Spotlight on Boudreau's job status as Ducks' woes continue

It was only a couple weeks ago that NHL pundits were endorsing the Ducks as a repeat Stanley Cup contending club.

Now, with October hockey drawing to a close, that couldn’t be further from the truth. And now there are questions as to how much longer Bruce Boudreau will be behind Anaheim’s bench.

The term “frustrating” has been used an awful lot lately to describe the Ducks, and understandably so. They are currently occupying a bottom rung on the league standings ladder with a 1-7-2 record, and coming off a 0-5-1 road trip. They have scored a league-low 10 goals in 10 games, and have been shut out five times.

Playing with a lead is also a problem, as shown in their most recent game in St. Louis in which Anaheim went up 1-0 on the Blues, but lost 2-1 in the third frame. In Dallas on October 27, Anaheim jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but then fell 4-3 to the Stars.

Bad starts happen, but the Ducks don’t seem to be deviating from this losing pattern. Even the Columbus Blue Jackets, who started the season off with a ”disturbing” 0-7-0 record, appear to be pulling themselves together. However, their turn in fortune didn’t come until after Columbus fired Todd Richards and put John Tortorella behind the bench.

The spotlight on Boudreau’s job status is only burning brighter with the red-hot 7-1-1 Nashville Predators visiting the Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday. The Preds have won four of their last five contests, including handing Anaheim the first loss of their last roadie, 5-1.

Boudreau has reportedly been asked outright if his job is in jeopardy. The response as to whether or not he would be coaching the Ducks after this weekend, per The Orange County Register:

“Until somebody tells me (I’m not), I’m coaching the team,” Boudreau said.

Nick Forrester of SI.com reported earlier in the week that Ducks' fans are rallying behind Boudreau in favor of firing him so early in the 2015-16 campaign. Pro Hockey Talk suggests that perhaps Anaheim already sees a replacement in assistant Paul MacLean.

Sunday’s game isn’t just a must-win for the Ducks to gain some kind of grasp on the season. It could determine whether or not there is a shakeup in their coaching staff.