IRVINE — Rickard Rakell didn’t enjoy playing in Randy Carlyle’s old-school offensive system. It was too predictable, too restrictive and led to a significant drop in the left wing’s production last season, when he scored only 18 goals after consecutive seasons of 30 or more.

The Ducks scored an NHL-low 199 goals, which helped to explain why they finished sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division and failed to advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012. It also helped to explain why Carlyle was fired as coach and replaced by Dallas Eakins.

Change has been good, according to Rakell.

“It’s a different energy around the whole team, getting this practice facility and all the seriousness about everything when it comes to food, sleep, recovery and practice,” Rakell said. “You can really notice the difference. They’ve given us all the tools. For us, everybody is just excited.

“We don’t have anything to lose.”

Eakins introduced new offensive schemes during the opening days of training camp and, so far, Rakell is pleased. Eakins has encouraged the Ducks to play to their strengths, to experiment and find out what works and what doesn’t. Creativity is welcomed rather than stifled under the previous regime.

“We have to try to score goals,” Rakell said, stating the obvious. “The first thing (Eakins) said was that we were last in shots on net and goals scored last season, so we’re going to have to make some changes to try to score goals.”

Rakell struggled during Carlyle’s final days, before his firing last Feb. 10.

“I think, because the season is so long, you’ve got to have trigger points for us,” Rakell said. “Athletes and hockey players have got to be able to go out and try new things and try to get better. That’s how you stay hungry for a whole year. It was getting to a point where, like, you’re not playing. Or you’re just thinking about what you can’t do out there. It wasn’t natural.

“You’re not being the player you can be. That’s not helping.”

Rakell knew things would be different when Eakins visited him in Sweden over the summer.

“For me, it just shows he cares,” Rakell said. “He cares about the opinions of the players on the team. Not only me, but he cares about the families as well. He had me and my fiancee come to dinner and asked what her view was on the family situation, so he understands.

“There’s a better vibe within this whole organization. From the first time you’re sitting down and talking to him, everything sounds great. It was almost too good to be true. It’s just that he feels part of our team. He just feels part of our team.”

Unlike past seasons, when the Ducks were simply expected to be among the NHL’s elite teams, the target the players have worn on their backs will be missing for 2019-20. The Ducks are no one’s idea of a Stanley Cup contender, and that opinion suits Rakell just fine.

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NHL postpones playoff games for Thursday and Friday “It’s different, but at the same time now it feels like we have all the tools to be great,” Rakell said. “If we’re not, it’s all up to us, the players. If you’re good at hockey, Dallas is going to let you do it. I think that’s how you get the most out of all the players you have on your team.

“Then there can’t be any excuses. Then you start keeping each other accountable within the team. I think that’s huge if you want to build a team. If you have a great trust and honesty in the team, you’re not scared to tell anybody if they’re doing something wrong.

“Or even if you made a mistake, but try it again because it’s good for our team. When you start getting that within the team, instead of someone saying, ‘No, I’m not allowed to do that.’ Then you’re not getting everything out of the players. We can’t think, ‘What can I not do on the ice?’ Instead, it should be, ‘What can we do to score a goal? Or what can we do to get the puck back?’

“Then we’ll work more as a unit.”