TheDucksBlog

There is no question about it…tonight is a must win situation.

There is no way we can let my dad win another round of Ping Pong. We have to bring it tonight! I’m depending on you both Ramon and Mini…let’s do this. He’s 12-0 with the 3 of us being 4-8 (we play doubles – each of us winning while playing with him). Ridiculous.

And…those DUCKS!!!

I hope to see Hiller in net again tonight. I know I mentioned that B9 came up a lot at bingo this past weekend, well, so did B1. I mean come on…that’s just good vibes right there.

This team is going to need a great showing from every line to get this thing done tonight. They played fantastic last Friday, and if they are able to bring that same intensity plus some accurate shooting…they’re still very in this thing!

Goals from Getzlaf, Selanne and Ebbett.

Ping Pong and Ducks hockey…it just doesn’t get any more intense than that!

GO DUX IN A ROW!!!

GO DUCKS!!!

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I actually started laughing as I typed that headline.

JONAS HILLER! Dude…WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! SERIOUSLY!

We’ll get back to that one.

So I was a bit unimpressed to start the game. I don’t think the Ducks came out with the fire that I would like to see from them. I mean it wasn’t as concerning against a team like Colorado…but the Ducks are just awful against bottom feeder teams, and I really didn’t want to see them squander two points to these guys.

Corey Perry was on the receiving end of a turn over and netted the first goal of the game, which I gotta say…was absolutely beautiful. Talk about finding the top corner of the net and drilling it home. If I hadn’t seen Ryan Getzlaf celebrate the way he did, I wouldn’t have thought it hit the net. It was absolutely perfect. That guy has a killer shot. Even Getzlaf had a shot on net from the point in the 2nd (yea…I couldn’t believe he took the shot either) that was a bullet. Damn, why doesn’t that guy shot the puck more?! These two have such amazingly accurate shots…I’d just like to see more of them!

Bobby Effin Ryan…who’s new name might be Effin B9. That kid has some fantastic hands doesn’t he? That backhanded roofer was typical of the kid who was set up by a beautiful pass by Ryan Whitney. I’m glad I called for Effin B9 tonight…he deserved a big night here after a few hard working games. I’m really crossing my fingers he continues to score some goals and removes Dustin Penner’s name from some of the Ducks books. Another great note about Ryan…he’s now tied with Kris Versteeg for the most points by a rookie this season. Both forwards have 50 points, but Ryan has only played 58 games to Versteeg’s 71. WOW! If he had been here for the same 71 games as Versteeg…Bobby Ryan would have been on pace for 61 points by now. The kid is just awesome. Oh, Ryan Getzlaf…he’s got 81.

A little more about Whitney. We were talking about the new guys tonight, and I love them all. Whitney, who is probably at the bottom of my list…if I had to put them in some sort of preferred order…is a quality guy. I’d like to see him shot the puck more, but I have notice him getting involved in the plays more, kinda like Scott Niedermayer does. I like it.

Overall, it was a great offensive effort for the Ducks as 8 different guys collected a point tonight.

Okay…so now Hiller. This guy. THIS GUY! I’m still shaking my head over here.

Let it be known that I was officially crapping my pants as he made that VERY ballsy move. I have no idea what he was thinking…but here’s a bit of what he had and Randy Carlyle had to say after the game to the OC Register…

“I thought I might make it, and once you decide to go, you have to go,” Hiller said. “You can’t back off or you’re totally lost. I was a little lucky. Prongs made a save for me. I might have to buy him dinner or something.”

Hiller, if YOU don’t buy Chris Pronger dinner…I’m going to buy him dinner. I jokingly said that it looked as though the Ducks played their best defense of the year on that play! See…all it takes is the threat of having no goalie and potentially losing ANOTHER game to one of the worst teams in the league!

The good news? Carlyle apparently wasn’t very upset about it either…

“I think he made the right play,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “He made a decision. Usually in those situations, you better go. You better get it — and he got it. There’s no criticism when you get it done.”

Oh do I hear that one. I had no complaints when it was all said and done…but the profanities were definitely flying DURING the play.

I hope we see Hiller in net for the remaining 6 games.

This game had way more excitement than I was expecting. Oh that Hiller.

On a side note…as of now, I will only be posting here on Ducks and Pucks.

GO DUCKS!!!

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I would expect that today should be much like last week’s match up between these two…but I wont be counting any ducklings before they’ve hatched.

Here’s my simple prediction…Bobby Effin Ryan.

Here’s my simple explanation…B9 came up a million times last night during Bingo.

GO DUCKS!!!

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Heavy breathing, hair pulling, screaming…you’d think I had a great time!

NOT SO MUCH.

I really don’t have the nerves for games like that one. These are games where I don’t even have a breath for expletives.

Did anyone else notice the crazy score at the beginning of the game? It said the Ducks were up 1-0 as the puck was being dropped. That stayed the score, until Edmonton completely reversed that and made it 1-0 and then 2-0 about 1 minute later.

54 SOG and the Ducks get 2…2!!!!! SOOOO frustrating. I hate to say that I felt this coming on when they killed Colorado the way they did. I mean, when you get 7 seemingly easy goals against two sub-par goal tenders, it’s really hard to imagine doing something similar against a very strong goalie like the man in net for Edmonton.

Even worse is imagining you’ll get ANYTHING done when turning the puck over so easily, like in the first 2 minutes. Here’s one thing about those goals though…they definitely got the fire burning in the Ducks. They were able to turn it on enough to redeem themselves and tie it up immediately in the second thanks to some crafty play by Ryan Getzlaf. Maybe he had that talk with Petteri Nokelainen as I suggested?

Bobby Effin Ryan really brings a physical aspect to his game, and I love it. He’s hard hitting and clearly not afraid to take some shots as he was on the other end of a high sticking call in the middle of the 1st and 3rd periods. That first line…when firing at 100%, could be one of the most threatening in the West. Lets hope we get to see that over the next 7 games (and of course many more in the future)!

Awful turnovers and sloppy play allowed Edmonton to get right back into the game on two very quick goals. The two quick goals to start the game were enough for me to allow JS Giguere to be sent packing, but after a small breather on the bench, Jiggy quickly replaced Jonas Hiller. How random. I don’t even think I understand the logic there? I don’t care how much of a breather you get during the game, after allowing 2 goals get by immediately, I can’t imagine that your mindset is at 100% after that. I don’t necessary blame Jiggy for those first two, but I can’t say much for the final two he let get past. Hiller on the other hand? Solid.

With as hot as the Power Play has been looking so far, they missed out on so many opportunities. A 4 minute high sticking penalty gave the Ducks so many scoring chances, and yet, they were stopped cold. Edmonton took a few delay of game penalties and really spent a lot of time in the box. Even with a solid 5 on 3 opportunity, the Ducks came up with nothing to show for it. Whats even more damaging about that is the amount of looks they actually had. Usually when the Ducks are setting up and moving the puck well on the PP, they are successful. Tonight they were really doing that well, and couldn’t get a damn goal.

OUCH.

I am going to give them this…it was a hard fought game. The first few minutes would have indicated that they did not deserve to win this one, but they fought back with power and I believe it showed. In the end, this game could have definitely been a blow out by the Ducks with just inches one way or another. It seems that Randy Carlyle feels the same way…

“Our effort was there, obviously we could have executed better. But the situation is that we played our hearts out. There was no shortage of work ethic. These are the ones where you have to pump people up when you work and you don’t get the results. Tonight was one of those nights. We did a lot of things that were positive. These are the tough ones. We dominated on the shot clock. We had territorial advantage and you end up losing. I don’t know if our group could work harder. Could we execute to a higher level? For sure, yeah.” OC Register

With that…they definitely have the ability to do damage to Edmonton in the future…the near future…like in a couple of days.

GO DUCKS!!!

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I hope these boys aren’t feeling too confident.

Lets face it, the Ducks did what they SHOULD have done against Colorado. Lets just hope this was confidence buliding and not ego stuffing.

They are going to need to be in tip top form.

Petteri Nokelainen has his talk with Ryan Getzlaf… 1 G, 1 A

Bobby Effin Ryan is frustrated enough to get one in… 1 G

These predictions are more HOPES than predictions in all honesty.

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WOW, I wish the Ducks could play Colorado EVERY NIGHT!

That whole game was something else wasn’t it?

I got so many Twitter messages last night where people were just in SHOCK of what they were seeing.

Okay, but lets be realistic. Colorado is just awful. They have a whole rosters worth of guys out with injuries…and if you thought the Ducks were suffering through the season with newbies…the Avalanche are really struggling with no one like Scott Niedermayer or Chris Pronger out there to back those young guys up.

Wow, did it show.

First off…fantastic goals for the newest members of the team, who in reality are starting to look like they’ve been there since day one. Erik Christensen, James Wisniewski and Petteri Nokelainen. Seeing those guys contribute the way they have been lately makes trade deadline drama seem not so terrible. What I’m loving about the new group is that they’re fighters. They’re here trying to prove themselves (hopefully for spots on next years roster) and are working hard to show their teammates and the Ducks fans that they’re worth something. That hard work pays off huge! For instance, Nokelainen’s goal (the Ducks’ 7th goal of the night) came from hard work and hustle along the neutral zone boards. He fought for the puck, stayed with the play and ended up with a mini breakaway which resulted in his 3rd goal of the season. Now that he’s had the sit down with Corey Perry about rushing the net, maybe it’s time he has a sit down with Ryan Getzlaf on how to win battles along the boards. Couldn’t hurt.

I felt bad for Colorado at first and then I remembered what happened to the Ducks with Atlanta…and yea, not the same entirely…but damn it felt good to cream someone for a change! Between the recent Phoenix game and this game last night, it sure makes the fact that the Ducks have two more against these teams all the better.

I said I wanted to see that top line looking hot. You look at the goal scorers and you say, hey Perry had two…that line must have been hot! NOT! Both of Perry’s goals came with the PP unit on the ice. I can’t complain with the fact that the top line didn’t shine and the big names didn’t get points (nothing for Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Bobby Ryan), but whatever…I’ll take seven Ducks goals ANY DAY!

And again, Jonas Hiller was solid. He had his work cut out for him in the end as Colorado got 27 SOG in the final two periods of play. Clearly out shooting Anaheim in a desperation attempt to get back into the game. Randy Carlyle definitely did the gentleman thing in not making the scoreboard worse. Allowing the guys like Todd Marchant, George Parros and Mike Brown get in some more ice time, Carlyle took the focus off of trying to score and simply went with a defensive outlook for much of the third. Classy if you ask me. In addition, it allowed the big D men, Niedermayer and Pronger, to get some rest and play far fewer minutes than they have been averaging lately.

5 straight wins is nothing to brag about when it comes against teams like Phoenix (twice) and Colorado. But when you’re in desperation-playoff-hunt like the Ducks are right now, 10 points is nothing to be upset about!

In the mean time…

GO DUCKS!!!

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I was hoping to get more to you today, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

There is A LOT going on at the moment and I love it. Big things coming soon…very soon!

So for tonight, these Ducks are really going to need to focus on not allowing themselves to; A, get caught up in a mini 4 game win streak and B, not step back their intensity just because the team they are playing tonight…sucks.

I’m still looking for big things from that first line. Why not? They NEED to be hot, they should be hot! We’re talking about some of the best young kids in the league right now…there is no reason for them to not show up tonight.

I don’t want another OT game. These guys need to finish this one strong and in regulation.

Now is the TIME to get HOT!!!!

Perry, Marchant and Effin tonight.

GO DUCKS!!!

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I need the Oxygen tank please!

Here’s a great reason why I wouldn’t make it as an NHL hockey player…minus the obvious gender qualifications…I have serious adrenalin issues. Who knows, maybe that would make me a fantastic hockey player. Maybe the breathing issues would be my problem.

Needless to say, the Ducks nearly gave me a heart attack tonight. Nothing like Game 5 against Detroit, but damn close. The emotions these Ducks put me through on a nightly basis is just ugly. The screaming, cursing, cheering, clapping, fist clenching…it’s enough to make you think I’ve gone crazy! But you know what?

I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

When it comes down to it, Nashville is a solid team. They’re fast, great with the puck and are lucky to be backed by solid goal tending right now. The Ducks had some great opportunities tonight, and on the other end, had some bounces go their way for a change. I’ll admit, JS Giguere looked solid tonight. I was very impressed (crapping in my pants for most of the game, but impressed none the less). He made some huge saves, especially during the third period. More importantly, he did was was necessary in the Shootout to secure a victory! LOVE THAT!

The Ducks need every bit of power and fire they can find within themselves to take this team where they need to be.

I’ve got to hand it to Drew Miller. That kid has come up and really shown the team that he’s worth their efforts. He’s not just standing in the wings taking up space, he’s making space and using it wisely. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive from time to time, but when it comes to shooting the puck…well the Ducks wouldn’t have seen OT if it weren’t for him.

I wont harp on crappy play tonight (whoa, what?!). The Ducks did something that I haven’t seen from them in a long time. They played with passion. It felt like they WANTED TO WIN! These guys, the ones who WANT TO WIN, I like these guys.

Game one of this playoff-road-to-the-playoffs is in the books. It wasn’t perfect, but it ended with the Ducks gaining an extra point and finding themselves back in the mix of the playoff battle.

My ugliness continues tomorrow…

How can you not love that?!

GO DUCKS!!!

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