3 down, 10 games to go!

Posted on March 24, 2009

I have not written for the last three games because I’ve just been sitting back and watching things unfold. Its been an interesting time in Anaheim ever since Disney left town. 2 Western conference championships; 1 pacific division title; a handful of playoff appearances, and 1 Stanley cup. when you take a step back and look at that resume which by the way, this is within the last 7 years, its not that bad. There’s an old saying that goes like this….”to the victor belong the spoils.”
We’re become spoiled with success. whether you think being eliminated from the playoffs is a good thing or not, its still a treat when your team makes the playoffs. i was watching NHL on the fly, and one of the talking heads said, this is an exciting time; the race to the playoffs is on now! They’re right! there’s nothing more fun than watching the scoreboards! there’s nothing more nerve wracking then losing a game that you know will come back and bite you in the ass at the end of the season. Brent Severn said the other night, who would have thought that tonight’s Ducks vs Nashville game would have so much on the line, as it does.
yes folks, the playoffs are an entirely new season. as we all know, the top teams have all the pressure, as statistically teams 1-3 should always be in the cup finals. I’ve witnessed number 7 and 8 seeds, knock #1 and #2 teams out of the playoffs with one OT goal! (Look back to the 02-03 ducks eliminating defending champs red wings in triple overtime!) I still remember cursing Chris Pronger and the Edmonton Oilers for their constant bending of rules only to eliminate us from the 2005-2006 playoffs! Man I couldn’t believe the day we got Pronger! And who can forget the Dallas Stars last season eliminating us in albeit quick fashion. One thing for sure, even with all the small success we’ve endured in the playoffs, the great ones are the one we remember the most! 2007 and the first ever Stanley Cup in California. What a season that was.
This year everyone thinks there might be another California Cup, although the team name rhymes with the Cran so say larks, anything is possible! that’s what i hold on to every time we’re good enough to be in the playoffs. as great as we were in 2007, anything could have happened! Scott could have missed that goal that sent us to OT and the eventual win! Teemu could have whiffed the puck he shot, allowing Hasek to make the save! Alfreddson could have put Scotty’s eye out that would have sidelined our Captain and maybe the series! Luongo might have paid attention and blocked Scotty’s wrist shot, then passing across the ice to a Sedin to score for the win! Roloson could have been penalized for constantly knocking the net off it place, that led to a Ducks Power Play goal for the win! OR….Buffalo could have gone to the finals, like everyone said they would, for a Miller vs Miller Thriller in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. Anything is possible!!
While the ducks are still trying to get into this years playoffs, its becoming a mini playoff as we speak. Hopefully the boy can stay strong and keep their heads up. there are only 10 games left. As one analyst said on NHL on the fly, “The Ducks are a team that no one wants to face in the playoffs.” OK, good; we’ve got them right where we want them! Now lets sneak in boys…quietly. I still say we’re deadly in a best of seven series. By tossing some dead weight at the trade, we got back what we had in 07; Stanley Cup hunger & some new young blood. 10 more games to try and make the playoffs…..after that? Anything can happen!!! Go Ducks!!!

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Welcome to REALITY! WELCOME TO DUCKS AND PUCKS!

Posted on March 23, 2009

I can’t believe I’m finally posting my first blog on the new web site. It’s taken…well, too long really. I’ve been working on this website for about 2 months now, and even at that…I don’t feel it will ever be complete!

This was a difficult decision to start my own blog, but after working on Girl with a Puck for the past season, I’ve found that not only do I love what I get to do, but I can’t get enough of it.

First and foremost so much thanks and appreciation goes to UJ for his help with this website! His ability to look at everything with a fine tooth comb (you have NO IDEA how fine toothed his comb is!!!!) has made this a fabulously looking site. THANK YOU! Turning you into a DUCKS (DUCKS DUCKS DUCKS DUCKS) hockey fan has been a great joy for me! Here is to many more years complaining about crappy goal tending, sloppy defense, and what a rock star Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Effin Ryan are and hopefully continue to be!

There have been so many wonderful opportunities that have come to me because of blogging about the Ducks and I have met some UNBELIEVABLE people because of it.

I want to say thank you to one fantastic blogger out there, Suz Broughton. There will be a link to her website in the Links section, and please check her out. She’s a fantastic writer and she takes amazing pictures. Her ability to paint a picture with words is unparalleled by many. It was Suz who really pushed me to get this thing started. She gave me that final bit of motivation to get going and stand tall on my own. I can’t thank her enough for her encouragement and kind words. She’s a fellow Ducks fan too, so don’t hesitate to send her a note!

Thanks to Suz I started up on Twitter which has allowed me to meet other great Ducks fans. We’re so few and far between out here in So Cal that sometimes you have to work hard to meet fellow fans. With that I met another blogger Toro. Toro’s blog is quick and to the point…and he never holds back. EVER. He’s been great to talk with these past few weeks and always has great insight and thoughts about the team. There will be a link to his blog on the LINKS page as well. Check him out!

My family and friends have been the ultimate! They have been so encouraging and supportive over the past 6 months while I’ve dabbled in this blogging world. I think they realize how much joy I get out of doing this and they have really suggested that I do more.

Ramon and Mini are the ones who I owe more to than most. Without them, I wouldn’t be a fan in the first place. Without them, I don’t know that I would have been strong enough to start blogging to begin with. They are amazing friends and I’ll always be thankful to them both. The best part…you’ll all get to enjoy their thoughts from time to time. Section 444 will be a features blog, with Ramon, Mini, UJ and many more offering their crazy thoughts on this Ducks team we all love so much!

And finally, I want to thank Finny for giving me the opportunity to discover this passion I have for blogging in the first place. She hesitantly opened up her pride and joy and allowed me to come in and shake up the Girl with a Puck blog. I can’t thank her enough for allowing me to say and do whatever I wanted. She really let me have free reign there and I will be forever grateful for her kindness and support throughout this process. She too has become an amazing friend who I would not have met without this blog-o-sphere we all dwell in.

I hope that during the off season (which hopefully comes LATER rather than SOONER) to develop my own stats, schedule, and standings layouts. For the time being, what is there will do. Ultimately, it allows everyone quick access to see where our boys stand in the race to the playoffs!

I welcome thoughts, critiques of all shapes and sizes. Feel free to comment whenever, however. I hope to allow this to be a fans space above all.

There is still work to be done, and like a great team, it will always be a work in progress that can and will be better with each passing day. Fans will make this website what it is, and I hope that you all take full advantage of the links.

If anyone has a website that you’d like me to add to the links page, please feel free to email me

This is an exciting time in Ducks hockey…and at Ducks and Pucks…we’re just getting started!!!

NOW…FOREVER…ALWAYS…

GO DUCKS!!!

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Lesson one: If you want to score…….

Posted on March 15, 2009

Shoot the Mother F*%&N Puck!!! You know ever since that OC register or LA times paper came out where Getz said he’s not used to shooting…I’ve really had this incredible urge to Choke him out! Are you kidding me? One of the sweetest things about 15 is how he takes out the trash and shoots puck in the nets. OK, so your a passing dude….so why the frick are you passing at ghosts? Did you see something we don’t see? Are the ghosts of NHL’s past calling for a pass on the ice, because you sure as S#$%T aren’t passing to your team mates.

Moving on…..your in a doctors office, and the doc walks in the room with the test results. he looks at you with a sad look in his eye, not knowing how to break the news to you. he starts by saying “I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s terminal…you have a specific form of cancer…it’s called TEEMU FRICK’N SELEANNE!!!!” The immediate effects are but not limited to little to no shots on goal, mishandling of the puck, passing to anyone wearing a sweater different from your team, trading away anyone that plays with him on the same line and losing battles along the boards. That’s right, your team is suffering from a form of cancer that is killing your team. Your only hope? Extract him during the summer!

Finally….tonight’s game was labeled as a must win. As i sat and watched the team play, i thought this team looks good, they’re moving fast, winning battles, shutting them (GUPPIES) down, doing everything right. Then i realized there was only 1 minute left in the game and wondered…where are the goals? Well my question to you at the beginning was simple….the answer is even more simple than that. And its not what you think it might be. The answer is PLAY LIKE YOU CARE. The Ducks continue to play like a team that is still trying to prove they have what it takes. Problem is, they do not need to prove it to anyone. They’ve always had it. They just don’t care about anything else.

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Ducks win; now what?

Posted on March 13, 2009

well I’m not going to get into all the details but the boys looked good. its been 3 games since the major exodus, and i have to say so far so good for Murry! Ballsy move that was a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Anyhow in the end the Captain took things into his own hands and scored the OT goal for the win and the 2 points that are worth gold right now! its pretty creepy the coincidence that Adam Brady points out in his blog about this OT win and the one we did against Calgary!

So as of this writing we have 70 points, and in 12th. Dallas just got 72 points and jumped to 7th place. so that pretty much tells the tale. well Sunday we have the visiting guppies, so hopefully the Honda center will be rocking! Its going to feel like a playoff game for sure!! Go Ducks!

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Ducks continue the skids…..playoffs getting farther and farther.

Posted on March 8, 2009

the doors have it right with their song…The End. Tonight i could hear the song playing in my head as i watched the last few minutes…and i coulddnt help it but feel sad. You know, people say its the fact that we traded away moen, huskins, sammy, kunitz and morrison. i got news for you….what about getz? perry? teemu? scott? prongs? we have all stars on our team! we’re like the frink’n yankees of hockey! and now our post season (or lack of) will look like the yankees as well. next loss, er, i mean, game is weds against a hot canucks team.

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Ana-who? A look at the Ducks’ roster, past, present and future.

Posted on March 7, 2009

After a curious deadline day, I look at the Anaheim Ducks’ roster and I’m at a loss for words. Is this the same Ducks team that I wildly cheered on as they powered their way to a Stanley Cup Championship just two years ago? Quite frankly, no, it is not.

First, let’s look at the 26 names eternally engraved on a ring of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Goalies:
Giguere, Bryzgalov
Defensemen:
Beauchemin, DiPenta, Huskins, Jackman, S. Niedermayer, O’Donnell, Pronger
Forwards:
Carter, Getzlaf, Kunitz, Marchant, May, McDonald, Miller, Moen, Motzko, R. Niedermayer, Pahlsson, Parros, Penner, Perry, Selanne, Shannon, Thornton

Two years later, only twelve—count them, twelve—remain on the Ducks, and one of those (Drew Miller) is still being yanked back and forth between the AHL and the big club.
A look at those that remain: Giguere, Beauchemin, S. Niedermayer, Pronger, Carter, Getzlaf, Marchant, Parros, Perry, Selanne.
The rest of the current roster (according to http://ducks.nhl.com 3/7/2009) is as follows: Bodie, Brookbank, Brown, Christensen, Ebbett, Festerling, Hedican, Hiller, Larsen, Nokelainen, Ryan, Whitney, Wisniewski.

Now let’s look at the status of this team going into next season. The Ducks have 16 players (10 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 2 goalies) locked up for next year. 6 are currently headed for unrestricted free agency, and 6 (3 of which are minor-leaguers) are restricted free agents.
Without regard to potential trades, the Ducks locked in for next year are: Beauchemin, Belesky, Brookbank, Carter, Ebbett, Getzlaf, Giguere, Hiller, Mikkelson, Miller, Nokelainen, Parros, Perry, Pronger, Ryan, Selanne, Whitney.

For 2010-2011: Belesky, Carter, Getzlaf, Giguere, Parros, Perry, Whitney.

This means next year (again disregarding potential trades and re-signings), only 9 Ducks remain of the 26 members of the Cup team. The year after, only 5.

What does this mean for the Ducks? Youth. Restructuring. Rebuilding. A fresh start. However you want to look at it, it means change. As much as I would have loved to keep that Cup team in tact for ever and ever, I have to accept this for what it is. Yes, it killed me when the Ducks started disappearing, starting with those who didn’t re-sign after 2007, to the Andy Mac trade last year, to the recent deadline day deals. However, this is also an exciting time for Ducks fans. With so few players locked in for the upcoming years, Ducks management will be busy bringing in new players from free agency, trades, minor league affiliates, and draft picks. No, this will not be the same team that we have gotten used to, but with patience, hopefully it can grow into another special group of Ducks.

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Ana-who? A look at the Ducks’ roster, past, present and future.

Posted on March 7, 2009

After a curious deadline day, I look at the Anaheim Ducks’ roster and I’m at a loss for words. Is this the same Ducks team that I wildly cheered on as they powered their way to a Stanley Cup Championship just two years ago? Quite frankly, no, it is not.

First, let’s look at the 26 names eternally engraved on a ring of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Goalies:
Giguere, Bryzgalov
Defensemen:
Beauchemin, DiPenta, Huskins, Jackman, S. Niedermayer, O’Donnell, Pronger
Forwards:
Carter, Getzlaf, Kunitz, Marchant, May, McDonald, Miller, Moen, Motzko, R. Niedermayer, Pahlsson, Parros, Penner, Perry, Selanne, Shannon, Thornton

Two years later, only twelve—count them, twelve—remain on the Ducks, and one of those (Drew Miller) is still being yanked back and forth between the AHL and the big club.
A look at those that remain: Giguere, Beauchemin, S. Niedermayer, Pronger, Carter, Getzlaf, Marchant, Parros, Perry, Selanne.
The rest of the current roster (according to http://ducks.nhl.com 3/7/2009) is as follows: Bodie, Brookbank, Brown, Christensen, Ebbett, Festerling, Hedican, Hiller, Larsen, Nokelainen, Ryan, Whitney, Wisniewski.

Now let’s look at the status of this team going into next season. The Ducks have 16 players (10 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 2 goalies) locked up for next year. 6 are currently headed for unrestricted free agency, and 6 (3 of which are minor-leaguers) are restricted free agents.
Without regard to potential trades, the Ducks locked in for next year are: Beauchemin, Belesky, Brookbank, Carter, Ebbett, Getzlaf, Giguere, Hiller, Mikkelson, Miller, Nokelainen, Parros, Perry, Pronger, Ryan, Selanne, Whitney.

For 2010-2011: Belesky, Carter, Getzlaf, Giguere, Parros, Perry, Whitney.

This means next year (again disregarding potential trades and re-signings), only 9 Ducks remain of the 26 members of the Cup team. The year after, only 5.

What does this mean for the Ducks? Youth. Restructuring. Rebuilding. A fresh start. However you want to look at it, it means change. As much as I would have loved to keep that Cup team in tact for ever and ever, I have to accept this for what it is. Yes, it killed me when the Ducks started disappearing, starting with those who didn’t re-sign after 2007, to the Andy Mac trade last year, to the recent deadline day deals. However, this is also an exciting time for Ducks fans. With so few players locked in for the upcoming years, Ducks management will be busy bringing in new players from free agency, trades, minor league affiliates, and draft picks. No, this will not be the same team that we have gotten used to, but with patience, hopefully it can grow into another special group of Ducks.

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Ducks (all together now) lose.

Posted on March 7, 2009

well im not even going to address the obvious reason why we lost. i can list 35 of them. so i wont. instead im going to keep it short and state some observations. Bobby Frickn Ryan! (sk) this kid is becoming our personal high light reel and i love it! The new guys; all looked great, all are young, all are fast. its a matter of 1 or 2 games this team will be clicking. i havent seen this much action in a game in a long time like i did last night. Nuff said….lets kick some minnesota ass tomorrow.

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Ducks make big moves: Shut down line shut down

Posted on March 5, 2009

well Murray made big moves at the deadline moving fan favorite Sammy P, huskins, montador, Moen and days prior Chris Kunitz. I for one have been saying that something hasn’t been working. Ive noticed the ducks would get burnt many times as teams have become faster since 07. Something wasn’t clicking, and obviously these guys might have been part of that non click group. Murry added some insight when he said the people that were traded had indicated to him they wanted to test the market. Maybe there were internal problems? Maybe people didn’t like the fact that others were getting big contracts and not them? Maybe the older guys (in terms of years on ducks) didn’t like the younger guys getting fat contracts. who know? what we do know is that the ducks pretty much got the same type of players back, except for two factors. they are cheaper and younger. lets not forget how we got screwed the year Dustin Penner decided to take the big $$$ instead of staying with his loyal fans. Think back when Paul Kariya said “screw you” to all the fans and left for big money. What were we left with? nothing but a useless jersey with the number of a player that went somewhere else. So while some of us continue to weep cause we lost good guys that told Murry they wanted to test the market; the other half us have got to wipe the tears and now look forward to what this is all about…….the cup.

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Ducks beat (literally) the Stars

Posted on March 3, 2009


i think what i liked most of this game, is watching the ducks standing up for one another. no matter how crappy a season seems, no matter how inconsistant the ducks can be sometimes, i still love the way these guys will drop the gloves for one another at the drop of a hat! (Scotty twice in 2 games!) Anyhow, i’ll keep this short and sweet….go ducks!

Vancouver report- spoke to another canadian and they were impressed to see and hear a californian talking and bleeding hockey! (me) he said its refreshing to know anaheim fans are just as die hard as vancouver. he said “we have Burke in common.” you know whats the most amazing thing i realized? the canucks have existed for 80 someting years….they’re the oldest of the expansion teams…..and still have no cup. In the words of a canucks fan….”atleast you have a cup.” you know what? He’s right. Lets get another one!!!!!!!!

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