Its time to take the Anaheim Ducks seriousl

If you follow hockey, even casually, youre probably well aware of the debate that has raged for a while now between analytical types (like myself, I gue s) and the old-school eye test crowd. Both sides have the fact that they enjoy hockey in common, but for whatever reason, they cant seem to get along. And both are at fault. The numbers guys sometimes have trouble relaying their findings to the general public, admittedly battling the urge to be condescending and arrogant. On the flip side, there are those that will seemingly go out of their way to dismi s the data, settling for uninspired jokes about calculators, spreadsheets, and mothers' basements. Im speaking as someone who utilizes underlying data to form opinions about players and teams. If youre going to come at me with watch the game remarks, let me a sure you, I do. I dont really care whos playing if theres a game on, Im probably going to be watching it, but I cant watch every single game. And I certainly cant watch every single player. Sometimes, I mi s something because its impo sible to catch every single little detail that takes place over the course of those 60-65 minutes of action. Its because of this fact that I value underlying data. Ive never once solely formed an opinion based on the numbers that I refused to think on in the future. I have, however, used it as a starting point, flagging certain things for future discu sion. There are often players/teams that seem to get a healthy dose of puck luck ( ), like the 2011-12 Minnesota Wild, who came crashing back down to earth in a big way. Then there are teams who cant buy a break, but are doing things that are believed to translate into future succe s (a la the po se sion darlings, , during their Stanley Cup run that same year). And then theres the Randy Carlyle Era Toronto Maple Leafs, who seem to defy logic and reasoning on a daily basis. Which brings us to the Anaheim Ducks. Theyre a le s extreme example than the Leafs which, along with the fact that they dont play in the center of the hockey universe, is a big reason as to why theyre not talked about in the same vein but still prove to be an interesting case Clete Boyer Jersey study. Their 30-12-6 record during last years shortened schedule was a big point of contention amongst the stats community. Despite the fact that they finished with the second seed in the Western Conference, in their first-round series against the seventh-seeded Detroit Red Wings. One reason not to buy into their succe s was their poor puck po se sion metrics; they were 24th in the league in terms of Corsi % in score-close situations, controlling just . They rode the percentages during a condensed schedule, enjoying the deadly, deadly PDO high. As it turns out, they fell to the Red Wings in seven games, vindicating the widespread belief that the smoke n mirrors routine could only last for so long. When the realignment was finalized this past summer, I remember being asked on Twitter how I thought the Ducks would fare this season. I had no idea. I racked my brain trying to come up with a firm answer, but the fact of the matter was that I could envision the 2013-14 campaign going all sorts of different ways. For my money, they had the widest range of (realistic) po sible outcomes. Do we have our answer yet? Theyve played 33 games at this point (~40% of the season), and once again, theyre right near the top of the Western Conference standings. On Tuesday morning, they woke up 21-7-5, and their 457 points are good for a tie with the Chicago Blackhawks for the most in the league. Yet still, there seems to be for their efforts. Let me point out that I, too, was reluctant to take them seriously as a contender under very recently. But at some point, that changed. It probably coincided with their slate of games, against what can only be described as a murderers row. Over the past week theyve played the Sharks, Kings, Blackhawks and Blues (four of the best five po se sion teams in the NHL) and managed to come away with six of a po sible eight points. That included victories back-to-back in Chicago and St.Louis, topped off with a 5-2 hammering of the Blues. How are they doing this? Death by numbers, Obviously with the Ducks everything starts and ends with the duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, who are turning in another pair of fantastic campaigns. Theyve combined for 72 points this year, made Dustin Penner relevant again, and are forcing the hand of Team Canadas decision-makers when it comes to the Sochi Olympics. Whats lethal about the Ducks this year, though, is that theyre one of the few teams in the league thats able to pair star power with immense depth, particularly down the middle, where they have Getzlaf, Saku Koivu, Mathieu Perreault, Nick Bonino, and Dave Steckel. To put this in perspective, Boninowho for all intents and purposes is their fourth center, is on pace for 56 points. When they want to, they can ice 12 more-than-competent forwards, which is a rarity in todays cap-stricken, enforcer-needy NHL. Young, talented players like Kyle Palmieri, Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelly can barely manage to crack the lineup. Theres more talent on its way in the pipeline, to boot. , placed Anaheim as the fourth system in his organizational rankings in September. Its this depth that has allowed them to keep trucking along despite a litany of injuries. Its also this depth that allowed them to for picks and a prospect defenseman. While their defense has surprised thanks to the quick development of Hampus Lindholm/Sami Vatanen, and a favourite of mine in Ben Lovejoy they should still be in the market for another reliable blue liner around the deadline (even if Sheldon Souray comes back healthy). Theyve currently got , hich doesnt even include what many believe to be . Its believed that there isnt much of a market for goaltenders right now, but its conceivable that something will open up. If it does, theyd do well to swap one of their tenders for another chip on the back-end. Their flexibility in that regard must be a scary proposition for their rivals. Now, before we start planning the parade, lets put things into perspective. While theyre actually in the black this year in terms of shot differential, with a 50.7 Fenwick Close % ( ), the Sharks and Kings are better all-around teams. Anaheim is the only team in the league shooting over 10 percent at 5v5 in close situations, which has them holding the second-highest PDO in the NHL (103.8). Theyre by all accounts due for a stretch of games where they experiencing what we call a good ol fashioned regre sion to the mean. Considering that their schedule gets easier now with four of their next six games coming against the Eastern Conference and another at home against Edmonton it doesnt look like thatll be happening any time soon. But if/when that does happen, theyll likely have built themselves a cushion to soften the blow, especially if their special teams play begins to experience an uptick. Theres reason to believe that their power play (ranked 16th in Goals For/60 and 17th in conversion percentage, despite being eighth in shots for/60), and their penalty kill (a low 87.4 save %, only 23rd in the league) will actually get better, potentially mitigating some of the 5v5 regre sion. I wouldnt nece sarily say that these Anaheim Ducks are by any means, but were reaching the point now where we need to start including them in the discu sion of the Western Conferences best. At the very least, theyre more legit than last season. Dimitri Filipovic is the managing editor of , a Sporting News partner. 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