Ducks clinched playoff berth behind Henrique, goaltending

The Anaheim Ducks, after enduring a season filled with injuries, are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive time.
The Ducks (42-25-13, 97 points) clinched a playoff spot when the St. Louis Blues lost 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday and Anaheim defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1.

Anaheim can still gain home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round; the Ducks are one point behind the second-place San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division and one point ahead of the fourth-place Los Angeles Kings.
Anaheim, 8-1-1 in its past 10 games, has two regular-season games remaining; it hosts the Dallas Stars at Honda Center on Friday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV) and plays at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

This season ended the Ducks' run of five consecutive Pacific Division titles, but they will not let be a factor with the postseason set to begin; it could even play to their advantage.
"They feel confident they can achieve more than they already have," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "I think that there's another gear."
Here are five reasons the Ducks clinched a playoff berth:

1. Henrique's impact

The Ducks were 11-10-4 on Nov. 30, when they acquired center Adam Henrique, forward Joseph Blandisi and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in a trade with the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional third-round pick in 2019 or 2020.
Henrique has 33 points (19 goals, 14 assists) in 55 games with Anaheim, helped keep the Ducks afloat until injured centers Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler returned to the lineup in December and kept on scoring timely goals.
Since Henrique's arrival, Anaheim is 31-15-9.

2. Goaltending

Perhaps the wisest move the Ducks made last summer was signing goaltender Ryan Miller to a two-year contract on July 1.
Though No. 1 goaltender John Gibson has come of age, winning 31 games, his personal NHL season high, his health has been an issue.
Gibson has left a game because of injury six times this season, and Anaheim has the luxury of going to the experienced Miller, who won the Vezina Trophy with the Buffalo Sabres in 2010.
Miller went 10-6-6 with a 2.43 goals-against average, .927 save percentage with three shutouts in 26 games this season. With Gibson injured again, Miller was in goal when the Ducks clinched, in his first start since March 9.

3. Surviving adversity

The Ducks began the season with injury concerns and are finishing it the same way. Defenseman Cam Fowler will be out 2-6 weeks with a shoulder injury, and Gibson is day to day with an upper-body injury.
"We'll just have to deal with it," Carlyle said. "We've used that next-man-up mentality."
They have a lot of experience in handling adverse circumstances; Anaheim began the season without defenseman Hampus Lindholm (shoulder surgery) and Kesler (hip surgery), and Getzlaf missed 19 games after fracturing his cheekbone at the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 29.

4. Kase's case

Forward Ondrej Kase, 22, showed flashes of brilliance in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2017 and he continued to make progress this season, reaching the 20-goal mark in his second NHL season.
He has 38 points (20 goals, 18 assists) in 64 games, ranks second on the Ducks in goals behind center Rickard Rakell (32) and second among Ducks forwards in plus/minus (plus-18), behind Getzlaf (plus-20).

5. Scoring depth

The Ducks have five players with at least 16 goals and 10 with at least 10.
One of them is center Derek Grant, 27, who has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 64 games. It took him five seasons with five teams to get his first goal in the NHL, scoring twice against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 20.