How Leo Carlsson is developing into an elite power forward for the Anaheim Ducks

Last season, Leo Carlsson scored 45 points in 76 games. This season, he’s on pace to more than double that mark, even tracking for close to a 120-point pace in mid-November.

​What changed?

​First, the team context around him.

​Anaheim seems to have found the right balance on its first line, pairing Carlsson with Troy Terry, a creative play-driver, and Chris Kreider, a veteran, two-way, net-front scorer. The trio complements each other well, opening space for Carlsson to carry the puck in the middle, giving him timely passing options, and shielding him defensively. They have controlled the flow of the play and won most of their match-ups handily, accumulating one of the strongest expected goals percentage marks in the NHL.

​More than his line-mates, however, it’s a change at the head coach that