Success at Faceoffs Has Been a Team Effort

The Mighty Ducks have done very well at winning faceoffs this season, and ranked second in the NHL before Thursday’s games with a 55.08% success rate.

But unlike the other top faceoff-winning teams, which have strong one-two punches, the Ducks have been getting it done by committee.

Kevyn Adams and Rod Brind’Amour of Carolina, and Dave Andreychuk and Tim Taylor of Tampa Bay normally rank among the league’s top 15 in faceoff percentage among players with at least 100 draws, but the Ducks don’t have any that high.

But the Ducks have a trio among the top 25 -- Marc Chouinard, Adam Oates and Andy McDonald.

Steve Rucchin and Matt Cullen also take a lot of draws and win more than 50%.

Then there are Jason Krog, Dan Bylsma, Petr Sykora and Patric Kjellberg, who don’t take as many but, combined, have won more than 60%.

“The more you have control of the puck, the less they can shoot,” goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “So that definitely helps you win games.”

Coach Mike Babcock makes sure the Ducks never take their faceoff success for granted. “A big winning percentage for a team is 55%, which means that you lose 45% of the time,” he said. “You need them all, but you never know for sure. All you can do is the best you can.”

The Ducks’ faceoff success is one reason behind Giguere’s recent hot streak, which includes consecutive home shutouts of Nashville and Washington.

Giguere, who has not allowed a goal in 140 minutes 15 seconds, is 4-1-1 with a .938 save mark over his last six games, allowing two goals or fewer in five of them.

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The Ducks will take part in the fourth annual Dux in Tux charity event today at Hyatt Regency Orange County.

The event features players and coaches serving as waiters and has raised nearly $1 million to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Mighty Ducks Care charities.