2007 SCF Game Three: Ducks Defensive Structure Breakdown
A look at one of the Anaheim Ducks' worst defensive performances of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Anaheim Ducks were one of the best defensive teams in the NHL during the 2006-07 season. They had a formidable top-four defense with Captain Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, François Beauchemin, and Sean O’Donnell. Their physicality up and down their forward core, also contributed to a strong defensive team. They had the best shutdown line in the league with Samuel Pahlsson centering Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen. And they had a fourth line that tormented their opponents' stars, with Todd Marchant centering Brad May and Shawn Thornton.
But Game Three of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final was an anomaly in defensive structure breakdown.
The Ducks weren't the most disciplined team to begin with, and they paid the price against the Ottawa Senators, logging 24 penalty minutes. The first road game of the series proved a difficult challenge for the Ducks, who were outhit by the Senators 32-26. Ottawa also had the advantage in takeaways, 16-7, and the Ducks gave the puck away 17 times. The Ducks were also outshot 29-22 and even went 19 minutes with only two shots on goal.
There are a couple of plays that are worth breaking down. While there are a lot of great lessons to be learned from the Ducks' excellent defensive plays, even their mistakes can teach us a thing or two.
Ottawa's First Goal
The Ducks fail to successfully break the puck out against an overpowering Ottawa forecheck. This led to Ottawa creating space in the middle of the ice and taking advantage of a lapse in defensive zone coverage. Chris Kunitz (ANA14) isn't even trying to defend. Kunitz is floating high waiting for a breakout pass or a turnover and is watching the play.

This was an uncharacteristically bad game for the Ducks. The Senators scored their second goal off the face-off. Their third goal was scored on a consecutive power play. And their fourth goal was an own goal from Chris Pronger.
The fifth goal against was due to another lapse in defensive zone coverage. Too many Ducks overcommit in the corner which opens up a lot of space in the middle.
Watch Chris Neil (OTT25) in the clip above, which is timestamped to the start of the play. Neil drives to the net and pulls his man with him to open the seam for Antoine Vermette to pass to Anton Volchenkov.

Even the greatest defensive teams make mistakes that are worth learning from. Make sure you see the puck and see your man. Maintain mid-ice positioning. Don't overcommitt and leave the middle of the ice open.
For the Ducks, this was their only loss of the series. Next time, we'll look at one of the greatest Ducks players to step on the ice: Teemu Selanne.