IRVINE, Calif. – Confirming the Anaheim Ducks starting goaltender is normally a fairly rote exercise with Joel Quenneville.
Media member simply says, "starter tonight?" Quenneville usually gives a perfunctory "Dosty" or "Huss" for No. 1 goalie Lukáš Dostál or back-up Ville Husso, and everyone goes on about their day.
However, Saturday's confirmation at Ducks practice at Great Park Ice ahead of Sunday's homestand finale came with something extra, as the Anaheim bench boss sent a clear message across his goal crease and five-man defensive unit in front of it.
"Brossoit," Quenneville said with emphasis, signaling that called-up AHL San Diego goaltender Laurent Brossoit would start for the Ducks against the Ottawa Senators at Honda Center over Dostál or Husso.
When asked if there was an injury to either regular netminder or if he was looking for something more, Quenneville said affirmatively, "It's an opportunity."
For a Ducks team that has lost seven of its last eight games and blew multi-goal leads in each of the last two games, including allowing six goals to the last-place and previously 10-games winless Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday and giving up six consecutive goals in a 7-6 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, the defensive struggles clearly hit a breaking point.
Anaheim has allowed 21 goals in its last four games, 29 goals in its last six games and 36 in the last eight games with a 1-6-1 record in that stretch.
"Pucks are going in too easily," Quenneville said after Thursday's loss. "I think it's a group of five, with the puck, where we leave it, where we have to start to have to defend from it - we're at a disadvantage."
As Quenneville alluded to, this is a group issue that goes beyond the goaltenders, but even with the chances given up in front of them, it was a particularly tough week for the Ducks' pair.
Against Vancouver, Dostal faced his second-highest expected goals against this season (4.74 xGA per Natural Stat Trick) with his most goals allowed (6) in nine starts making for his worst goals saved above expected (xGSA) so far. It was the fourth time in nine starts his xGSA exceeded one full goal.
Dostal also saw his most high-danger area chances of the season (12) and allowed just one high-danger area goal, but that also means the other five goals came from distance. (Note: Public model analytics don't account for screens, turnovers–like those on the Canucks two goals with the extra attacker–or any other play data aside from shot location.)
"Every play matters," Dostál said. "It starts from the puck drop until the end, including me, including everyone. It's still the plays that's just added up, if it's the penalties, if it's a bad save, if it's a bad rebound, if it's a bad pass, and all those little plays. It always adds up."
Against Buffalo, Husso also saw his second-highest expected goals against this season (4.19 xGA per Natural Stat Trick) with his most goals allowed (7). It was the second time in his four starts that his xGSA was in the negative. Husso allowed five high-danger area goals on 11 high-danger area attempts.
"Every goal had a different flavor to it," Quenneville said Saturday. "Sometimes the one night was penalties. The other night off the rush. I think our rush defending was poor, and I think that might have been the one flavor–we got to be better off the rush defending."
And that's the trick of it.
Yes, some nights you just need a save, especially in crunch time and particularly when you've held a multi-goal lead and need to stop the bleeding. (Anaheim is 1-4-1 at home, with four of the five losses coming with a blown multi-goal lead.)
On the other hand, just how many saves should your goaltenders be expected to make, particularly in the quantity, quality and duration of zone time the Ducks have been allowing.
"Just can't happen," Leo Carlsson said Thursday. "Seven goals is obviously terrible. Have to help out Husso more."
At five-on-five per Natural Stat Trick, Anaheim is eighth-worst in shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes, sixth-worst in goals against per 60 minutes, fourth-worst in expected goals against per 60 minutes and third-worst in high-danger chances allowed per 60 minutes.
What those descending stats boil down to is, the Ducks are constantly behind the eight ball defensively due to the quality of chances allowed.
"I think we're a little disconnected right now," Cutter Gauthier said Thursday. "I think the biggest thing right now is just simplifying things, playing a very predictable game so everyone can read off each other really well. I think it's just a little bit disconnected."
That's why benching the top two goalies in Dostál and Husso in favor of the third-string AHL starter Brossoit is far beyond a shot at the goaltenders.
It is a wake-up call to a defensive group that if it doesn't clean up its operation–back door defense, zone exits, rush defense– the Ducks could be in for an even rougher result against Ottawa on Sunday and in the weeks to come.
"I think that everybody's part of it," Quenneville said.
