The Anaheim Ducks will have plenty of reasons to be proud of their yearlong resilience and late-season determination to make the playoffs
after an incredible stretch of early-season injury woes.
They’ll also have plenty of time to reflect on those achievements during an extra-long summer for a team that couldn’t put it together in the
postseason.
The Ducks began the process of breaking up for the offseason this weekend after the San Jose Sharks completed a four-game sweep of their first-round
series.
”There’s a numbness that’s kind of subsiding now
Cheap Carlton Davis Jersey ,” coach Randy Carlyle said. ”After the run and the season-long trials and tribulations that you go through, you get to the
playoffs and win out and get second place in the division, and four games later,
a week later, you’re out of it, which is really numbing.”
Anaheim had made the Western Conference finals in two of the previous three seasons, and its six consecutive playoff berths constitute the second-longest
active streak in the NHL. The Ducks finished with their fifth consecutive
100-point season – the league’s longest active streak – and went 10-1-1 with
five straight victories to close the regular season, even surging into second
place in the Pacific Division.
But the Ducks’ streak of five straight Pacific titles ended, and then their season ended in embarrassing fashion.
The Ducks made the playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons, but perhaps they simply ran out of steam. Their mad dash to reach the postseason was necessitated
by the slow start caused by the club’s numerous injury problems during the first
half. Their top two centers – Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf – missed huge chunks
of early play, while goal-scoring forward Patrick Eaves never suited up all year
because of Guillain-Barre syndrome.
”The adversity that we faced this year was unlike anything I’ve ever seen
Josh Rosen Jersey , especially at the start of the year,” said top defenseman Cam Fowler, who missed the playoffs with a shoulder injury. ”We grinded it out,
and to get to the 100-point mark was fantastic. But at the end of the day, you
have to make a name for yourself come playoff time, and unfortunately we didn’t
do that this year.”
Once the Ducks get over the hurt, they’ll evaluate the core of talent that remains in Anaheim after years of contention. General manager Bob Murray will
have to decide whether that core is championship-caliber when healthy or whether
it’s time to break up one of the NHL’s most consistent winners.
Here are more things to know as the Ducks head into a long offseason:
MORE SPEED
Murray is among the observers who think the Ducks simply don’t play fast enough to compete optimally in the modern NHL. The Ducks’ heavy, punishing style
of play under Carlyle has won plenty of games over the past two years, but it
wasn’t enough to keep them in a series with the Sharks, who aren’t even the
fastest team around. Carlyle will be back next season to make the necessary
changes, Murray confirmed. How much of the Ducks’ core returns will be up to
Murray
Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , who has built and rebuilt the franchise around Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who will both turn 33 next month.
BEAUCH BYE
Defenseman Francois Beauchemin says he is retiring after spending the past 13 seasons in the NHL, including three separate stints with Anaheim. His departure
removes another link to the Ducks’ championship season, although Getzlaf, Perry
and Carlyle are still around.
BIEKSA NOT BACK
Veteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa also indicated he is unlikely to return after three seasons. He was
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The Ducks’ once-incredible depth on defense has been taxed in the past year with
the expansion draft-related departures of Shea Theodore and Clayton Stoner and
the trade of Sami Vatanen to New Jersey for Adam Henrique. Murray will need to
reload the Ducks’ blue line, with prospects Jacob Larsson, Marcus Pettersson and
Andy Welinski likely getting shots at a full-time job.
EAVES RETURN
The season-long loss of Eaves was a huge setback, but the Ducks are optimistic their heavily bearded forward will return in the fall. Eaves also had
recent shoulder surgery and will turn 34 next month, but he has been the type of
consistent goal scorer the Ducks lacked. He would also provide veteran
leadership after the possible departures of Beauchemin, Bieksa, Antoine
Vermette
Donte Jackson Jersey , Jason Chimera and others.
OFFSEASON LISTS
Most of the Ducks’ core is locked up through next season or beyond, including Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, leading scorer Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano, Fowler
and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson. Anaheim has several key
restricted free agents: Nick Ritchie, 20-goal scorer Ondrej Kase and defensemen
Brandon Montour and Welinski.
—
The Minnesota Twins head into the weekend riding high after taking consecutive series from Cleveland and Boston but could be shorthanded Friday
night when they open a three-game set with the Texas Rangers at Target
Field.
Eduardo Escobar left in the fourth inning of Minnesota’s 9-2 loss to the Red Sox Thursday after he took a Rick Porcello fastball to the right elbow.
The AL leader with 32 doubles this season, Escobar has been red-hot this month, batting .386 with an .800 slugging percentage in 70 June at-bats.
Manager Paul Molitor said Escobar would be re-evaluated Friday.
“He’s sore and swollen,” Molitor said. “I think it got the bottom of the triceps more than on the elbow. We tried to see if he was able to
continue Ronald Jones II Youth Jersey , and he gave it a go, but you could tell he was having trouble swinging in that second at-bat.”
Eddie Rosario was scratched prior to the game Thursday with soreness in his right shoulder. He leads the team with 16 homers this season and has been having
a good month as well, batting .357 with a .757 slugging percentage.
Rosario said he’d be back in the lineup against Texas and Molitor admitted resting the 26-year-old was a precautionary move.
“I just think we’re trying to keep the big picture in mind,” Molitor said. “So, we’re gonna back him off. It’s just one of those things where you think
what you’re doing is best for the player for the long term.”
The Twins are already without second baseman Miguel Sano, who was optioned to Class A Fort Meyers to work on hitting the slider, and center fielder Byron
Buxton, whose fractured toe has shown improvement but not enough to return from
a minor league rehab assignment.
Missing all that firepower will leave right-hander Fernando Romero a much smaller margin for error as he takes the mound for his 10th career start.
Romero has cooled off since going 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA through his first four big league outings, going 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA over his last five. That number is
somewhat skewed by an eight-run disaster at Kansas City back on May 30, but
Romero’s strikeout rate has plummeted from 9.11 per nine innings to 5.95 over
his last four starts.
“Gosh, there’s still a lot to like Isaiah Wynn Jersey ,” Molitor said. “The way that he’s been able to get the ball on the ground pretty consistently, especially the way he can get in on
righties.”
In his first start against Texas, Romero will face a Rangers’ lineup that is feeling good after sweeping the Royals earlier in the week and has won five in a
row overall.
Rougned Odor has been a catalyst for the Rangers’ recent success. He was hitting .169 exactly one month ago but has batted .267 with a .761 OPS in the 26
games since to raise his average to .226.
“I believe he’s progressively gotten better,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “He’s showed progress where we need him to show progress. Odor has been a
significant player on this team and will continue to be a significant
player.”
Left-hander Mike Minor gets the start for Texas.
He held the Rockies to two runs over seven innings in his last outing, giving him a second consecutive quality start for the first time since earning six in a
row for the Braves back during the 2014 season.
Friday will mark Minor’s first career start against the Twins.
.
