The week after American Thanksgiving has been relatively quiet in Anaheim. The Ducks scored a thrilling 5-4 victory over their nearby rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, on Black Friday. In the next game, they fell short against the Chicago Blackhawks, but recovered with a win over the St. Louis Blues. The Ducks will play three games at home before traveling for five games to the northeastern United States.
Both members of the goaltending tandem, Lukas Dostal and Petr Mrazek, are out with injury – where does that leave the Ducks? While the young forwards are still performing extremely well, goaltending is a big piece of the puzzle. Let’s look at the situation for Anaheim.
Dostal and Mrazek facial injuries
Dostal, the Ducks’ leading goaltender, dealt with an upper-body injury last week and is expected to continue two to three weeks out. He was placed on wounded reserve. This is a huge loss for the Ducks, as “the DostWall” was one of the key components of their success. Before his injury, he had an 11-5-1 record and a .904 save percentage (SV%). He held down the fort, so to speak, with Mrazek being a reliable backup option.
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Mrazek was the obvious choice as starter when Dostal went down, as he had a 3-3-0 record and some big saves in critical moments. The team recalled Ville Husso from the San Diego Gulls to serve as a backup. But as fate would have it, Mrazek suffered a lower body injury in his game against the Blackhawks. He’s listed as day-to-day, which is hopeful, but the Ducks are missing their main goaltending tandem.
Husso and Buteyets take over
This makes Husso the primary goaltender for the time being. Husso has played at both the NHL and American Hockey League (AHL) levels. He boasts a 71-46-19 record, seven shutouts and a .901 SV% in 145 NHL games. In the AHL, he is 72-64-19, has a remarkable 18 shutouts and a .909 SV% in 165 games. He’s a solid choice as a starter with Dostal and Mrazek out.
Husso must also have a backup goaltender, so the team remembered Vyacheslav Buteyets from the Seagulls. Buteyets is only 23 and therefore does not have as much experience in professional hockey as his counterpart. He has a 5-5-0 record this season with the Gulls and the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL.
He has experience in the All-Russian Hockey League (VHL), Russia’s second division. With Chelm Chelyabinsk, he posted a 40-32-6 record with four shutouts and a .923 SV% in 81 career games. Should he be called to action in an NHL game, he will certainly be challenged by the new pace of play and shot volume.
Leo Carlsson and others continue strong performances
While the team’s goaltending may not be as strong as normal for a while, there’s no need to worry: the team’s young forwards are still performing near-perfectly night after night. Carlsson is back on a seven-game winning streak and looks to make it eight against the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday. In those seven games he scored ten points.
Beckett Sennecke, a rookie, is on an eight-game losing streak ties Ducks legend Paul Kariya (1994-95) for longest run by a Ducks rookie. If Sennecke scores or assists in Wednesday’s match, he will be the record holder. Cutter Gauthier has 10 points in his last 10 games, and Mason McTavish is finally getting up to speed with a four-game winning streak.
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With that level of offense, the Ducks should do just fine, even with their goaltending tandem up and down. The defense will have to step up to help the goalies adjust to the NHL level of play. The Ducks face the Mammoth on Wednesday, followed by the Washington Capitals on Friday and the Blackhawks on Sunday before hitting the road.
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