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Bruce Boudreau, fired by the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, is a prototypical example of a coach who achieved success in the regular season that couldn’t be replicated in the postseason.
In the 2015-16 season, the Ducks were 1-7-2 at the end of October, tied for the second-worst points percentage in the NHL. This stumbling start came after the Ducks entered the season tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the third-best odds to win the Stanley Cup (9-1), according to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. Something began working for the Ducks, and from Nov. 1 to the end of the regular season, the Ducks had the second-best points percentage (.688), behind the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals (.722). For the fourth consecutive season when coached for a full season by Boudreau, the Ducks won their division. After losing the first two games of their first-round playoff matchup with the Nashville Predators, the Ducks won three in a row. But for the fourth straight season, the Ducks lost a 3-2 playoff series lead -- all four seasons ending on home ice, no less. Elias Sports Bureau research notes that the Ducks and the Capitals are the only two teams in NHL history to lose a Game 7 at home in at least three consecutive postseasons. Boudreau, in charge of the Capitals from 2007 to 2008 until he was fired 22 games into the 2011-12 season, coached both of those teams. (The Capitals’ streak ran from 2008 to 2010).
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