On December 17th, 2015 the Anaheim Ducks had 27 points. They were tied for dead last in the league, and three points behind the Edmonton Oilers. In a league that pretty much has its playoff teams settled by Thanksgiving, that’s an impossible hole to climb out of. But Bruce Boudreau and the Ducks did it, going on an incredible 35-11-6 run to win the Pacific Division. That’s why I gave my Jack Adams vote to Boudreau. Because it’s actually a touch easier to take over a team for a fired coach and do things your own way with no pressure. Boudreau not only had to battle the standings, but he had to battle his own history and his own rumors to turn the Ducks around, and he did it.
But now in the aftermath of a Game 7 first round loss to the Nashville Predators … a wild card team … Boudreau has to battle his history again. And he might lose. Including this season, Boudreau has eight division titles to his credit, and has only gotten past the second round once. Now you can say that his Ducks deserved a better fate in Game 7, throwing 37 shots at Pekka Rinne, who was outstanding. But consider this larger sample size: Boudreau is an incredible 1-7 in Game Sevens in his career. And preceding his last five Game Sevens, his teams are 0-5 in Game Sixes. So his teams have had ten chances to put away the Canadiens, Red Wings, Kings, Blackhawks, and Predators. And his teams are 0-for-10. And throw in a 6-2 loss at home to the Penguins in 2009 and you have a lot of losses that can’t just be explained by “the other goalie just outplayed us.”
So which Bruce Boudreau do the Anaheim Ducks see? The Boudreau that topped 50 wins in 2014 and 2015, and escaped from last place top 100 points and win the division in 2016? Or the won that is 1-7 in Game Sevens and 0-10 in Game Sixes and Sevens in his last five playoff series that went 7 games? Fair or not, you have to think that the Ducks will consider this extensive playoff evidence and wonder how long they have to wait for Boudreau to defeat not only a playoff opponent, but his own history as well.
