What? Gasp! Horror! Well, this is actually a good thing. Kind of. In my opinion, there are some players on the Ducks who needed to be shown certain things. Losing is one of those things. Far too often this season, I watched Getzlaf play mediocre hockey and this was before his injury. He is a barometer on that team, whether I like it or not, and it shows when he doesn’t feel like playing. The team seems to follow suit. I am of the mind that these are professionals on the ice and should act accordingly. That being said, I strongly feel the lack of playoff spot this season lands squarely with the coaching staff.

Why is that, you ask? In looking back, the beginning of the end was actually the beginning of the season. The coaches couldn’t allow any one line to play together more than a shift, thereby ensuring no chemistry within the lines. (a smidge of exaggeration, but true nonetheless) The goalie issue had been ranted about by me here, so I won’t go any further with that.

This current Anaheim Ducks team is not the same team who won the Stanley Cup in ’07. Not by a long shot. No longer are they the hard-hitting “bullies” they were once thought as. The personnel have changed, but the coaching staff and their system has not. The Anaheim Ducks sent 9 players to the Olympics……NINE! The most of any NHL team – and yet, the Ducks struggled. We have the talent; that’s a given. So what can we say was the problem? Coaching. Sadly, the coaching staff didn’t want to change their system, but, the system clearly didn’t work. I believe the morale was low in the locker room since training camp and it’s been said to me that possibly, the team had a “work slowdown” in the beginning to try to get rid of the coach. Again – I hope not as these are professional athletes. (When even Teemu Selanne says that training camp was the hardest he’s ever had and they were all tired by preseason….I’m thinking coaching was an issue.)

So, now we all move forward in Duckland today – the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Anaheim fans are expecting a lot to happen during these long months off. Just to note a few:

• Is Scott Niedermayer retiring? (again – the Brett Favre of the NHL!)
• Is Teemu Selanne retiring?
• Will we resign Aaron Ward, James Wisnewski, Saku Koivu, Sheldon Brookbank? Will Bobby Ryan really be locked up by December?
• Are the Samueli’s really going to keep Randy Carlyle and/or Bob Murray?? The fact that the NHL have reinstated the Samueli’s as ‘functioning’ owners, I expect they will have a hand in all this and it may not be pretty.

Some of the things going on with the Ducks, here at the end of the season:

• Lubomir Visnovsky – traded for Ryan Whitney. Oilers: SUCKAS! This was an awesome trade and I personally like the fact Lubo is here.
• Ryan Getzlaf – hurt his ankle, but the organization just came out with the “undisclosed ligament tear” as well. Kind of explains his apathy on the ice; but, the team proved they didn’t need him to win – the Ducks should’ve sat him out sooner than when they did.
• Jonas Hiller – signed to the 4 year deal. Pulls his back muscles twice…now he can go home to Switzerland and get healed once and for all. Had a career high 30 wins! Crazy showing at the Olympics, too….never count this goalie out. (remember – he’s only in his 3rd year in the NHL)
• Saku Koivu – really showed his worth in numerous ways during the second half of the season. I would like to see him sign again, even if Teemu Selanne doesn’t. He’s an asset to this team and I hope the organization knows it.
• James Wisniewski – well, I think he wants more money than he’s worth, if rumors are to be believed. I’d rather the Ducks sign a veteran D man, especially since it looks like Niedermayer will retire.
• Curtis McElhinney – Mac showed a lot to the fans when he had to step into goal for Hiller. As much as I want Timo Pielmeier as our #2, I’m just as happy to have Mac. As long as Mac continues to understand he is the #2, this is a good thing. I don’t want another goalie issue next season…..”win and you’re in” BS.
• Joffrey Lupul – can someone PLEASE trade this fool??? On the IR means he isn’t a ding to the cap, but just knowing he’s there and supposedly “recovering,” makes me see red. Interesting thing is Twitter….it shows the fans what you are REALLY doing when you are supposedly “recovering.” TRADE!

Now it’s time to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs and wait to see what the Ducks organization has in store. Thanks to all who read this blog over the season and thanks to Penalty Kill for allowing me to rant on…and on…..

Have a great off season!

LET’S GO DEVS! Or ‘HAWKS…..I’m not picky since the Ducks are out.

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The Olympics are over and the Duck Olympians brought home 7 medals collectively: 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. The only Ducks not to bring home medals were Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa, both played for Switzerland. However, it has to be said that Switzerland absolutely scared the crap out of the “big teams.” I also have to point out that Canada and the US had the NHL Dream Teams, while Switzerland had Hiller, Sbisa, Streit and Weber. So, basically 3 NHL players - I’m counting Sbisa and Weber as each a half. (Sbisa is with his junior team and Weber is no longer in the NHL.) And they played THAT well? I’m big in rooting for the underdog, so I was happy they got as far as they did. (Sidenote: I think Hiller forgot his European play, however, during the Norway and Belarus games…..)

Why do I point this out? Because the Ducks have 7 (count ‘em! SEVEN! Sieben!) Olympians playing on this team and the Ducks are damn near out of playoff contention. Let’s recap, shall we?

Trade deadline was March 3 – Ryan Whitney was traded (Hallelujah!!) to Edmonton for Lubomir Visnovsky. GREAT trade for the Ducks; to the Oilers: SUCKAS! That silver medal that Whitney had must have made him look good. We also acquired Aaron Ward from the Hurricanes. Again – good trade. Sadly, we lost Petteri Nokelainen to Phoenix; it was bound to happen as he’d been scratched a lot. I wish him all the best. Earlier, the Ducks had sent down Nick Boynton and he was traded as well. The Ducks also traded G Vesa Toskala, which wasn’t surprising. He’s better off with the Flames anyway. Good luck to him. G Justin Pogge is no longer a Duck either. As it stands today, Curtis McElhinney (from the Flames) is the backup to Hiller and Timo Pielmeier is our #3 (which I wholeheartedly agree with!).

Wednesday, March 3 saw the Avalanche come into Anaheim and from what everyone was saying the Ducks were the team to beat now. SEVEN OLYMPIANS!!!!! 6 MEDALS!!!!!!!! They were going to be tough! Uh huh. Yeah, not so much. This team was HOT before the Olympics – Anaheim had pulled to within 3 points of the 8th place. The Avs were a much better team than Anaheim that night and won, 4-3. The Ducks did try to come back, but I think they forgot WHO they were playing. Anderson was in the net, for crying out loud…. Yes, we were short on the blue line, but that’s what happens on trade deadline. The home winning streak was snapped.

Saturday, March 6 the Ducks were in Phoenix to play the Coyotes. I was there as well. Not only did the Ducks keep me from checking into my hotel room (Them: “We’re so sorry – we have hockey players on late checkouts today.” Me: “Ahh, yes – that would be my team.”) but they made me sit through an agonizing 4 -0 shutout on top of it!!! Props to Bryzgalov; he recorded his 7th shutout of the season (HEY - one shutout for each Duck Olympian on the ice that night!) which was also a franchise record 34th win of the season. Good to know my hockey team helped in creating Coyote history…… The Anaheim Ducks owe me bank for that trip!!
Flight: $172.
Hotel room – one night, complete with late checkin: $180.
Double cocktail at arena: $20
Watching your team play like they’ve never seen a puck before: FRIGGIN’ PRICELESS!
Same time, next year??? I did get a free Coyotes hat, though.

Sunday, March 7 saw the Ducks (and me) back at Anaheim to play the Montreal Canadiens. Saku Koivu’s old team! I have to say, the Ducks played much better than the night before. However, they blew an early lead (again!), Bobby Ryan missed an empty net he usually could have made with his eyes shut and lost in the SO 4-3. At least it’s a point…..but the Ducks are now 7 points out of the 8th position. I won’t go into the shoot out goal ‘controversy’ as I believe Anaheim and Hiller were robbed. Say what you want about Hiller, but he will take the blame on something when it’s his to take. He will also stand up for himself as well. My opinion any further than that is moot – the bottom line is that Anaheim lost and therefore may have lost their chances to get into the playoffs.

Anaheim needs to win, win, win and hope, hope, hope for some key losses from other teams.

Next up – 6 more home games. Let’s hope my team can win all of these and start a new streak at home. Do I think the Ducks will be in the playoffs? Not if they play like they did against the Coyotes. Do I think it’s possible for them to once again be the Comeback Kids? Yeah, I do.

As mad as I may get, I’m still a Ducks fan. No matter how frustrated I get with my team, I’m sure they are even more frustrated with themselves.

LET’S GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Since the last post, Anaheim has played 4 games leading up to the Winter Games. February 8 saw the LA Kings play at the Honda Center. This was an important game for both teams for numerous reasons; for the fans, we just wanted to see our team beat the Kings. They came into the Ponda on a streak: 10 wins in a row. The Ducks also had a streak to continue – 9 home wins. There is a lot of bad blood between the fans of these two teams, so you know we each were desperate for a win. Not to mention, the Feb 4th game saw my Ducks on the wrong end of a schooling. Ouch. Anaheim has been such an amazing team at home lately and this game was no exception. Anaheim beat the Kings 4-2, thereby ending the Kings winning streak and furthering the Ducks home streak to 10, tying the franchise record. To the King fan who decided he was going to talk smack after the game: whose streak is broken now?

February 10th was the last home game before the Olympic break and it was the Edmonton Oilers who received the loss, 3-2. This was an ugly, ugly game for the Ducks, but 2 points is 2 points. Both Edmonton goals were short-handed, which is extremely frustrating. The Ducks will play the Oilers again the Sunday before the Olympians go off to play for their countries. The Ducks now have a franchise record 11 home game winning streak!!

February 13th, the Ducks were on the road and played the Calgary Flames. I was lucky enough to watch this game; I don’t have Center Ice, but I know someone who does. Honestly, the most entertaining part of this 3-1 Duck loss was the Canadian commercials. Some of the oddest I’ve ever seen…. The Ducks were slow and didn’t play their game. There were many good chances created by Anaheim, but Kiprusoff was just too good. There seemed to be double the amount of Flames on the ice whenever Anaheim came into the Flames zone; I joked that they were puffer fish near their net. Anytime the Ducks came near, there just wasn’t any room to shoot. Before the game, the Flames recognized all the Olympians on the ice with kids bearing the respective countries flags and jerseys; that was classy.

February 14 saw the Ducks once again playing the Oilers, this time in Edmonton. I was a bit worried with this game as I felt the Oilers would come out aggressive in revenge for the prior loss. Sadly, I wasn’t able to watch this game; instead it was radio for me. It sounded like the Ducks played better in their 7-3 win and all of Canada rejoiced that Ryan Getzlaf not only played, but had a 4 point game. (Yes – he’s on the Canadian roster for sure now!) It sounded like the Oilers gave the Ducks a run in the second period – again, another short-handed goal – but the Ducks came back decisively in the 3rd. Once again, the Olympians were honored before the game, this time the kids with the jerseys and flags came out onto the ice, with the players behind them. 10 total this game – 8 Ducks and 2 Oilers. Real classy move again and wicked cool picture.

As of now, the Ducks sit just 2 points out of the 8th spot. Déjà vu…….

So, tomorrow starts the Olympic hockey tournament. I can’t wait. Although, it will be strange to see the Ducks in different uniforms. Hiller has a new mask for the occasion - check out my friend Justin’s site for the pictures: http://www.thegoalieguild.com/?p=3155 THAT will be strange to see as well. I got comfortable seeing these players in their Ducks uniforms and hearing their names in conjunction with those who are usually ‘enemies’…..well, that will be peculiar, too. Getzlaf, Perry, Thorton, Heatly on the same team??? LOL. One can’t help but be proud to see these players that we watch daily, discuss endlessly and even fight over (Hello, Kings fan!) perform for their countries. It makes someone like myself a bit schizophrenic trying to watch all the games your players are in! DVR is a good thing. So, until the end of the Olympic break, I’ll just say:

GO USA! GO CANADA! GO FINLAND! GO SWITZERLAND! (somewhere in there, there will be at least one medal brought home to Anaheim!)

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February 1, the Ducks were still on the road and played their last game of the stretch against the Florida Panthers. Thanks to Versus, we were only able to listen to the game, but what a game it was. Anaheim shut out the Panthers 3-0. From what I could hear, the team played well and Hiller started off his tenure as #1 goalie in fine fashion. It also sounded like new acquisition, Jason Blake, played a good game, too. I’d just have to wait and see when the team comes home to play the Red Wings. The Ducks radio team had nice tributes to Giguere during both intermissions. That was classy.

February 2 saw JS Giguere play for the first time in a uniform other than Anaheim in about 10 years. This was an emotional trade for the fans of Anaheim; while yes, it is a business, you not only trade the player, you trade the man. Seeing Jiggy in his Ducks mask and pads but Leafs sweater was surreal. I have to say, Jiggy starting in the net and also recording a shutout was awesome. The Leafs beat the Devils 3-0. Trust me, I won’t be reporting on the Leafs very often, but you can’t just erase the fact that Giguere was a franchise man for 10 years here. Congrats to Giguere!!

I was able to see Jason Blake firsthand on February 3 when the Ducks came home to play the Detroit Red Wings. Ok – warm-ups showed him moving well and looking sharp. What would he show when the game started? (side note: it WAS odd not to see Giguere come out for warm-ups. ) It was a pretty good game and I was impressed with Blake. So far. He is fast and can handle the puck. Anaheim won 3-1, extending the home streak to 9. I came away with a distinct feeling from the team: they were settled and confident. I asked other fans and they said they felt the same thing. So, it begs the question: was I right when I argued to people that the goalie “win and you’re in” system was affecting not only the goalies, but the team as well? I’ve said Carlyle was trying to ruin the goalies (a bit melodramatic, but hey!) and it’s logical to say that it would affect the whole team as well.

The next night, the Ducks went up to Los Angeles to take on the Kings in the back end of the back-to-back. Last time in Anaheim the Ducks were schooled in a 4-0 loss. Would it be the same?? I didn’t go to the game, but from what I saw on TV, the Ducks did a decent job. Jason Blake got the first goal (his first as a Duck), which would be the last Ducks goal until the 3rd period. The Kings were up 3-1 when Anaheim got their second wind. They tied it up 4-4 after almost 10 min of play. They were on the verge of a comeback! However, by the time the 60 minutes was up, the Kings rallied and beat Anaheim 6-4. It was much better than the last time the Ducks were at the Staples Center, so I will stay positive about that. Jason Blake – a goal and an assist. OK. I like him. So far.

4 games left before the NINE players from the Ducks head off to the Olympics. So the Ducks now have, I believe, the most players sent to the Olympics. Thursday, D Ryan Whitney was added to the roster for Team USA. I have to ask – can someone please explain – what in the hell am I missing with this player? I really don’t think he’s worth the $4 mil we pay him. Yet, Brian Burke adds him to the roster. I have seen him screw up numerous times and cost us goals. He’s taken penalties at bad times and lost us games. WTH? What am I missing????

Speaking of Brian Burke, I have to send my condolences to the Burke family on the death of their 21 year old son, Brendan. As I have a 21 year old son named Brandon, it was especially eerie for me as a parent. The Burke family is in the collective minds of hockey fans everywhere.

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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December 31st – where I left off….. well, it was great going to my first away game. Dallas won the game, but Anaheim played ok. Hiller was good in the net – Turco made an amazing diving save. I liked the arena the Stars have and the fans were wicked cool to me. Yes, even in my Ducks away jersey…..

I will not bore you with a game by game, since I’ve been off for a month. But I will update on some of the big happenings for the Anaheim Ducks and we’ll go from there.

• Joffrey Lupul had his back surgery, then developed an infection; this puts him out indefinitely. Ummmm, yeah. Then why was he on TMZ out on the town with a lady friend?? If the man is well enough to go to an LA hotspot, then he needs to be re-evaluated by a doctor. His team needs points and he’s…well….not at home resting??? He needs to take class and professionalism lessons from Teemu Selanne.

• Speaking of Selanne, he came back from his broken finger. For about 3 games before he broke his friggin’ jaw!! People! Can’t the man get a break? (no pun intended!) As of the end of January, he is back skating with the team, along with the requisite face shield, trying to get back into condition. He lost 13lbs from having his jaw wired shut. Where he lost it from is still uncertain…..

Big news this weekend: the goalie controversy has finally been resolved.

• The Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to a 4 yr/$18 extension, thereby making him the #1 goalie in Duckland. He is the future in regards to the net for Anaheim. He’s been playing almost every game for quite a while now. And he was AMAZING on the back to backs played Jan 9th and 10th – Predators and Blackhawks, respectively. So good he was named the NHL 2nd Star of the Week. (Considering the weekend before, the Ducks lost to these teams, it was great to see them play so well.) So, three years into his NHL career, Jonas Hiller is a #1 goal tender. Congrats to him and the Anaheim Ducks.

• However, the flip side of the coin is that JS Giguere was traded today to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not such a surprise where he went. I was surprised how fast he was traded (after the Hiller signing) and how sad I was to see him leave. He is an Anaheim Duck icon – he pulled them into the 2003 playoffs and took them to the Stanley Cup win. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and he is exactly what people have said all day today: a classy guy. He’ll be reunited with Francois Allaire (who I lamented his leaving, knowing one or both of the goalies would follow) and he will be mentoring yet another Jonas. He’s closer to home, will get to play and yeah – it’s better for him. Good luck to Jiggy and his family.

• The Giguere trade came with Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake from the Leafs. I’ve seen Toskala in the net and for the season, he will be a good backup for Hiller. The Ducks will be able to dump him after the season; between that and Giguere, there is more money freed up. However, my concern is that Pogge is still in third position. My ideal situation??? Dump Pogge as well at the end of the season. Bring up Timo Pielmeier as backup to Hiller. I think he’s ready and learning under Hiller would be good. Make Marco Cousineau or Jean-Philippe Levasseur the third position goalie.

• Jason Blake – I know nothing about. I’ll wait and see him on the ice. The downside is that we sent Dan Sexton back down in order to make room for Blake. Considering how well Sexton has been playing, this Blake guy better step it up.

• Bobby Ryan is not locked up yet, but there is time for that still. Jiggy’s trade makes more money available for Ryan’s contract.

• Ryan Whitney needs either a kick in the ass or a trade. Sorry, but I don’t think he is worth the $4 mil we are paying him.

• James Wisniewski – shootout king!! He has won 2 games in the shootout for the Ducks. What’s even more fun is watching this D man AFTER the winning shot. So, he’s 2 for 2. 100%! Pretty good if you ask me!

The Ducks are sending numerous players to the Olympics this year; one of the few teams with numerous athletes!

• USA – Bobby Ryan (the second American player in franchise history to be selected)
• Canada – Scott Niedermayer (Captain), Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
• Finland – Saku Koivu (Captain) and Teemu Selanne (Alternate)
• Switzerland – Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa

None of these were a shock, really. Perry maybe, but he played like a fiend in the beginning of the season. This Olympics will be hard on me; I’ve met these players and want them all to succeed. But, I can’t wait, either……

This month was up and down for the Ducks. We are still 4 points (at last look) out of a playoff spot. This shakeup may be the start of something, much like last year’s trades did. (I still don’t know WHY Pronger was traded. Can we get him back?????? I digress) If history is going to repeat itself, then the Ducks will find themselves barely in the 8th position. Again.

LETS GO DUCKS!!!!

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December 11 saw the Ducks start the latest road trip in Detroit. Here, the Ducks lost in overtime, 3-2. Too many penalties – 11 in all – would not help Anaheim’s cause in the least. But, at least they got a point. Giguere was in the net and it would seem that the coaching staff was relaxing the stupid ‘win and you’re in’ system.

The Ducks have too many back to backs in the month of December; December 12th saw them in Columbus playing the Blue Jackets. Hiller was in the net for this 3-1 Anaheim win and boy – was it ever needed!!!! Hiller looked great and after watching Jiggy the night before, I truly believe that the goalies are getting it together. Once again, Bobby Ryan did one of the dramatic goals I think he loves to do: scoring while flying. He does it for the highlight reels, I just know it. LOL (50th career goal, BTW) Since he did it for highlights, I will oblige him: http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,472&event=CBJ405. Jonas Hiller was the 1st Star of the game and with saves like this, I can see why:
http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,472&event=CBJ660. My team is nothing if not dramatic….

December 16th saw the Ducks back on the road after a brief trip home. This time, Anaheim went into Vancouver and faced down Luongo and the Canucks, winning 3-2. Hiller was again in net and both he and Luongo played an amazing game. Yes, the Canucks were outshot by Anaheim, but once again, I was really impressed with Luongo.

Yet another back to back. December 17th the Ducks were in San Jose for the first time this season. Now, I hate the fact that the Sharks came on the backend of the back to back; they are too dangerous a team for us to play on the backend. Giguere was in the net (as he should be on a back to back. More later in the blog) and recorded the 4-1 loss. Too many penalties (wotta shock) and too many mistakes. Simple as that. Ducks were outplayed by a team that had rested the 5 days prior. An excuse? Not really. Just a fact. The Anaheim Ducks aren’t the best team when playing back to backs.

One of the few home games played in December was on December 19th against the Phoenix Coyotes. It was a satisfying 4-2 win that night for Anaheim and for Jonas Hiller. As everyone in Duckland agreed: the team plays better at home in the daylight. This game started at 1pm and well, they won. From the Ducks website: “The Ducks improved their matinee record to 13-1-4 in the last 18 HOME day games (dating back to Oct. 20, 2002), earning 30 of a possible 36 points (.833 winning percentage) and outscoring the opposition, 59-32.” We are all of the mindset to change game times to 1pm-ish….

The Ducks went back on the road before the mandatory Christmas break, by playing against the Colorado Avalanche on December 22. This was an intense game where the Ducks won 4-2 by scoring all four goals in about 8 minutes or so. Hiller was in the net and not really tested all that much. Craig Anderson was in goal for the Avs and he was a BEAST! No matter how hard the Ducks tried, and they tried hard, they couldn’t get anything past Anderson until the third period. He was really, really incredible that night and in actuality, the Avs have no reason to hang their heads over this loss.

December 23rd had the Ducks once again playing Phoenix, this time in Phoenix. Sadly, the ugly back to back truth raised its ugly head and the Ducks lost 4-0. This time, there was a twist: Carlyle started Hiller even though his back to back record is….well, bad. I have to say, I was really surprised and truly pissed that he didn’t start Giguere. The Ducks have TWO (count ‘em TWO) good goalies and to not start the other one on a back to back????? How dumb was that? I hate to see goalies pulled during a game, but I was hoping to see Jiggy at the start of the 2nd period. Instead, Carlyle put him in with 8 min left in the game. WTH???? Would the outcome have been different had Giguere started? Probably not; the Yotes were hockey playing fools that game. Props to them. Once again, Anaheim playing a rested team on the backend of a back to back will rarely end well for the Ducks.

Thinking that Carlyle is trying hard to destroy both of our goalies, slowly but surely…….

The Ducks have three more games in 2009 – the Sharks on the road (Dec 26), the Wild here at home on the 29th and the Stars on the road Dec 31st. (I am personally excited for the December 31st game as I will be in Dallas for that game. Hot damn! First away game ever!)

On that note, I will end this for now. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and that everyone will stay safe on New Years Eve. I want to see you all back here on the site come January 1st.

LET’S GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (please….we really need the points!)

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December 1st saw the Kings and the Ducks start their Freeway Faceoff for the season. Unfortunately, the Ducks would fall to the Kings 4-3. The Ducks fought the good fight, but in the end, ran out of time. Hiller did his best, including being pretzeled a couple of times with no calls either time. Not surprising as Hiller was wearing the ‘wrong’ jersey…. Have to say, kudos to the Kings fans: for the first time, the Sharks fans in November were far, far worse than the Kings fans. Corey Perry extended his streak to 19 game point streak and Ryan Getzlaf recorded his 300th career NHL point as well.

December 3rd saw the Ducks in Dallas to play the Stars; the Stars won 3-1. Until the 3rd period, Anaheim had a 1-0 lead, and then poof! It was gone in 71 seconds, with the third goal being an empty netter. This was the game that Teemu Selanne fractured a bone in his finger; he’s out for about 4 weeks. (Knowing him, if he says 4 weeks, he means it!!) This game was just a bad one for Giguere as the first Dallas goal actually went in off Duck’s James Wisniewski’s skate. It was obviously given to the Star’s Neal, but it was one of those goals Jiggy just couldn’t have anticipated. Ugly? Yes. Counted? Yeah. So, it was a hard loss for the Ducks. Corey Perry’s streak ended with this game.

December 4th had the Ducks in Minnesota against the Wild on the back end of the back to back. The Ducks played a good game, from what I heard as I don’t have Center Ice. They powered back again and again; however, they lost 5-4 in SO. It’s hard to write about a game I didn’t see, but from what I heard, it was still a good one. Surprisingly, Hiller was the losing goaltender. Why surprising? He’s usually really, really good in the shoot out. Again, I didn’t see it, so I can’t really say why Hiller allowed in the goals. (Side note: former Duck Andrew Ebbett seems to have found a home with the Wild. Anyone who is an Anaheim fan liked Ebbett and it’s good to see a first-class guy doing well.)

Sunday, December 6 had the Ducks back home hosting the Ottawa Senators. Once again, the game went to a shoot out and the Ducks lost 4-3. Now, I saw this game and I had to wonder what in the world Giguere was doing when he was challenging the shooter during the SO. He seemed to turn about 45 degrees away from the shooter instead of squaring up. So, I was kind of left scratching my head as I walked to my car. It’s that long, long, long walk that happens when the Ducks lose.

Tuesday, December 8 the Dallas Stars rolled into Anaheim to close out this current home stand of….um…two. Giguere was in the net and the Ducks managed to squeak by and win the game on Saku Koivu’s overtime goal. Dan Sexton was called up when Teemu Selanne got hurt and recorded his first AND second NHL goals this game. What a night for the young player! Turco did his usual whining and playing up to the refs. It’s a shame he does that; he is actually a good goaltender. It’s the whining that gets to me.

Notes: Joffrey Lupul was hot after returning from back spasms; hopefully, the leg injury he has right now is minor and he plays Friday against the Wings.

Coaching staff seems to have FINALLY backed off that ridiculous ‘win and you’re in’ system for Giguere and Hiller. I can’t see the logic in it and feel that neither goalie can get consistent if they aren’t in the net more. I understand that if the team as a whole were consistent, allowing a goalie to stay in as long as they won (say, 3-4 games in a row) would work. However, since the team hasn’t been consistent, it only seemed to have the reverse effect on the netminders.

Friday starts a 4 game road trip for Anaheim: Wings, Jackets, Canucks and Sharks. I am hoping for the best and hoping for more points – they are really, really needed.

“All I want for Christmas is a winning team…”

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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The current home stand continued Monday, November 23 with the Calgary Flames coming into Anaheim. Anaheim won this game 3-2 in a SO and it was JS Giguere’s first win of the season. The Ducks lost their 2-1 lead with only 18 seconds left on the clock and Jiggy made sure to redeem that goal by not allowing any in during the SO. The winning goal went to Teemu Selanne, as is becoming the norm. (not that I’m complaining, of course!) Too much drama for a team that desperately needs to start winning. However, I could see the team was finally starting to work as a team and the win was a shot in the arm for Jiggy. Hopefully, the Ducks can ride this feeling into the rest of the home stand.

Two days later saw this fan once more at the Honda Center watching the Ducks host the Carolina Hurricanes. The day before Thanksgiving and I was hoping for another win. Hey – win or lose, I’m always thankful for hockey and my Ducks… Still, a win would be good and a win is what the Ducks gave us. Really, no one wants to be the one to lose to a team who has yet to win (Leafs win at Anaheim comes to mind…) and it wasn’t the Ducks as they won 3-2. Once again, too much drama for this team; Giguere was again in net and it looks like he prefers the 3rd period drama. 53 seconds left in the game and the ‘Canes get a goal to make it 3-2!!! Someone tell Jigs it is NOT nice to cause his fans heart attacks. However, the team is getting better with each game and with it, Giguere as well.

Friday, November 27 sees us back at the Honda Center (do the Ducks ever go on the road???) to watch them take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Now, I will admit, I am very nervous with this game – the ‘Hawks are a hot, hot team and are on such a winning streak. Even though the team is finally starting to jell, we’re testing them against the ‘Hawks? Madness. It was a good game, as usual when the ‘Hawks visit, with the Ducks winning 3-0. This was Giguere’s 3rd win in a row and first shutout of the season. I will also admit I was shocked it was a shut out. I may get smacked for this, but I will say it: Giguere is coming back to himself, yes. However, the shut out wasn’t because of Giguere; the whole team was literally pulling the pucks out of the crease. So, while this may sound like I am bashing Jiggy (I’m not) my point is that the defense is finally working together as well. Add that to our two amazing goalies and we are golden.

Game break for charity reasons: Before the game Friday, Ducks enforcer George Parros unveiled a line of clothing that he designed. It’s called ‘Stache Gear and all proceeds from the sales goes to two of his charities: Childhood Leukemia Foundation and Teammates for Kids. To call it a line, well, that’s stretching it. But, say what you will about his play or his mustache, George Parros loves to give back to the community; the proceeds so far total over $7,000 with more merchandise ordered. Considering there are 2 Tshirts for men, 2 Tshirts for women and 2 hats priced at $25 each, that’s a good haul so far. And the fans will always support their players with their charities as well. If you want to check it out, here is the link:

http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507372# All for a good cause, all good.

Sunday, November 29 the Coyotes rolled into the Honda Center and snapped the little winning streak the Ducks had going by winning 3-2 in OT. Once again, Giguere was in the net and once again, showed he was on his way back. Bobby Ryan made the goal that sent it into OT and not a moment too soon. Nothing like waiting until about 2 min left to finally score! Oy! Still, the excitement is one of the reasons we love the game. So, while it sucked that the streak was broken (can’t get a break around here, I guess!) it’s apparent the team has finally started to work as a team.

Today, the LA Kings coming into Anaheim for the start of the 2009/2010 Freeway Face Off series. This is the first time this regular season that these two teams have played. It’s always interesting, to say the least. I’m hoping the fans are better than the Sharks fans. Hard to say, harder still to type…… UPDATE: Hiller in the net tonight, so we’ll see how he does in front of the improved Ducks team.

Notes:

I can’t write it here, but look into Corey Perry right now. I am superstitious and don’t want to jinx anything, so I’ll just say look at his stats.

The line of Artyukhin/Koivu/Selanne is becoming a huge, huge asset to the team. This line, at first glance, seems odd, but it works!!! Artyukhin can get in there to make space for Selanne and Koivu and also has his own speed and puck handling skills. Yeah - this is a line to watch for sure. Having Selanne and Koivu request him on the line has to make Artyukhin feel pretty good too.

Giguere looks to be coming back to himself, almost. He got a little too comfortable in the net against the Coyotes and that’s when the last goal happened. BUT! He IS getting better. When Hiller gets his chance in front of this “new” team, he will be amazing as well. I can only think it helps one goalie when the other is doing well; especially when it’s your good friend. (see update above I received RIGHT before posting!)

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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First I learned that the hockey pre-season isn’t like other sports’ pre-seasons. Hockey players have said that the pre-season is really where you just find out who is making the team. It’s the beginning of the real season where you actually start learning how to play together. That’s why many teams have to find their footing when the season starts. By (US) Thanksgiving, they’ve usually been playing as a team for a solid month.

The second thing I learned is that Canada has their own Thanksgiving.

So here we are at (US) Thanksgiving and I wanted to see how The .Net’s teams are doing compared to this time last year.

The San Jose Sharks are just 1 point behind their point total from this time last year, and like last year they sit atop the NHL. Although there is nothing to be derived from this when it comes to the state of the team or their playoff prospects, all I will say is it’s nice to have a winning franchise to watch every few nights. The regular season is always fun in Sharkland.

rockandrollnobody’s Detroit Red Wings are 6 points behind where they were last year. While 34 points was worth 2nd place in the West last year, this year’s 28 points are only worth 10th. Given the goals the Red Wings lost when Hossa and Hudler left, and given the number of injuries they’ve suffered, a 6 point drop doesn’t sound too bad. However the increased strength of the rest of the West has them way down in the standings.

That strength is coming from hackett’s Chicago Blackhawks, who are surprising no one with their 9 point improvement over last season. With Marion Hossa finally joining the team the Blackhawks look to be the team to watch in the NHL. The only concern about this team is what to do next year. The Blackhawks could have serious cap issues so maybe it’s got to be this year.

The strength in the West is also coming from an unlikely source. That source is puckgal’s Phoenix Coyotes who are surprisingly occupying the 8th spot in the West. Perhaps the best thing that could have happened to the Coyotes was the loss of Wayne Gretzky. It makes complete sense that the Coyotes, under an experienced head coach like Dave Tippett, would be a better team. Could the Coyotes make the playoffs? By the way, to show just how little respect this team gets, wikipedia is still reporting Gretzky as the team’s head coach.

Where the West seems to have lost ground is with duxrox’s Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately it looks like Brian Burke left town leaving behind two things: 1) a Stanley Cup Title (yay!) and 2) a salary cap strapped team in free agency hell (boo!). My question to duxrox: is it worth it? Is it worth a title if it means enduring a ‘rebuilding’ year, possible signaling a window of a few rebuilding years? It’s always been that philosophical question - do you want to win all just at least just once, or do you want a perennial winner?

Despite all of the woes of massive injuries, pittpen’s Pittsburgh Pengiuns are tied for second in the NHL with their 36 points. The fact that they’re 5 points better than the were last season doesn’t really mean much when you consider that they made a coaching change later in the season to go from 10th in the East to Stanley Cup Champions. The Penguins seem to be skating along nicely despite having the longest hockey seasons two years in a row.

Tied with those Penguins are colonelbagpuss’ Washington Capitals. Here’s my beef - the marketing gurus at the NHL have been promoting Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin as the face of hockey. I understand that they’re both stars, but the ‘beef’ part is that they get more attention because, I think, they’re in the East. The Sharks have Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley - but the Sharks are in the West. This is one of the reasons why I started The .Net - not only does the NHL lack good nation media coverage compared to other sports (hence the idea that we’re always playing short handed), but the West gets even less coverage (hence the idea that the West is always playing short 5-on-3). Back to the topic at hand. The Capitals are being talked up as the next team to take it, giving Ovechkin center stage to sell the game. We’ll have to wait and see about that.

And last but not least, the Vancouver Canucks. Interestingly enough here at The .Net, the most blogged about team is the Canucks - I guess they just have way too many fans! Because of canucklehead, theoldtimer and hist, I know a lot more about this team than pretty much any team out there. Unfortunately I’m not sure where this team is going, they seem to be sliding sideways. Although only two points off last season’s pace, they’re sitting in 11th place in the west. I feel like of all the teams represented on The .Net, this is the one team that should be better than their record.

If they’re right and (US) Thanksgiving is truly the first benchmark of the season to come, it looks like most of the teams represented on The .Net are in a good position to make it a long, exciting season. The next typical measuring stick milestone is the month after the All-Star break, but since there is no All-Star game this year we’ll use the month after the Olympic break. It’s at that time where you start to see who has the mental fortitude to keep it up for 82 games. Teams that have been running away with things can get lazy around that time, while teams hungry to make a change usually ramp things up. But until then I’m sure there will be lots of continuing conversation so please - stay tuned!

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The Pens game, I believe Pittpen and I already dissected; the Ducks were horrible and lost 5-2. So, basically, the last road trip saw the Ducks earn a whole point. Wow.

The home stand started out with a win against the Lightning, 3-2. However, the Ducks barely squeaked by and still managed to win.

Last nights game against the Sharks was much better in terms of Ducks play. However, Anaheim lost 3-2.

Now, here is where I get on my soapbox, not about the teams, but about the fans. The Sharks fans last night were very inappropriate in their chanting; at least the group nearest to me was. I don’t mind the general chanting (chanting ‘Hiller’ does not affect him, but go ahead if you like. He’s not Turco. Doesn’t faze him) but some of the crude things yelled weren’t cool. Yelling out that “(fill in the blank) is a loser who blows (fill in the blank)” or that “(fill in the blank)’s mother is a whore” So not cool. Yeah, it’s hockey, but there are kids that go to the games and look up to the players and the sport in general. So far, all the Sharks fans I’ve met are not like that and I will continue to believe that these were drunk fools who shouldn’t be representing the Sharks fans. (What was most interesting is that they didn’t want to hear about the Stanley Cup the Ducks have won and that there were more brand new jerseys in that group than I’ve ever seen among fans. Obviously band waggoners, but they were still representing and not giving the regular Sharks fan a good name.) Rivalry is all in good fun, but know when to stop. Be loud. Cheer on your team. Hell – bring your Shark teeth and get the group to use them in unison! But leave the extremely personal stuff at home. The team doesn’t hear it, but the kids do. Some people just should not be allowed to drink and this group was a perfect example. Oh, and to the Sharks fans in my area last night: chanting “Beat LA” showed a lot of ignorance on your part…… justsayin’ Sorry…now, back to the game.

There has been improvement in the way the Ducks are playing. We didn’t get blown out last night; that’s a positive. As it was said on the radio last night: to say that the Sharks aren’t the best team in the NHL right now is wrong. Anaheim showed up (for the most part) and played against the best team in the league. And only lost by a point. Yeah. That’s a good thing.

Where the problems lie, I still can’t say outright. I won’t keep hashing it out over and over. I will keep saying though, that the Anaheim goalies are getting a bad rap and I feel it’s starting from the coaching staff. More on that in a different post, sometime down the road.

Next up: continuing the home stand with the Flames, Hurricanes, the ‘Hawks, Coyotes and closing it out: the Kings. Yes – the LA Kings. (Maybe the fans last night were pumping us up to beat the Kings…..)

LET’S GO DUCKS

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Three games played – New Jersey, Columbus and Detroit – and only 1 point to be had. Anaheim knows they need the points; they aren’t playing as if they know, however. I’ve watched as the black piece of rubber sits time and time again, waiting for an Anaheim player to pick it up. Time and time again, it’s been disappointed as it will sit there waiting or be rudely picked up by the opposing team…..

Anaheim: it’s called a PUCK. Puck, meet the Ducks. In order for you to win games and actually be seen as a team worthy of the playoffs, you need to put that scary little puck into the opposing net. Over and over again. It’s not frightening – pucks don’t usually bite. Take it away, run with it and SCORE! The more you handle the puck, the less intimidating they will seem.

The New Jersey game was probably the fastest game – and fastest loss – I’ve ever seen. If I had blinked, I would have missed the game. The Devils won 3-1 and the best thing I can say was that it wasn’t a shutout for Brodeur. The Devils outplayed the Ducks. I can only imagine the Ducks were in the locker room saying the same thing I was: did they just play a game; what just happened? It was that fast. Of course, it helped that the refs allowed the teams to play and not call penalties every time the Ducks released a breath.

The Columbus game was much more entertaining. This game was JS Giguere’s first game in the net since re-aggravating his groin injury. I have to say, it was great to see him back and he did really well. Although the Ducks lost 3-2 in a SO, they played better than against the Devils.

In watching tonight’s Detroit game, I am again wondering what is going on with this team. It’s hard to watch that scary ole puck fly by, underneath, behind, in front of a Duck and have it just keep on going. At times, it just sat there while the Ducks player seemingly waited for it to come to him. I’m aware I am over-simplifying it, but c’mon! Yet, back and forth, the Ducks fought back in this game. Again – the back end of a back-to-back and the Ducks showed up? Awesome. Losing the game 7-4 (Zetterberg getting a hat trick with an open net goal) was not so good.

Notes:
More penalties means the Anaheim PK is getting way too much time on the ice; the Ducks PK is horrible overall, so stay out of the penalty box! Do they? No. It’s at the point the opposing team will score every time a Duck penalty is called.

Defense needs to tighten it up as a whole. Certain players are playing like fiends; some need to grow a pair.

Can’t say much about the offense; the Ryan-Perry-Getzlaf line is hot. Mike Brown and Todd Marchant are playing their usual hard style. Sadly, Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter are injured; that cuts down on scoring chances as far as I’m concerned. Petteri Nokelainen has really picked up his game.

The goalie situation remains interesting; Hiller has been playing more due to Giguere’s injury. It will be up to Jiggy to keep playing as well as he did against Columbus last night. I wasn’t very happy with Jiggy airing his laundry last week; shows a lack of class that surprises me from Giguere. Frustration is one thing; using the media to make it known is another. Hiller has played well, especially considering the PK being as bad as it is. Giguere will most likely be in the net on Monday against Pittsburgh, so he will get those PK goals against him as well. It’s not always the goalie’s fault when the team loses; Hiller/Giguere and the Ducks are the perfect examples.

Pittsburgh on Monday…Malkin back in the lineup. As much as I hate to say it, it’s not looking good for the end of this road trip.

But still, this is my team, so I will say

LET’S GO DUCKS!!

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So, when last we left the Ducks, they were having a tough time winning at home. Things were starting to turn around when Pittsburgh rolled into town on November 3. After the back to back just played, we felt the team had a chance against the Pens. (Yeah, the Ducks lost in Phoenix, but they showed they could keep up and that’s a start.) Granted, the Pens didn’t have Malkin that night, which was probably for the best as far as the Ducks were concerned. The Ducks organization and the fans showed our appreciation for Chris Kunitz with a video thank you and a standing ovation, respectively. Hockey is still a business, but it’s nice to say thank you when they return for the first time. While the Ducks played as well as they could, they still lost 4-3. Had there been a couple of more minutes, I think Anaheim would have tied the game. This game was especially hard with the penalties. Yes, we bring them on ourselves, but even the Pens fan next to me commented that the refs really don’t like Anaheim; he saw blatant Pens penalties not called.

November 5 brought with it the Nashville Predators and Jonas Hiller’s first season shut-out (5th in his NHL career) in a 4-0 win. Well, now that this particular monkey is off Hiller’s back, I expect to see a few more over the season. This game was very entertaining as a Pred’s fan in the section next to me, decided to try and fight an Anaheim fan over the Kunitz penalty. Now, I think that getting that mad at something you can’t control is pretty stupid, but doing it in someone else’s barn is suicidal. Especially when you are a skinny guy trying to go with a large guy; think Andrew Ebbett against Chris Pronger. Yeah. Get the picture? The skinny Pred’s fan left and didn’t return. Probably the wisest thing he did all night. Anaheim had too many penalties in the 2nd period, but redeemed themselves by scoring 3 goals in the 3rd. Nashville tripped up Bobby Ryan and received a penalty….as did Bobby Ryan for diving. DIVING? The guy’s stick was in Ryan’s skate, causing him to fall, and Ryan is called for DIVING? Yeah…..riiiiiight.

Last night was an interesting game against the Phoenix Coyotes and with it, the return of James Wisniewski off his suspension for the hit on Doan during the Oct 31 game. (If you’d read my last blog, I stated in it that I was waiting for the suspension and damned if I didn’t call it. Monday the NHL suspended Wisniewski for that hit.) I can tell you that all over Duckland, we were hoping for some sort of payback. The payback came in the form of a 4-3 win for the Ducks. I won’t say this was a game well played by Anaheim; they lost a 4-0 game by not playing as hard in the 3rd. They have to remember that a hockey game is 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40 – 60 minutes. They forgot again and lost a shutout. They were lucky in that they did win the game – a “W” is still a “W” regardless of how ugly.

Coming up, the Ducks are on the road: New Jersey, Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh. The team had better tighten up and start playing a full game. This road trip is not going to be easy. Although, Detroit losing 5-1 to Toronto last night – who’da thunk that? WOW! Gotta love it when Detroit loses to anyone!!

Hiller has been in the net for quite a while now, due to JS Giguere’s groin injury. Is Hiller the #1 now in Anaheim? It would seem so, but Jiggy is due back this coming week, so we shall see… While an injury is never good for a player (especially a goalie!), this was the worst time for Jiggy to re-aggravate it. I don’t feel Justin Pogge is good enough to help this team, which is still struggling, so getting Jiggy back into the net is a must. The goalie team of Giguere and Hiller is what is needed. I still believe that, even with the slow start they’ve had.

Wisniewski is back. Corey Perry is hot. Jiggy should return. Hiller’s looking more solid. Mike Brown is playing well. Ryan Carter, too, is playing well. All sounds good to me. Now that I’ve said things are looking up, I hope I didn’t jinx it….

The Anaheim Ducks seem to do better on the road and boy – do they need the points. Not to mention the confidence that would come with the wins.

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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Monday the 26th saw the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Honda Center. It was the return of Brian Burke (GM), François Allaire (goaltending consultant) and D François Beauchemin. The Leafs came into Anaheim without a win and I thought for sure Anaheim would step up. Wow. Was I ever wrong; Toronto won 6-3. It was Jonas vs. Jonas in the net that night; Gustavsson did not disappoint. The Ducks Conga line into the sin bin was alive and well – they had 14 minors total! A hat trick from Hagman!! 5 power play goals! Hiller showing emotion! He was as disgusted as the fans were,

“It’s terrible,” said Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who gave up all six Toronto scores. “We wish we knew what the problem is. Right now, we’re struggling and we can’t find a way to get out. I don’t know what it is. We have to go back to the basics. Everybody can play better, me included. I know I can play better. I hope everybody does. That is the only way we can go from here.” (source: Anaheim Ducks website)

It was a long game. Scott Niedermayer of all people had two penalties. Anyone who follows the Ducks knows this is a huge sign of frustration. The best part of the game was when the ref was shoved to the ground by Orr during his fight with George Parros. Gotta love it when that happens to a ref…..

It was a long, long week waiting for Friday’s game at the Honda Center against the Vancouver Canucks. I read more interviews, more ‘quick hits’ from practices, etc. Finally, the game was played and within a few minutes, the Canucks scored the only two goals they would get. It looked like more of the same for the Ducks: losing in their own barn. However, the Ducks didn’t panic; Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry each had two goals that night and the final score was 7-2. George Parros’ goal was one of the funky ones that remind me why I love this sport; as he was tripped up, he still managed to make the shot from his side. If anyone should have a goal like that, it should be the enforcer! Hiller was in net again and damn near stood on his head that night. (Somewhere in this vast internet, someone commented he was shaky the whole game. Don’t know what game that person was watching…) Lupul’s goal towards the end of the game was one of those for the highlight reel; it took an odd bounce right into the net. Schneider couldn’t have done a thing with that one. It was just one of those goals. (http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,178&event=ANA679)

Halloween night saw the Ducks in Phoenix to play a back to back. If anyone knows about Anaheim, they know this team isn’t the best in back to backs. I turned on the game and hoped for the best. The Yotes have been playing like maniacs and to expect my Ducks to show up was stretching it. I have to say, I will apologize to the Anaheim Ducks right now. It took a while to get the two goals they did; they were hard won goals. However, the team showed up and played 60 minutes of hockey!! Hiller, who to this point didn’t do well in back to backs, really showed that he could do it. Maybe the extra conditioning done in Switzerland helped. Regardless of the fact the Yotes won in SO 3-2, I was extremely impressed with the Ducks last night. Yeah, it was a loss. But, it showed that the Ducks are finally coming together. The lines seem to be settling in - the 4th line of Carter, Parros and Brown! WOW! They are HOT right now. This game was extremely physical; just ask Wisniewski. He had a massive hit on Doan that made Doan loopy for a minute and had 2 fights because of it. (I’m waiting for the NHL to suspend Wisniewski cuz hey – he’s a Duck after all.) The Ducks showed up, sent it to a SO and made it entertaining as well. Phoenix will be here next Saturday – I expect Doan and Wisniewski to go at it again. If you can find that hit on YouTube, you’ll see why I say that. None of the Coyotes were happy with that and tried to take it out on the whole team. Payback is a bitch….Saturday’s game should be as physical as last nights.

The next three games are again at home; I’m hoping the ‘Nuks changed the mojo for the Honda Center and the Ducks will win these as well. The Ducks haven’t done well this season as home and to me that is just embarrassing. Let’s hope the Ducks play their game and remember that this is their home ice; enough is enough.

Until next Sunday…….

LET’S GO DUCKS!

Technorati Tags: Anaheim Ducks, hockey, nhl

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On Wednesday, October 14, the Ducks hosted the Minnesota Wild. It was a good enough showing as the Ducks won 3-2. Hiller made some good saves and it looked like this home stand was going to be a good one. Corey Perry had 2 of the 3 goals and really, we were all hoping for a hat trick. He came close a couple of times. However, the Ducks did have a 3-0 lead and once again, allowed it to slip away. As it turns out, this is the only win for Anaheim this week.

Saturday, October 17 saw the St. Louis Blues smoke the Ducks 5-0. Hiller started in net, but was replaced after the third goal by JS Giguere. Now, I am a firm believer that you have to watch the goalie position differently than the others; this game is a good example of that. Should Hiller have been pulled for allowing 3 goals? No. Should he be pulled to change the momentum of the game? Absolutely. The momentum did change, but not enough. (Offense couldn’t do a thing to score a goal and the defense…wait. Did we have defense?? This is becoming a theme.) Giguere allowed in 2 more goals; it was a relief when the game ended. Sad that we cheered the end of a game, but there you have it.

The Dallas Stars made their way into Anaheim on Wednesday, October 21. The final score of that game was in Dallas’ favor: 4-2. Hiller was in the net and made a few pretty big errors (more on that later) which resulted in goals. Turco did the same, but luck was on his side that night. The 3rd period showed the Ducks trying hard to come back, but it didn’t happen. Ryan Getzlaf finally got his first goal of the season; he seems a bit slow right now and I have to wonder if his sports hernia surgery and recovery is still an issue. Evgeny Artyukhin had an explosive hit this game; no penalty called, but the NHL later said he was guilty of slew footing the player and suspended him for it. (SIDENOTE: Ovechkin did the same thing a day or two later, but didn’t receive a suspension. Why is that?????? Oh right – he’s not an Anaheim Duck…..)

Saturday, October 24 saw the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ducks 6-4. Now, there were some positives with this game: the Ducks showed up for the 1st and 3rd periods. However, someone needs to remind these professional athletes that the game is 60 minutes. Giguere was in the net and made some pretty good saves; however, he also made some mistakes. It was in the third period when, I felt, the Ducks finally put a lot of pressure on the Jackets. Joffrey Lupul had 2 goals last night while Scott Niedermayer had one as well. It was Teemu Selanne who tied up the game. The Jackets answered back with the 5th goal; Giguere zigged when he should have zagged and aggravated the groin strain from earlier in the week. This sent Hiller into the net with 3:22 left. He eventually left the net for the extra attacker, but it looked to me as if the Ducks hadn’t realized he left: they allowed the Jackets to move too far near the empty net. And… the Jackets score with Anaheim D-man Ryan Whitney standing in the crease! He looked like he just watched the puck go into the net.

So I sat there last night and earlier today, thinking over the past two weeks worth of games. While I am not a coach, nor a GM, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

• The defense is in desperate need of…something. We have the talent (some say less without Chris Pronger) but it still looks as if they aren’t playing. Too often they have hung their goalies out to dry. Too many defensive miscues are killing Anaheim. Luca Sbisa will be reassigned, it was announced today, so he won’t be seen again for the rest of the season. Too bad really, as I like his play, but I agree with the reasons why.

• The offense needs to really, really step it up. Again – the talent is there. Corey Perry has been producing goals, but where is wunderkind Bobby Ryan? The SOG’s have been low – too low overall. The Ducks have to actually shoot the puck at the net in order to score; even I know that. They are falling into the trap of passing too much and are causing turnovers when they should be shooting.

• Special Teams: PK is doing well at home with about 81% (which is good since fans in attendance get free tacos with successful PKs) but the away PK is at almost 70%. Ouch. PK is where I feel we miss Pronger. Although, one could argue that we have our PK team out on the ice way too much and I have to agree. Anaheim is 15th in the league with PP goals. Ok at best, but who wants to be middle of the road?

• Surprisingly, Anaheim is 22nd in the league with PIM per game. (Hey – it’s early yet, I’m sure we’ll creep up this list really soon. Sarcasm, anyone?) This statistic is deceiving, in my humble opinion: while Anaheim is lower on the list, the penalties received at times were really, really bad timing on the players part. The penalties resulted in goals and game losses.

• Here is where my biggest issue with the whole of the Anaheim Ducks organization lies: goaltending. I will preface by saying that the team as a whole wins or loses; you can’t blame one position over another. However, as I’ve watched these early games, I am noticing something that has changed: puck handling and the goalies. It’s been only a handful of games and I have watched as Jonas Hiller and JS Giguere came out of their crease to play the puck behind the net. It seems as if they played behind the net more in these two weeks than the whole of last season. Why in the world are they in the trapezoid when it seems obvious they are making mistakes when doing so??? My feeling is that Pete Peeters (new goaltending consultant) has decided they need to handle the puck more. Both goalies are making huge mistakes behind the net, and in some cases, with disastrous results. Giguere and Hiller know their own game and know their strengths and weaknesses; if it is indeed Peeters having them come out more, he needs to let them be. Have them work on that during practices, not during games. Again, I am not a coach, but a goalie needs to protect the net. If he screws up behind the net, tell him to stay in his crease!! Why does a goalie need to come out of his crease to play the puck when he has two of his own teammates within a half sticks distance from the puck???? (Last nights game) Hiller and Giguere, in their attempt to handle the puck more, have left their net wide open way too much. With the Anaheim defense playing as they are, the last thing needed is open net.

PETE PEETERS: ALLOW OUR GOALIES TO PLAY THEIR GAME!!!!!

Tomorrow night the Ducks will play Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs. While I am hoping to see Jonas Gustafsson in the net, I am equally hoping that he doesn’t play well.

Thankfully, it’s still very early in the season!

Can someone tell the Anaheim Ducks to show up prepared to play, please? Thanks.

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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The first game was the home opener against the San Jose Sharks on 10/3. What I had predicted was a win and Jonas Hiller in the net. Well, one of two isn’t bad. Hiller was in the net and probably wished he hadn’t been. I sat through the 1-4 loss and wondered where the team went that I saw during preseason. Granted, it was only preseason and we had more personnel to choose from; but wow. Where was the defense? Did the offense even show up? Did anyone tell the Ducks that this was a regular season game? You know the home crowd is frustrated and angry when we all erupt in cheering….for a freaking SOG! I even bought myself a drink of the alcoholic type and I don’t drink. It’s the SHARKS…opening night…they flat outplayed the Ducks. There was an entertaining brawl during the 3rd period which somehow ended up with the Ducks on a PP. Sure there were a few highlights: Ryan Whitney scored the only Ducks goal, Luca Sbisa showed he is one to watch and Jonas Hiller debuted his Hiller Edition Proton mask. This is the first Swiss made goalie mask in NHL history. Glückwünsche Hiller and Airxess! Here’s the website for pictures of the mask: http://www.airxess.ch/airxess_vintage_news_E.php

You know the game is bad when your goalie has to drag his net back from the boards on his own, without stoppage of play. I was happy when that game was over.

The second game and first of the road trip was on 10/10 and the Ducks faced the Minnesota Wild. JS Giguere was in the net and the Ducks were looking better then the last game. They held a 3-0 lead into the 3rd period. Giguere was looking pretty good in his first regular season start. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Wild came back and scored three goals to tie the game. James Wisniewski took a bad penalty for roughing at 1:44 in OT which lead to the Wild goal to seal the fate of the Ducks. I was happy to see the team jelling a little more, as road trips tend to do. Although the score says differently, Giguere was pretty amazing in the net. I was happy to see that, not only because of his last season, but it means the Ducks have a great goaltending duo. Final score: 3-4 OT.

Game three on 10/8 saw the Ducks in Boston to play the Bruins. Last February, the Bruins spanked the Ducks 0-6; now it was payback time. The Ducks showed even further cohesiveness during this game and won it 6-1. Hiller was in the net and I have to say, he showed that he is ready to fight for the #1 position. The best goal of the game came off Corey Perry’s head and showed when it’s going right, it’s going right! You know he heard all the jokes in the locker room after that! http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,35&event=BOS718.

Game four against the Philadelphia Flyers on 10/10 was one that most (if not all) Duck fans were looking forward to: Chris Pronger! We knew it was going to be a hard game against the Flyers and Prongs; certainly we didn’t forget that Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa were playing against their former team as well. The game was one of those I live for – stressful, fun and ended in a 3-2 SO win for Anaheim. Granted, it did take the Ducks until 13:16 in the 3rd to get the first goal – the Finnish Flash does it again! At 19:44 – Teemu Selanne once again shows why he is really not ready to “retire” and scored the second goal to send the game into OT. Knowing that Anaheim has one of the best goalies between the pipes in SO, I just kept hoping we could keep the puck in our possession. Yes! SO! HILLER!! Needless to say, Hiller saved all three and guess who scored on his round? Yup – no other than Teemu Selanne!! If anyone, anywhere says that the #1 Star of that game went to someone other than Selanne……well, they weren’t paying attention.

The last of the road trip and for the week saw Anaheim in New York against the Rangers on 10/11. I was a bit worried going into this game as it was the back end of the back to back. That rarely bodes well for the Ducks. Giguere was in the net and although Anaheim lost 0-3, he did another good job. The rest of the team had no energy at all and boy – it showed. The game itself was actually boring, if I do say so myself. If it hadn’t been for Jiggy, that score would have been much higher. However, a goalie can’t do it all on his own. Almost, but not quite.

Overall notes for this first week of regular season:

• Anaheim has got to keep the penalties down. The Ducks Conga Line to the sin bin has to be laid to rest soon; or I have to come up with a better tag line for it. The penalties are costing too much and they have to be addressed.
• James Wisniewski was hurt during the Flyers game and is week to week with a shoulder injury. This is a bad thing in so many ways; but I remember last season after being in the hospital with a puck to the chest, he came back pretty fast.
• Todd Marchant apparently decided to violently push himself in the back and landed hard into the boards. (It was Dan Girardi who is at fault, but no suspension? Guess Marchant did that one on his own.) As of this typing we have no information on his injury or condition at all. He was cleared to fly home, so that is a positive. We need our Warrior.
• Evgeny Artyukhin is showing more and more that he has speed, handles the puck and can hit. I have a feeling by the end of the season, we’ll have a drinking game in his honor: every time he hits someone, we take a shot of Stolnaya Vodka. He has two goals already, so I’m thinking he’s going to be looking for some more.
• Luca Sbisa. Yeah. Love to watch him on the ice. He’s only going to get better, folks.
• As the week progressed (back to back, low energy game excluded) the team seemed to be coming together quickly.
• Jonas Hiller and JS Giguere are the goaltending duo to beat. Hands down.

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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So, after all is said and done, I give you my most humble of opinions. Which, as I always say, mean nothing to anyone but me.

I am really, really liking the play of Luca Sbisa. Yeah, he’s a whole 19 years old, but I feel that gives him an advantage. Not only will he have time to develop within the Ducks organization, but he has that fearlessness that comes with being young. (I see this at my local rink – young kids learning to ice skate fly around the rink. Those who have bills to pay are more careful, shall we say??) Sbisa is one to watch this season.

I like the re-addition of Joffery Lupul, but am concerned with his seemingly iffy physical health. If he can suck it up, he’ll be a good addition. If he doesn’t and sits out games, what’s the use? His back problems during the preseason, I hope, stay in the preseason. Here’s to proving me wrong during the season! That way I can come back here and say: oops! I was wrong….

I wasn’t sure about the trade for Evgeny Artyukhin and really looked forward to seeing him during training camp. I, in fact, like hard hitters and felt we lost something in that area with the Pronger trade. I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed in the Russian at all. He’s a fast skater as well as a hard hitter, so I can only see good things come from him. And, of course, he’s an exceedingly good reason to raise the vodka toast…..

Saku Koivu – how can you not want this guy on your team? He’s a high caliber player who spent numerous years in Montreal as captain and as of today, has been named Alternate Captain behind Scott Niedermayer. After reading up on him, I still can’t believe they let him go. But, their loss is our gain. I liked seeing him on the line with Teemu Selanne and Lupul and feel they will do some pretty good things this season. He brings a lot of maturity to the team as well.

Nick Boynton and Steve Eminger have been added to the defense. I’ll be honest and say that they haven’t stood out for me this preseason. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, I guess. James Wisniewski has been on fire, so my attention has been on him and Ryan Whitney.

We have the usual characters returning: Parros, Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan, Carter, Brown, and Marchant. I am hopeful Andrew Ebbett stays around – I feel he’s earned his spot on the team.

Now on to my favorite of positions and subjects: goaltending. As everyone who follows hockey knows by now, Anaheim has a very interesting situation developing between the pipes. We have two exceptional goaltenders in JS Giguere and Jonas Hiller. Jiggy has two years left on his contract (worth about $12 mil) and Hiller is going to be a UFA in July. Giguere didn’t play all that well last season and Hiller basically took the team into the playoffs, ousting the Sharks in the first round. So, what to do? Keep Giguere and hope he turns his play around consistently? In doing so, you stand to lose Hiller, who won’t settle for being #2. (He’s also due a huge raise, but that’s another story in itself) I’ll just say it and put myself out there: I really think Hiller will put up the numbers this season that will allow him to look to other teams. Anaheim needs to tread softly with Hiller if they want to keep him. Hiller is the future of goaltending in Anaheim. If he hasn’t yet, he will soon earn the right to be the number 1 goalie for the Ducks. I’m not saying Giguere’s career is over – not yet. But there is always someone behind you looking to move up, regardless of position, sport, or business industry. Hiller is right on Giguere’s back and is slated to take that step beyond him. Friendship is one thing; business is another. People seem to forget Hiller has played professionally for years in Europe; he is only in his third NHL season. He has so much room to grow, it’s not even funny.

And while I am on my favorite soapbox, I have to make mention of a couple of other goalies in the Ducks system. First, Timo Pielmeier is a young goaltender we acquired during the year. I watched him during training camp and was very, very impressed with his play. While I am not a coach or a GM, I would have Pielmeier as the Ducks #3 goalie. He was consistent. He, along with Hiller, would make an amazing goaltending team for Anaheim. In fact, he called to mind Jonas Hiller. Their styles are similar and their attitudes are as well. Yes, a young “Jonas Hiller” in the making! Justin Pogge….well, I’m not exactly sure what it is that Anaheim sees in this young man. I understand he was supposed to be the “Next Great Thing in Goaltending,” but it didn’t happen that way. When I’ve watched him play, I didn’t see the spark or ability that I saw in Pielmeier, Hiller or Giguere. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and all; I just don’t trust him in the net for Anaheim. That exception to the roster is Pogge as #3. It should be Pielmeier.

No matter how one looks at it, whether you are a fan of Anaheim or not, this is going to be a very interesting season. There have been so many changes to the roster, I started losing track. We have a number of good young players in the lineup and a good quality mix of veterans. So now all that remains is for the season to start and the players to get used to each other.

Opening Night tomorrow against the Sharks – I’m hoping to see Hiller in the net and our first regular season win.

LET’S GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

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Let’s see – I left off with Trade Day…. Murray has been quite the busy GM this off season.

After Free Agency started, we lost Francois Beauchemin to free agency when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. As I’ve said before, hockey is ultimately a business and Beauch needed to go where the money was. He’s got a family to support and all…… While I wish him the best, I don’t think the Ducks defense will suffer too much.

To fill in the defense, Murray has brought in Nick Boynton and Steve McCarthy, both veterans.

The Ducks also acquired right wing Evgeny Artyukhin from Tampa Bay in exchange for left wing Drew Miller and a third-round selection in the 2010 Draft. Murray felt, with changes being made, “…we lost a little bit of our size, sandpaper or grit. We have been trying to find a way to patch that for a little while.” Hence, the signing of Artyukhin. Murray went on to say that Tampa Bay wanted Miller and I hope he finds a good home there.

The one move that bothered me was the loss of Francois Allaire as goaltending consultant; he also went to the Maple Leafs. (I’m sensing a theme here!) As I am a goalie person, this move concerned me as the Ducks current goalies are Allaire boys. Both JS Giguere and Jonas Hiller trained under Allaire; Hiller in fact, came to Anaheim mostly because of Allaire. The controversy that is brewing between Hiller and Giguere will make training camp and the start of the season very interesting. Add in the move of Allaire to the Leafs and I have to wonder if that will make a difference to either net minder down the road. Murray has a potentially sticky situation with these two men. Later, it was announced that Pete Peeters was retained as goaltending consultant. I’ve read some good things about him, but the proof is in the pudding: we’ll have to see how it goes when Peeters puts on his gear to join the Allaire boys on the ice.

In an odd move, the Ducks acquired goaltender Justin Pogge from the Maple Leafs for a conditional selection in the 2011 draft. Pogge is considered the #3 goalie at this time; his addition, however, makes the grand total of 9 goaltenders in the Ducks system. 9? Nine??? From everything I’ve read he may not be ready for the #3 position. Tomorrow the German prospect Timo Pielmeier is slated to be at the prospect camp and I am anxious to see him. We have quite a number of prospects to watch, actually. http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=487024

The Ducks scored a huge coup, IMHO, by signing Saku Koivu to a one year deal. I am greatly looking forward to seeing Koivu and Selanne on the line together. How the Canadiens let him go is beyond me; everything I’ve read and heard points to a solid player and leader. He’ll fit in really well with the Ducks.

In a nutshell: the Ducks signed Todd Marchant to a two-year deal. An absolute warrior, the Ducks fans were enormously relieved with that bit of news. We were also relieved that the Ducks were able to avoid arbitration with James Wisniewski and signed him to a one year deal. Another warrior, he showed his worth after being hit in the lung with a puck during the playoff series with the Red Wings. Mike Brown, another fan favorite, was signed to a two year extension. Brett Festerling was also signed to a two-year deal. Petteri Nokelainen signed a one year deal; Erik Christensen signed a one year extension. Troy Brodie has also signed a two year contract extension. I know I’m missing someone……

Just when we thought it was safe and Murray was done, today he was at it again! The Ducks signed defenseman Steve Eminger to a two-year deal, acquired left wing Shawn Weller from Ottawa for right wing Jason Bailey and signed left wing Kyle Calder to a pro tryout agreement.

In looking over the moves made this off-season, it seems Murray had an eye for this season, as well as the future. Preseason will be interesting as Ducks fans watch Randy Carlyle move his players around to find the best fit. I hope that fit is found quickly as we have the talent to make this a really exciting season.

On the radar: prospects camp, training camp and preseason games. Opening Day is October 3.

Is it October yet?

GO DUCKS!

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I became a member of Twitter this past hockey season, specifically because of my team, the Anaheim Ducks. My first two ‘follows’ were, amazingly enough, Anaheim Ducks and Honda Center. It added a new dimension to being a fan; the Ducks and Honda Center ‘twittered’ contests and discounts for the team store. During the playoffs, there was a fan road trip to San Jose and those of us unable to go, were able to “be there” with Twitter. Getting tweets even now from the Honda Center is kinda cool; my home away from home lets me know that Beyonce was in the house. (Do I care in reality? Not unless she can drop the gloves like Parros or shoot the puck like Getzlaf…) However, since I am a huge fan of Metallica, those tweets will be welcome when they play the Honda Center in December.

Why Twitter? Why let everyone know what you are doing at that moment? C’mon! You don’t have to tell everything!!! The reason I set up a Twitter account was to connect with other Anaheim Ducks fans and I have accomplished that goal. What I didn’t realize was that I would find so many people across the globe who share a love of hockey. I am the type that doesn’t like to put all my business out there, so I was surprised to find that I actually had people following me!! ME! Now, I love hockey and I love the Ducks. To find others who feel the same was amazing. During the season, Ducks fans kept in touch with twitter, discussed the games, smack talked a bit and generally had a good time. We commiserated when the Ducks left the playoffs due to a bad goal. (For the record, one cannot PUSH the goalie into the net in order to get a goal!!!! And watch out when said goalie gets FURIOUS at the ref. Whew! Normally stalwart guy becomes Godzilla. God, I love hockey….love me my goalies, too!) But I digress.

Most hockey fans know that when the season ends, it is such a letdown. We all go through withdrawals. So much so, we tend to find anything “hockey” to fill that void. This summer, for me, that void is being filled by Twitter. I am not sure how it happened, but suddenly I have numerous hockey friends! And we all have the same thing in common: love of hockey and withdrawal symptoms!!!

I have Duck friends, Canucks, NJ Devils, Blue Jackets, Sharks, Stars, Penguins and Avs just to name a few. I have Duck friends who are local (or loco, depending on the person!) and some who are in Canada and beyond. I have a thing for goalies and was lucky enough to ‘find’ goalies on Twitter from Colorado and Finland! On both of their sites, I have learned a great deal and find it really interesting to see a goalie website from Finland. TheGoalieGuild in Colorado hosts a fundraiser tournament that I think is phenomenal!! If he could bring a tournament out to the West Coast, that would be awesome.

The craziest time was just recently with the draft and free agency. Did I mention we go through withdrawals???? Anything hockey puts us all in our glory and the tweeps didn’t disappoint. At any given time, I would look at my phone and have up to over 35 new tweets regarding the draft and later, free agency. When I was at Disneyland for the day, I was updated with ANY hockey news. The same thing happened when I flew up to the Bay Area for a few days. We’ve discussed all types of movement within the league and it’s been a great deal of fun. I’ve learned a lot so far this off season and have bookmarked so many blogs, I don’t know how I’ll keep up with them all. I like the idea that I have ‘friends’ who are fans of other teams; right now, most of them are Ducks fans. (yes, I even have Red Wings in the list, too.) I also follow other bloggers, NHL Live, an NHL agent and people from TSN.

Right now, all is quiet on the hockey front. Things will pick up as we get closer to the start of the season and I’m thinking my Twitter account will probably implode. Being on the West Coast, I’m sure to get some amazingly funny tweets from those on the East Coast during their games. Should be interesting, to say the least.

If you get random tweets from us hockey fans, just understand we are going through withdrawals and are anxiously awaiting the start of training camp….or preseason…or anything that even HINTS at hockey. Understand our pain.

And yes, if Heatly actually does something, we will jump all over it.

GO DUCKS!!

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First of all, I have to say that Bob Murray has done a phenomenal job since taking over as GM. He shook up the team, made trades that were needed and got them some cap space. As we all know, it’s not over yet. Yes, some of the trades were hard to swallow (Kunitz still comes to mind) but they were needed. Hockey is still a business.

In the past two days, the Ducks drafted 3 defensemen, 2 centers and 1 right wing as well as a goaltender. As I am not as versed in the draft as I’d like to be (I’m still learning), I can’t predict when (or if) these kids are going to end up at the Honda Center:

• Center Peter Holland
• Center/right wing Kyle Palmieri
• Defenseman Matt Clark
• Goaltender Igor Bobkov
• Defenseman Sami Vatanen
• Right wing Radoslav Illo
• Defenseman Scott Valentine

I am most interested in Bobkov as I am a huge goalie fan; can’t help – I just am! (There were a couple of Swiss goalies that didn’t get drafted; I was bummed.) This link explains these picks far better than I ever could, if you’re interested:

http://ducks.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/27/closer-look-at-ducks-draft-picks/15461/

Out of all this, Joffrey Lupul comes back to Anaheim. He was originally drafted by the Ducks in 2002. In 2006, Lupul was part of a deal to Edmonton that brought Pronger to Anaheim. Now, in 2009, Pronger is part of a deal that brings Lupul back to Anaheim. Isn’t that an interesting circle of life? (Cue The Lion King music…..wait! The Samulei’s own the Ducks. Not Disney. My bad.) Lupul could be a major part of the secondary scoring that the Ducks need. He is reportedly happy to be back, so that is a good start.

Luca Sbisa was also part of the trade. He is an Italian-born Swiss defenseman who played not only in a Stanley Cup final in 2009, but also in the WHL finals. Murray feels he’s a good addition saying, “He can do everything, and he’s a guy who just goes out and plays. I know Philly was planning on having him on their team this year. My guys tell me he will play on our team this year, but he will ultimately determine that.”

I am very interested to see how these two pan out for Anaheim, even though Lupul has been here before. Things have been written that this team is rebuilding. I have to agree with the fans who have said they are not rebuilding, but retooling. I like retooling better. After all, no team – no matter how good we may think they are – can stay the same.

We still have free agency to get through and one notable testing free agency is Defenseman Francois Beauchemin. I’d like to keep him, but that may not be an option. If he can get more money playing somewhere else, who can blame him?

I’m also trying to keep up on the goalie situation at Anaheim. I keep saying I want to keep both Giguere and Hiller, but am wondering if that is unrealistic.

One last thing: thank god for the Olympics!!! While it has not been said the Olympics is (are?) the reason, we have Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne coming back for the 2009-2010 season!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOO! I do believe over the past two days, I’ve heard collective sighs of relief from Duck fans everywhere.

Looking over everything that has happened to the Anaheim Ducks in the calendar year 2009 (so far!) this upcoming season looks to be exciting, indeed!!!! I believe it was Pierre McGuire that commented Anaheim was now a team to be reckoned with. I’m paraphrasing, of course. But, I have to agree.

LET’S GO DUCKS!!!

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Which brings me to the next issue, which does involve Pronger: Is Scott Niedermayer (aka Brett Favre) coming back to the Ducks? We are expecting to hear an announcement from the Ducks organization tomorrow, but we all know how that goes. I would love, love, love to have Scotty back. There is no way Murray would consider a Pronger trade if Scotty isn’t coming back. Losing both veteran Dmen would be ludicrous.

Another issue: Francois Allaire has moved onto the Toronto Maple Leafs to be closer to home. You know, I wish him the best; sad to see him go. However, both of the Ducks goalies (JS Giguere and Jonas Hiller) are Allaire boys. Now, that makes me (and lots of other fans) very nervous, indeed. I like the fact we have two strong goalies; they are a great team. Yes, Jiggy had a bad season. Yes, Hiller almost single-handedly took the Ducks into the playoffs and snuffed out the Sharks (sorry, sharksfan!). He was amazing, but that’s another blog. But I am looking forward to seeing the fight for #1 during training camp. The crux of the matter: Jiggy has 6mil and 7mil left on him AND an NTC. He wants to be #1. Hiller has this next season left and is only 1.3mil. He wants to be #1 and frankly, he’s earned it. So, do you have your historical goalie ride the pine for that kind of money and be very unhappy? Or do you have your young whippersnapper sit it out and hope the historical goalie returns to form? Trade Hiller? Ask Jiggy to waive the NTC? Would another team see Jiggy as a liability due to last season numbers and his huge contract? Add in the fact that Allaire is in Toronto and Hiller has stated numerous times he came to Anaheim because of Allaire and you have an interesting (although scary) goalie controversy brewing.

Are we losing Francois Beauchemin? He came back at the end of the season and I was there to see it. We all welcomed him back long and loud and he didn’t disappoint. However, he has made comments about wanting to try free agency, so the Ducks may have lost him.

The Ducks just signed Mike Brown to an extension ~ yeah, baby! He has brought a lot to the team and a sigh of relief was heard throughout Duck-land…

In reality, it seems we Ducks fans will have to wait until Scotty makes his decision. The biggest rumor at the moment is the Pronger one and everything else seems to be on the backburner until Niedermayer lets the organization know one way or another.

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Since I’ve been lagging behind in my blogging on the Ducks (my apologies – life sometimes happens), I’ll just briefly go through the games and mention the highlights as seen by moi, Duxrox.

Ducks vs Sharks (Mar 15): now, I didn’t blog on this one as I feel sharksfan probably has a better handle on this game than I did. Suffice to say that the Ducks lost (0-1) which wasn’t all that shocking. What was shocking to me was that we lost by only one goal….or were shut out by only one goal, whichever way you want to say it. During the game at the Ponda, there was a really nice Travis Moen montage shown on the jumbo screen; everyone (including the Ducks) applauded Moen as a way to say thank you. How did that Moen return the thanks? You got it – by scoring the only goal of the game!!!! How is that for irony? But seriously, he’s a good player and business is business. Parros and Shelley fought (who’s surprised?) and I have to say The ‘Stache did well…..

Ducks vs Predators (Mar 18): Giguere was in the net for this 4-3 win in OT. Some highlights: Selanne had his 1200th career NHL point in this game; Pronger had his 600th. (This is the game where the power play FINALLY realized that, in fact, these are real games.) The scoring happened quite simply: the Ducks would score, the Preds would score. It was pretty even-matched the whole game; each team scored in each period, coming down to overtime. Selanne, with assists by Pronger and Getzlaf, won the game with a beautiful goal (aren’t they all beautiful??) within the first 34 seconds of OT.

Ducks vs Coyotes (Mar 19): this game was a real stressful, crazy one that reminded me (again!) why I love hockey. The Ducks won in a shootout, 3-2. Hiller was in the net and has a pretty good record for shootouts, which he proved again in a real nail biter. It also helps when the opposing team puts one into their own goal for you, too. (Which had The Great One standing on his bench, screaming at the refs and – I’ll just say it – foul language was seen!!! I can read lips and it wasn’t “fudge” he was saying! Shocking! And in hockey, nonetheless……) Not only did the Coyote player give us the goal, he also put Ducks player Nokelainen in the net, too. Still cracks me up, still don’t know why. Players in the net amuse me. Getzlaf kept the Ducks in it during the shootout, Bobby Ryan scored the winner. Rob Niedermayer played his 1000th NHL game, making him and his brother the 4th pair of brothers in NHL history to play 1000 games.

Ducks vs Coyotes (Mar 22): This game was at the Ponda, where the Ducks won 6-2. After the last game I was happy to see the Ducks play a definitive game and they didn’t even need the Coyotes to give them a goal. Hiller was once again in the net and the Ducks fans weren’t surprised; his record against the Coyotes shows Hiller is the one who should be between the pipes. Georgie Parros had a spectacular night, getting his 5th goal of the season. Considering he had 4 goals total in the past 4 seasons, this is shaping up to be a great season for #16. As always, the fans and team went nuts when he scored; the announcer went so far as to ask Parros why did he think everyone celebrates like it’s New Year’s Eve when he scores? This is about the time the fans started wondering if maybe, just maybe, the Ducks planned to play in the playoffs this year.

Ducks vs Predators (Mar 24): Once again, Giguere shows his mettle as he withstands a shootout win for the Ducks, 2-1. Selanne scored the only shootout goal in the game to win it, after the first 3 shooters for each team were denied. To see Giggy raise his arm after saving that last goal was amazing; overall, he is a pretty disciplined player and you usually don’t see much emotion. (Playoff and Stanley Cup play exempted, of course!) It looks like it’s becoming a trend for the Ducks to end these very important games in nail biter fashion; I don’t think I’ll last much longer if they keep playing it so close. While I understand conservative play, there comes a point where too conservative can (and will) rise up and bite a team on their collective backsides.

Ducks vs Avalanche (Mar 25): The Ducks destroyed the Avs, 7-2. Hiller was in the net and it was my hope he’d see a shutout. This game finally showed me the Ducks I know and love. It almost (almost, I said) got boring, but after the season the Ducks have had, it was a good game. You know the game is essentially over when the coach sends out his 4th line (Brown/Christensen/Parros) for more ice time, including two back to back power plays. No, I didn’t mis-type; the 4th line played on the power plays as well. I have to say, it was nice they got more ice time, but I have to wonder how the other team felt. LOL! At least Carlyle used this to give players more ice time as opposed to running up the score.

All this brings you, kind reader, up-to-date on the Anaheim Ducks. The ‘new kids’ are working very, very well and this team is finally jelling. (knocking on wood again!) Whitney, Christensen, Nokelainen, Wisniewski…they are all working extremely well with the usual suspects on the Ducks. Whitney really seems to be fitting in defensively with Pronger and Niedermayer; this is very good news indeed considering the end of the season brings with it trepidation for the organization (and the fans!). Who is staying, who is going?? I have to give props to Marchant and Brown; Marchant is on fire and is really helping the team’s effort a great deal. Brown is becoming my Moen replacement – I really look forward to his shifts and love seeing the results. He hits hard, has good hands and the speed is amazing. Another good acquisition.

Tonight is another “big game” for Anaheim; they are playing the Oilers at home. The fans I hang with have all of our usual superstitious things ready to go and we are rooting for the Ducks to continue this winning streak. (Fanatics, all of us!) As it stands, Anaheim is in the #7 position, with the Oilers one point behind. Let’s face it – all these games from here on out are “big games” for Anaheim. So, everything is ready to go, the team has their confidence back and the playoffs are in sight.

LETS GO DUCKS!

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Hiller was in the net and absolutely phenomenal; 32 stops and some of them, I’m not sure how he got to them. In all fairness, I think that way about most goalies at one time or another; Luongo had some great saves last night, too. But, Hiller is a Duck and one of my favorites, so I have to mention him now and again. (He’s especially entertaining when he’s at his most dramatic. One of my favorites: http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlp=8473972&event=ANA458)

The new guys were very instrumental in this win last night and I am including Whitney as well. The Ducks third goal was given to Nokelainen, with assists from Christensen and Whitney – all three are new guys. My texts last night: NEW GUY GOAL. Easier at times. It’s nice to see them starting to jell and I am hoping this becomes a regular thing for them. Getzlaf seems to be coming back to his old self after getting his nose broken and not a moment too soon, I might add.
The star of the night – besides Hiller (IMHO) – was Scott Niedermayer and that OT goal!!!

Here’s the link in case you missed it:
http://ducks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20082009,2,1002&event=ANA1161.

Wow. He did it again, making this his 12th OT goal – still the most for a defenseman. This was a nail biter of an OT, with both goalies making incredible stops. In the end, the Ducks WON! Scotty pulled it out again, showing time and time again why he deserves that C on his chest.

One more time: Ducks WON!

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It was odd seeing the new faces, though I am still impressed with Wisniewski and Brown. Christensen and Nokelainen…well, I’m still unsure about. I saw some good stuff from Whitney last night. Corey Perry had a frustrating night as did Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks goals were made by Todd Marchant (unassisted) and by Scott Niedermayer, assisted by Perry and Getzlaf. (Now, an assist is nothing to sneeze at, but you could see the frustration out there last night.) Parros again was aggressive with the puck, so that was a good thing. Hopefully, if he stays on his feet (did I just say that??) and keeps playing this way, he can be used for more than fighting. Bobby Ryan – as did the rest of the team – tried as hard as possible to make something happen last night. If the Ducks had more time on the clock in the 3rd, they would have continued to come back. This time when the Ducks needed it the most, it simply wasn’t there.

One happy note: Chris Pronger was recognized last night for having his 1,000th NHL game, which actually happened February 20 against the Red Wings. Since I am a sucker for that type of thing, I was happy to have been there to see it. Was it a big deal as far as ceremony? No, but it’s a big accomplishment and I was glad to be a minute part of it.

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Within the first 29 seconds of the game, new acquisition Erik Christensen proved he fits right in with the Ducks: he was called for hooking. Into the sin bin he went and – what a shock – Dallas scored. You have to feel for the poor guy, though; not a good way to introduce yourself to your team or your new fans. (Not to mention he wears Sammy Pahlsson’s old number… Oy!) Corey Perry tried a wraparound to tie things up and, looking at the replay, it should have been a goal. It looked like Turco actually helped push it over the line, but no one reviewed it. As is usual, I saw it numerous times on the telecast and I have to say – it was a goal. The first period was a fast, fast period, ending with Selanne tripping Robidas. Selanne and penalties aren’t the norm, but yeah – he was guilty this time. The second period had Sheldon Brookbank fighting Krystopher Barch; while I like Brookbank, this fight was long and seemed to peter out before the refs finally stepped in. (I was hoping Ott would be taken to task, broken hand or not, but that didn’t happen. I figure if he can fight Moen the other night, he can do so again.) Dallas scored again, but the Ducks weren’t letting up, with minor miscues you’d expect from a team that is basically brand new. The third period saw new Duck James Wisniewski (from the ‘Hawks) score a goal that was a beauty! Yea! However, Dallas scored again; Giguere looked absolutely stunned by that goal. Bobby Ryan scored again, as the commentators said: a highlight reel goal. It was. I love when the players end up IN the goal with the puck; it cracks me up. Why, I don’t know, but it does. (Here is the YouTube link for that goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFAkCQypSU) Rookie of the Year! Sadly, as great as that goal was, Dallas won. I have to note that the Ducks outshot Dallas 38-16 and, as mindboggling as it was, still lost the game. Again, statistically, the Ducks outplayed their opponent, only to lose. Turco must have had a rabbit’s foot AND a four leaf clover in his pads; he was that lucky last night.

The line of Parros/Niedermayer/Marchant line did really well last night; I haven’t seen Parros that aggressive in awhile. (Outside of dropping the gloves, of course. Maybe tomorrow against the Wild…) Petteri Nokelainen (I wouldn’t even try to pronounce that name and will be using copy and paste a lot when discussing him) won 7/8 face-offs, which is a good thing since Pahlsson is gone. The Ducks need that badly. I look forward to seeing the new guys tomorrow at the Ponda against Minnesota and I believe that if the Ducks don’t jell before the end of this season, next season will be pretty darn good. I see the new players (including Brookbank, Brown and Whitney) adding new depth and energy and could be the much needed shot in the arm that some of the “older” guys need.

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I’ll start with D Chris Kunitz: pittpen, you are lucky, lucky, lucky!! His first game out, he records a goal and an assist. (Our first game without him: Bruins killed us 6-0. I’m just saying…) He is a great player, as I’m sure you can see already and I am now watching the Penguins as well because of him.

Center Brendan Morrison was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Stars. He’s had a rough year with an injury and just couldn’t seem to get it going. He played for Anaheim this past Tuesday at Chicago and showed what a professional he is. I think it would be hard to play knowing your team just put you on waivers. He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 62 games this season.

Defenseman Steve Montador is one trade that I was really bummed about. I absolutely loved Montador as he was a player that did whatever he needed to do for the team. He played hard, dropped the gloves and was fun to watch. GM Bob Murray said it best when he called Montador a ‘warrior.’ He really is and the Bruins will be better off for this trade.

Center Sammy Pahlsson is a trade that I was shocked, but not shocked about. He was our leader in face-offs, so I know he’ll continue to be missed in that area. (While I know he’s been sick, I had a weird feeling about him.) He’s been a constant for this team and I’m thinking that the Blackhawks can only be a better team with Pahlsson, once he becomes acclimated to them. (I have a friendly grudge with a friend as he is a ‘Hawks fan, so that was hard for me to type.)

Now I get to the two trades that really, really bugged myself, my boss, my sons: the trading of LW Travis Moen and D Kent Huskins to the San Jose Sharks. My first thought: seriously? Really? Do the Sharks need anymore?? Moen?? Noooooooooo!

Defenseman Kent Huskins is just now coming off a foot injury; I understand he was actually on the ice recently. I know he was a popular player and looking at his stats, a pretty good defense player. He hasn’t played since December, but when playing, he is a solid player. The Ducks lost a bit in defense when he went on IR. When healthy, he’ll be an asset to an already solid Shark team.

Left Wing Travis Moen is the one of the last trades I expected. He is a hard-hitting, in your face player who doesn’t hesitate to step up for his teammates. (Here’s a link to the controversial Ott v Moen fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bmAiuaRKow judge for yourself.) I’ve borrowed the following stats from the Ducks website:

- Last game: Scoreless with three hits, Feb. 28 @ DAL
- Scored goals in consecutive games (2-0=2), including the third SHG of his career on Jan. 28 vs. CHI
- Played his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 19 vs. WSH
- Posted a season-high 20:30 TOI with six hits, Nov. 2 vs. CGY
- Scored the second SHG of his career (also Mar. 12, 2008 vs. VAN), Oct. 25 @ MTL…also recorded his first GWG of the season
- Logged a career-high four-game point streak from Oct. 14-19, registering 1-3=4 points

He is a player that I always knew would come out swinging – he may not score multiple goals like Getzlaf or Perry, but he never hesitated to make the hit. I would look forward to his shift and as I like the hard hitting style of play, will really miss Moen on the team.

When all is said and done, the trades here look to be good ones for the future of the franchise. As I wrote in a different post, the team needed to look to the future. The situation with Scott Niedermayer (Brett Favre, anyone?) will eventually come to a head; acquiring some of the players this past month or so will at least allow the team to have defensive options. As a fan, it will be strange to see this team tomorrow night against the Stars. I will be looking for #32 (Moen), or #5 (Montador), for example, and it will be odd not to see them. Just as it was hard not seeing #14 (Kunitz) I have to remember that this is business. The teams who acquired the Ducks players: I truly believe that they will add to their new teams and I wish them all the best. As for the future, this humble Ducks fan sees the future looking brighter. Now, if we can just make it into the playoffs…….

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During the second period of this game, I remember thinking: who is this team in white; did aliens come down and switch my team while they were in the locker room? The Stars owned the next 20 minutes, tying the game. Ribeiro was all over the place for the entire game and received the game’s 1st star. (As much as I hate to say it, yes, he deserved it.) The Ducks just couldn’t get it together and I am positive they were as relieved as I was for that period to end. I look at each intermission as a way for the team to sit down, reflect and get yelled at by the coaching staff. At least, I hope they got yelled at during the second intermission. Yes, they are professionals. Yes, they know their game. But, since they are professionals and do know their game, there is no reason for them to play the way they did during period 2. (I’m ignoring the fact there was an opposing team on the ice, who were playing better at that time!!)

My hopes were a little higher at the beginning of the third, until the Stars scored their third goal. Sigh. Here we go again with these Ducks, I thought. Another penalty called??? Wait – on who? Parros? Well, color me shocked!! Not to see him in the sin bin, but to see him in there for interference?? What? (Almost as funny as when he got 2 min for diving. DIVING?) As I’m laughing at him (mind you, he can’t hear me, so I’m pretty brave at this point) and shaking my head, the camera cuts to him shaking his head as well. That’s a rarity to have him in the box for a minor, so he should be shaking his head at himself. Now I’m wondering if Parros just started that infamous Duck Conga line into the box. Luckily, the rest of the team didn’t want to continue that dance…..until the end of the game, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Corey Perry, in one of the coolest spin-o-rama’s, tied the game a little later. It was wicked cool on TV and I have to say, I was a little (tiny, tiny bit) sad for Turco; however, there wasn’t much he could have done. The game winning goal went to Teemu Selanne, who received the puck from Andrew Ebbett and bam – there it went into the net. Just as fast, just as beautiful; you gotta love Selanne. (Ebbett, by the way, received the 3rd star of the game and is really coming along! Wonder how HIS broken nose is feeling)

The end of the game had me on my feet pacing, praying to all the hockey gods, as the Ducks need every point. (The game against Boston was horrible, so much so I couldn’t think of anything to blog about!) There I am yelling at the Ducks, yelling, “stay sharp, Jiggy,” and thinking the cops are going to be called by my neighbors. Would California cops understand a hockey fan??? Yes, I will say I was concerned the Ducks would blow it and allow the game to be tied. The stress for us poor fans!! The stress level in my apartment hit an all time high when the time out was called with about 2 seconds left, the faceoff in front of Giguere. Getzlaf came off the bench, won the faceoff, and WHEW! The game was won by the Ducks. However, the game was over, but the show was still playing! Right after the whistle blew, Giguere took it upon himself to let Ott know how he was feeling. Jiggy got a little physical with Ott, which I agreed with and loved! (Giguere also won his 200th game for the Ducks last night, stopping 30 shots. Go Jiggy!) It’s rare to see Giguere show so much emotion, let alone hit someone. You have to love it when the goalie gets into it, especially when it’s in defense of his teammate. Travis Moen (proud new daddy this past week) defended his goalie and fought with Ott. Both Ott and Moen received 5 min majors. However, Ott also received a 10 min match penalty and is now suspended indefinitely until a hearing, for allegedly trying to gouge out Moen’s eye. (I’ve got to be fair here: for the record, Ott says it was an accident.) The game winning, All-Star goalie Giguere received a 2 min minor for roughing. Roughing!!!! LOL! I love it!

This game had the ups and downs that make hockey the sport I love. Luckily, this time the ups and downs were in the Ducks favor. But, when all is said and done, the Ducks got the much needed points, gave me a very entertaining game and reminded me again why I am a hockey fan. Not just a Ducks fan, but a hockey fan.

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“Why is it that if an Anaheim Duck player turns into a player on purpose and that player gets hurt, they get called for a penalty? But when an opposing player does it to an Anaheim Ducks Player, it is just incidental? Where is the consistency of the NHL? Why is it that the NHL shows favoritism? For example, why is it allowed when the sports announcers, who are correct in saying, ” just got away with too many men on the ice again?” I would like to hear the NHL answer these questions! I hope that this could be a wakeup call for the NHL otherwise they could lose the types of fans that sustains their income!!!!!!”

I can understand where this fan is coming from; I am sure all fans will say that their team gets bad calls as well. I have to say Corey Perry and his 4 game suspension in January is a good example. Now, I’m not saying he didn’t elbow or that punishment was needed; what I’m saying is that right after that, Senator’s Ruutu BIT the Sabre’s Peters and only received 2 games suspension. He BIT another player. Elbow a player (which could be an incidental) and get a 4 game suspension, but go ahead a BITE the opposing player! Hey – you’ll only be required to sit out 2 games!! And yes, Chris Pronger has a reputation for…..um…. well, not the nicest of plays. (He is however, 6’6” without skates. I mean, c’mon! Think where HIS elbows are in relation to a shorter player!!) Had Pronger bit the player, he probably would have been suspended for the rest of the season!! It has seemed of late that Anaheim is getting called for things the opposing team is doing as well. Don’t even start me on the “too many men on the ice” calls…….

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Saturday night saw the Ducks playing the Blue Jackets in Columbus, OH. The Ducks won 5-2 and Giguere really stepped up his play. As the Ducks need every single point, Giguere returning to form is sorely needed. (As of this morning, the Ducks are 10th in the West. 10th! ARRGH!) It was an exciting game - the jawing between Parros and Boll finally ended in a fight – with Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Scott Niedermayer once again playing hard. The whole team stepping up play was a good thing to see; maybe being in 10th (10th!!!) will spur them on. One can only hope….

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It was getting a bit frustrating watching the Ducks play well, play hard and still trail until overtime. Watching them play (in between heart attacks) I had to wonder: where has this team been? Still, 2 points is 2 points and it was badly needed.

The rematch between Parros and Roy was realized; how could they NOT? Always good, in my humble opinion. Watching Mike Brown and Eric Nystrom go after each other was also fun – I’ll have to watch that one again. But, I have to give kudos to a 6’ Kunitz for going with a 6’ 4” Cory Sarich at the end of the game. Go Kunitz! What’s a 4 inch height difference when you’re pumped up and ticked off? Kunitz was on fire, I tell you.

The Teemu Selanne honor was really cool – I’ll have to find a close-up of the pictorial collage of jerseys they had made for him; TV doesn’t do things like that justice. I like Selanne and think anything that honors him is well deserved. Pomp and circumstance once more. Love it!!

Next up, after the school kids show up tomorrow for a field trip, the Ducks play the Thrashers on Sunday. I’m hoping that tonight’s team shows up for that game. The game tonight was very entertaining, which is one reason I really like hockey. It changes quickly and can be won in just a split second. In overtime. Badly needed. Record (continuing) goal. What’s not to love?

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One reason I am bummed I’m not going to the game is that the Ducks are honoring Teemu Selanne before the game; he has surpassed Steve Rucchin’s record of most games played. Selanne now holds the record at more than 617 games! (Game 617 was January 31st) As I am a sucker for the fighting, I am also a sucker for the milestones the team and its players reach. I can’t help it – I love the ‘history-in-the-making’ aspect. I was there when Bret Hedican was honored for his 1,000th game played – that was cool! Getzlaf scored the 3,000th franchise goal in December and didn’t know it until after! Chris Kunitz played his 300th NHL game on January 17; Parros played his 200th January 16th. Scott Niedermayer had his 500th assist January 2. I could go on with these, but won’t. While smaller milestones aren’t always acknowledged, for obvious reasons, I am really pleased to see Selanne being honored tonight. This is a big deal and I wish I could be there!

I am hoping for a good game; I’ll be watching at home and will have a ‘cub reporter’ at the game. So, more tomorrow!!

Lets Go Ducks!

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We had 3 players voted to the All Stars: Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer and JS Giguere. It was about time for Giguere, although his playing hasn’t been the best recently. Losing your father can do that to a goalie; luckily, we had Jonas Hiller ready to step in and boy, did he ever. After watching Jiggy in the net against the Predators (Feb 5) and reading about his game against the Flames on Saturday, I think he’s turned the corner. (Let me say right here that Jiggy has been one of my favorites since the Ducks were ‘Mighty,’ so it would be hard for me to say anything negative about him!) This season seems to be a good one for George Parros: he signed a 3 year extension recently and has been having career highs as well. In December (vs the Blue Jackets) he had a great game and was voted the 2nd star of the game. I was at that game and it was a great one for him. While I love it when the ‘Stache fights, it is good to see him making more shots on goals and generally skating better. Bobby Ryan, Bobby Ryan, Bobby Ryan. Wow – talk about an amazing rookie! He’s a blog unto himself! He has the speed, the hands and can pretty much work well on any line Carlyle puts him on. Call me crazy, but when the opposing team seems to single you out to try to TAKE you out, you’ve made an impression. It appears teams are really trying to shut Ryan down lately and well, I can see why. He was named NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January – the first time in Ducks franchise history. He had a record making hat trick against the Kings in January as well. It will be interesting to watch him in the years to come. How do you top such an incredible rookie season??

So, as of today the Ducks are 6th in the Western Conference. However, we have played more games than the rest and in the next week or so, most teams will catch up. It’s hard for me to say that this team needs to play better as they are the ones actually playing, but I will say it. The Ducks need to find their chemistry and they need to find it now. Carlyle constantly changing the lines around can’t be good for finding this much needed chemistry, but he’s the coach, not I. The next game is at home against the Flames on Wednesday; here’s hoping to an even better game than we had last Saturday against them! Another win would be good – the Ducks need each and every point. Another Parros vs Roy match would be good, too….. The ‘Stache needs to defend his house!

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