For a Wild fan, watching the first three games of their series against the Ducks has been an exercise in frustration. But, as a long-time hockey observer, I have to admire the game the Ducks are playing (despite the fact that they have perhaps the gayest name in all of sport). The Stanley Cup playoffs are a grueling marathon that have only just begun. However, if the Ducks can avoid serious injuries and continue to play their disciplined, almost flawlessly executed system, I would not be surprised to see them sipping from Lord Stanley's Cup come June.

There's been a lot of angst among the Wild faithful about their pitiful performance on the power play. And while some of criticism directed at the team's power play efforts are deserved---memo to Wild players: the back door ain't open despite your continued attempts to force it--a lot of credit has to go to the Ducks penalty kill. They stay home, shut down the passing lanes, don't panic with the puck, and almost always wait for the good clearing opportunity. It's textbook penalty killing.

Overall the Anaheim approach is simple: keep the other team high and outside in your defensive zone, pound their D with your big, physical forwards in their zone, play smart on special teams, throw the puck at the net whenever you can (something the Wild could learn), and take advantage of your opponent's miscues. It's a solid game plan, which the Ducks are executing to perfection. Against such a machine, the Wild's Stanley Cup dreams are nearly extinct