Caught my second Anaheim Ducks game of the season in person last night, and I've noticed a four trends about the defending Stanley Cup champions.
1. They're sound defensively. They held Columbus to 20 shots in regulation and overtime combined. I've seen both goalies - J.S. Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov - play, and both were steady.
2. Their power play is out of sync even with the return of defenseman Mathieu Schneider. It spends way too much time on the perimeter and rarely gets players in position to bang home rebounds in the slot.
3. They lack finishers on the wings. Aside from Chris Kunitz, Corey Perry (who battles some inconsistency in my opinion) and sometimes Rob Niedermayer, they don't have wingers with a scorer's touch. This is where the losses of Teemu Selanne (retirement) and Dustin Penner (free agency) are being really felt.
4. They're as physical as ever and won't back down from anyone. That's both good and bad. Against the Blue Jackets it meant they spent about half the game killing off penalties.
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