TheDucksBlog

OHHHH, there are plenty of other teams in the NHL. Some better than the Ducks…quite a few worse than the Ducks…and 2 very important teams playing tonight.

Here’s a little look at the standings BEFORE tonight’s action.

6. Columbus 79 GP; 90 Pts; 40 W
7. Anaheim 80 GP; 88 Pts; 41 W
8. Nashville 79 GP; 86 Pts; 39 W
9. St. Louis 79 GP; 86 Pts; 38 W
10. Minnesota 79 GP; 83 Pts; 37 W
11. Edmonton 79 GP; 83 Pts; 37 W

In terms of Minnesota and Edmonton, 1 loss for either of them AND/OR one point for Anaheim, and they will be officially out of contention with the Ducks.

Both Nashville and St. Louis are hot on the heels of the Ducks and they are both playing in some big match-ups today. Tonight, for one night only…I hope Sammy Pahlsson and his Chicago Blackhawks tear the Predators apart…and by some great fortune…I hope that we see Ilya Bryzgalovs’ Coyotes take care of business against the Blues. Losses for these teams are HUGE right now. Come on ex-Ducks…we need you right now!

In addition, if the Ducks win both of these final games they are guaranteed a spot…7th in fact. If the Ducks win the final 2, they will have 92 points, and even if both Nashville AND St. Louis win all 3 of their games, Anaheim will still have the tie breaker with MORE WINS. 2 wins? That’s do-able right? The other possibility is that the Ducks win just ONE game…and EITHER Nashville OR St. Louis lose just one game…the Ducks are officially in.

I have a first round playoff preference, but I wont get into that until later this week when their fate is more defined.

In the meantime, I want it to be known that I’m not against this 4 day break. Let the boys get some rest and heal some battered bones (they were plenty abused Sunday evening). I really believe that this hot streak is not a fluke. I think that finally…FINALLY…we’re seeing the Ducks we were meant to see from the beginning of the season. Exactly 2 weeks after the trade deadline, the Ducks started tearing it up. Having gone 10-3-0 in their last 13 games is not a fluke, it’s not even a hot streak in my opinion. It’s what good teams do. Ladies and gentlemen…this Ducks team is GOOD. No, really…they are DAMN good. They have the chemistry we expected them to have. They are playing with the fire we want from them. They have the passion…the desire…the WANT.

Thanks NHL schedulers for giving this bear a break. Does anyone remember mid LAST season when the now long gone GM Brian Burke referred to the team as a waking bear?

“Watching our team come together is like watching a bear wake up at the zoo,” Burke said. “He shakes his arms out and he shakes his legs out and it’s a process. But when he’s awake, he’s a bear.” AB’s Blog

Yea I know…that was in reference to last years team, but I think it applies to this years team as well. All season we’ve been watching a hibernating bear. A team with the power and tools necessary to rip other teams apart…and yet, the bear has been slowly waking up…slowly stretching his limbs. Well, now that he’s awake, we’ve seen the power that he posses and the strength of each individual muscle within.

THE BEAR IS AWAKE AND READY FOR THE FIGHT!

GO DUCKS!!! (andforonenightonlygoChicagoandPhoenix)

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This game started so much like last night against the Sharks. The Ducks came out with tons of energy they were hitting, forceful and strong. A beautiful little shortie by Petteri Nokelainen and the Ducks have all the motivation, the crowd behind them, and most importantly…the LEAD!

Wow! Keep this game up Ducks and we can take these two points from the Sharks right now…

Hold on, still so much more hockey to be played.

Some back and forth play in the second period has me scratching my head! What happened to those forceful, smart Ducks?! Emotions getting the best of them, they started taking weak penalties and breaking down defensively. What happened to strong physical play? What happened to making smart passes? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENERGY IN THE BUILDING?!

With such a shaky 2nd, the Ducks would need a HUGE momentum shift on both ends of the ice in the third period. Unfortunately, they let their frustrations get the best of them. Chris Pronger lazily clears the puck in the defensive zone that would send the Sharks on the ultimate 5 on 3 opportunity for 1 minute. While the Ducks were able to kill that minute of play, there was no doubt that San Jose would find a way to score while still on the man advantage with 1 minute remaining in their PP opportunity. What were you thinking Pronger? There was NO ONE around. That insane puck lifting clear was NOT necessary! You not only threw away the puck, ultimately, you threw away the game. Such a frustrating penalty. With the Ducks having to battle with the refs all night (who seemed completely unable to call the OBVIOUS), the Ducks didn’t need another reason to find themselves in the box. In addition, later in the third, Corey Perry gets called on a rather WEAK high sticking penalty. It was quite obvious he wasn’t happy about it. Don’t worry Pears…the fans weren’t either.

I can’t imagine I’ll find anyone to disagree on this one…but where were the refs tonight? In the final minutes of the game there was so much pushing and shoving, cross checking and hitting…in the end, there were MANY penalties handed out:

At the 20:00 minute mark, penalties as follows:

Anaheim Ducks:

Corey Perry: Roughing; 2 min

Ryan Getzlaf: Interference on goalkeeper; 2 min

Ryan Getzlaf: Roughing; 2 min

Ryan Getzlaf: Misconduct; 10 min

Teemu Selanne: Misconduct; 10 min

Andrew Ebbett: Roughing; 2 min

Andrew Ebbett: Misconduct; 10 min

San Jose Sharks:

Jonathan Cheechoo: Misconduct; 10 min

Joe Thornton: Roughing; 2 min

Marc-Edouard Vlasic: Roughing; 2 min

Marc-Edouard Vlasic: Misconduct; 10 min

Brian Boucher: Goalie leave crease; 2 min

WOW! Even at the end of all that, the Ducks still get the short hand. It was a frustrating game all across the boards. The fans felt the frustration that the Ducks were showing on the ice, and for good reason. The important thing is to keep your cool…and the Ducks were unable to do that.

Hot-headed men fighting for the playoffs…watch out!

Here’s a huge factor to watch out for over the next week. The Ducks not only need to win BOTH games for safety reasons, but they really need Nashville AND St. Louis to lose at least 1 of their remaining 3 games. If in the end, all the teams end up with 90 points (which would mean only 1 win for the Ducks and 1 LOSS for BOTH Nashville and St. Louis), the Ducks will have the advantage having won 42 games vs. Nashville with 41 and St. Louis with 40…and therefore a playoff position.

When it comes down to it, I’m thrilled the Ducks got at least 2 points out of this weekend. It’s just very hard to swallow when they could have reasonably taken all 4.

I can’t believe these playoff hopes are coming down to the final 2 games of the season.

GO DUCKS!!!

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So for the most part yesterday was dead on. I thought it was going to be a low scoring game with a few highlights from Bobby Effin Ryan and anyone on the 3rd or 4th line. While I got goal scoring right…the score was a bit off as the Ducks lit it up 5 times! NICE!

Tonight, we’re probably looking at a tighter game.

Maybe they will find a way to shut down the Ducks’ top line but I doubt it. The great part about that is if they do manage to shut that line down, there are plenty of other capable hands available to do the damage.

So for tonight, the second line is going to be required to offer some assistance. Andrew Ebbett and Drew Miller have a huge opportunity to make great use of Teemu Selanne and his blazing speed.

Jonas Hiller in again tonight? I say yes. He had success last night…I don’t think the Ducks can afford mix that up.

GO DUCKS!!!

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I wish there were a few more days in between games against the Sharks. A few more days to keep my blood pressure under control. A few more days to let the boys rest their bones.

Then again…let’s get this weekend over with already.

I think the NHL schedule makers designed this back to back weekend intentionally, probably hoping it would be a tight race for the Pacific Division title. While it’s not a race for the title, it’s a very important weekend for BOTH teams. The Sharks looking for the Presidents trophy and a hold on first place in the Western Conference (home ice advantage of course) the Ducks are looking to just STAY IN playoff positioning.

That makes for some niiiiiiice hockey, doesn’t it?

The Ducks came out strong to begin with. I can’t complain. Solid shots on goal is a big deal for this team. TAKING shots is one thing…but taking SMART shots is another thing all together. Big shots from the point lead to moving bodies, open spaces and eventually a beautiful backhand pass from Ryan Getzlaf to a wide open Bobby Effin Ryan for his first goal of the night (“first goal of the night”…oh man, I just love typing that!). These two would continue to light it up for the rest of the evening.

Getzlaf gets another huge assist moments later to set up a Corey Perry goal. Again, knowing that this line is clicking and striking while hot…I can’t get enough. Getzlaf, with 64 assists this season, passes the Ducks’ single season record previously held by Paul Kariya (62 assists). Great. I’ll be honest, I don’t have the bad blood against Kariya that most Ducks fans do, but I will say this…I LOVE seeing these kids put their names on Ducks history. Especially when we’re taking about the potential future of this franchise. Plus, we ALL know that Bobby Effin Ryan is a WAY better rookie than Dustin Penner was! Effin is now the all time Ducks leader for goals by a rookie with 30 on the year – in ONLY 61 games played. In addition, Perry netted his 30th goal of the season, a career high for him. What a night for new records!

If you’re looking for confirmation that these guys were hot tonight…

“They were flat-out dominant,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the Ducks’ high-scoring line. “They were the top players in the game. We had last change, we could have matched anybody we wanted, but it wouldn’t have mattered. They were playing that well.” Associated Press

I couldn’t agree more. To see Getzlaf finding his stride again, only means he’ll be taking Perry with him. Fantastic. And Effin? Well, he’ll be there no matter who he’s playing with.

In addition to a smoking hot first line, that 4th line has been working hard and it’s paying off. “Ducks in a Row” today was damn accurate today thanks to some hard work by George Parros, Erik Christensen and Mike Brown (and of course DIAR also predicted goals by Effin and a great showing by Hiller in net). Huge goal for Brown, he’s a hard working guy who was reward tonight. NICE JOB BUD! The play by the 3rd and 4th line has been very physical lately (duh), but it means so much to the Ducks’ success. Fighting for lose pucks along the boards, getting into open spaces, and driving the net. These guys are making strong names for themselves on the defensive end and then capitalizing with huge goals! Secondary scoring is huge for any team, and when you have a team with 2 amazing lines like the Ducks do, secondary scoring is ALWAYS a bonus, a motivating boost, a spark of fire, a HUGE thorn in the sides of the opposition. Give me more! If the Ducks continue to see hard fought battles from everyone on the ice, like they have been lately, there is very little doubt in my mind that……….well, I’ll let everyone think about this one themselves.

So I have one negative for the night…

I hate hearing phrases like, “one hands it”. To me, that is a direct indication that you’re not moving your feet enough. MOVE YOUR FEET! Those lazy plays cause turnovers and the inability to clear the puck out of the zone. That leads to PENALTIES and/or GOALS!! KILLER! The Ducks felt the effects of that a few times tonight, and the outcome could have been way worse! The consecutive penalties to start the 2nd period were very unfortunate…and yet the Ducks managed to only give up one goal with those opportunities. PHEW!

Which leads me to Jonas Hiller. I don’t know if he’s going to be in net tomorrow night, but I think that there is a very great chance that we’ll be seeing him again. I think that Randy Carlyle is going to be forced to play the man who beat the Sharks tonight. I could be wrong, but I don’t expect to see JS Giguere in there. Hiller played a very solid game, made some huge saves and for the most part, did very well at “giving the team a chance to win”. He had some scary moments from time to time, but for the most part he was squared to the puck. He was given a big break by roughed up Sheldon Brookbank (did you see that black eye? OUCH!) in the final moments of the 3rd when the Ducks were killing off Chris Pronger’s interference call. Brookbank was just another guy on a long list of Ducks who have gone above and beyond to sacrifice themselves this season to stop a potential goal. I love seeing the dedication to this team.

Something else I noticed tonight, it seemed that simply clearing the puck from the zone…VERY difficult for the Ducks. Yet, clearing the puck from the front of the net…VERY SUCCESSFUL!

So we’ll end on a positive…

The best part of this game. Even in the third period, the Ducks were still playing hard. Still trying to force San Jose to turn the puck over. Still getting pucks in deep and still trying to score goals. Smart move, because these Sharks can be lethal…they can turn a game around in a heart beat.

Tomorrow is not going to be easy. The Sharks are hot and now they’re pissed because they just lost to the team barely holding to the 7th position in the fight for the post season. Good, a fired up opposition means the Ducks will have to bring 150% and they know that.

We’re 1/2 way through this battle…

DAMN! This feels goooooood doesn’t it?

GO DUCKS!!!

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This weekend will be HUGE for the Ducks.

I’ll be watching tonight and Twittering away with all of you other Ducks fans out there and I expect we’ll see quite a match up.

These games are always a tight battle and unless we get some of our own crazy bouncing goals (off of hands for instance)…we’re probably looking at a low scoring game. Which only means, the Ducks will need SOLID goal tending.

I don’t know if we’ll be seeing Jonas Hiller in net tonight. He had a shaky first half against Vancouver but came out strong in third period, overtime, and the shootout. I’d personally like to see him in the game tonight….but you never know.

For goals…I’m afraid they’ll be few and far between. You know what happens when scoring is at a premium? Bobby Effin Ryan always seems to show up.

In addition, if the Ducks continue to push hard to the net, we’re likely to see a goal from anyone on the 3rd and 4th lines.

I want a good physical game tonight boys!

We’re hours from puck drop and I’m already nervous!

GO DUCKS!!!

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My brain is running at a million miles an hour right now. I’ve been “going” non stop for the last 16 hours and I haven’t even had a minute to slow down and take in the action from last night. Here’s why:

Timeline of my evening (all times approximate)

5:00: Race home…check in on Detroit and St. Louis from time to time. Wonder what the problem with Detroit is and then rejoice that they might be getting cold at the BEST POSSIBLE TIME!

5:30: Continue to scream at the traffic in front of me, “Get outta the way…!!!!”. 1.5 hours to puck drop…3+ hours until I get to watch it unfold.

6:15: Home. Double to check that OCTiVo is ready to record.

6:20: Race to Michael’s for cake decorating class.

6:30: In class; post Tweet that I would be away from my phone until I am able to watch the Ducks game later that evening. Begin “freaking out”.

6:40: Resist urge to pick up phone. (I don’t go anywhere without it…hell, I had to have it surgically removed just for this one evening.)

7:00: Become insanely aware that the game has started…hear the instructor say something about icing. Can she read my mind?

7:15: “Accidentally” peek at phone while looking for a pen in my purse. See a Tweet regarding Parros, assume it’s regarding a fight.

7:16: Wonder if MAYBE it was a GOAL?

7:20: SCORE?

7:21: SCORE?

7:25: Need a good reason to go back into my purse to check my phone…

7:30: Yum, frosting. What’s the score?

8:00: It’s got to be the first intermission, what’s the score?

8:05: 25 minutes left, come on lady, frost the cake already! “Accidentally” see another Tweet regarding the high score of the game. “FREAK OUT” becomes ADRENALINE PRODUCING “PANIC”

8:15: Make a Ducks themed cake? Are they WINNING?! Is Hiller in net?

8:30: Yea yea yea…bring cake next week…SEE YA! It’s DUCKS TIME!

8:35: Somehow manage NOT turn on radio in car…

8:40: WHERE’S MY PHONE?!

8:45: Run to room. In passing, hope my dad doesn’t give me that look of, “ouch, they’re getting their asses beat”.

8:50: Fast forward to the beginning of the game…I LOVE YOU OCTiVo!

9:00: Knowing that the game will be ending soon, resist urge to fast forward through the first two periods of the game.

9:15: 2-0 AWESOME! Mom comes in to tell me they will be scoring more. GET OUT!

9:20: WHAT IS GOING ON?! TIED?! (Remember that they are apparently going to score more goals…thanks mom!)

9:35: LOSING?! What happened?!? MORE VANCOUVER GOALS?! (Did she not see the score correctly?) So quickly outscored 4-0 in ten minutes of play!!! PLEASE DON’T PULL HILLER…

9:45: Thank you BOBBY EFFIN RYAN! Ducks pull within one…wait…wait…down 5-3…

9:50: Corey Perry…right place, right time!

9:55: Teemu Selanne saves me from a heart attack.

10:15: HEART POUNDING, NO BREATHING, PACING…maybe I’ll still be having that heart attack anyway.

10:20: OVERTIME…HILLER HUGE SAVES!!!!

10:22: SHOOT OUT! WIN!

So yea, it was a pretty quiet evening.

These Ducks are HOT right now people. It couldn’t have come at a better time for them. The best part? There is only ONE team that can decide whether or not the Ducks make the playoffs. That team?

The ANAHEIM DUCKS.

They are in there people. Only the Ducks can ensure that they stay there. This reminds me of something that UJ and I were talking about just a few weeks ago. While trying to predict their chances of making the playoffs, what teams needed to lose and just how many games the Ducks needed to win, it was decided that only the Ducks can dictate their future. They did that in nail biting fashion last night! WHEW!

ACTION! The whole game was a rough, physical, fast, and goal filled extravaganza! I KNOW these Ducks can be successful when they play hard hitting hockey and we saw that in them again last night. Vancouver has the ability to wear down a team with their quick puck moving offense. The Ducks responded with their own form of solid puck handling.

Weeks ago it seemed as though these Ducks were done, but just as they have been showing us for the past few weeks, they did it again last night in a huge comeback. Tying the game at 5 apiece and ultimately relying on a shootout.

Jonas Hiller is apparently some sort of shootout prodigy. I’ll take it. He struggled a bit there during the game (as did the Ducks’ defense). Luckily enough for the Ducks so did Roberto Luongo. Hiller had some huge saves throughout the game and while giving up 5 goals is quite ridiculous…getting 5 goals from your teammates surely does help out quite a bit!

Spending too much time in the sin bin as a result of lazy penalties, the Ducks suffered a great deal during the beginning of the 2nd period when they were forced to kill off a lengthy Vancouver 5 on 3 opportunity. On that same PK, James Wisniewski did just what I had suggested and took a page form the “self sacrificing” book of Todd Marchant. He was clearly in pain as he took a puck off the outside of his knee. Since seeing Wisniewski come to the Ducks, he’s clearly been a great addition to the struggling defensive core. It was a bit scary to see him hit the ice like that. A huge sigh of relief when he came back out to finish off the game. These are the kind of battles that the fans want to see these Ducks winning right now. These are the battles that are going to take a team (ANY team) far into the post season.

Getting goals from the guys we EXPECT to see score on a nightly basis always makes me feel better. If this team is going to dominate, they’re going to need to rely on Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry to find the back of the net regularly. In the end, this was a battle of talents. Both the Ducks and Canucks have some of the most impressive players in the league on their rosters and both are currently boasting red hot goal tenders. The match up between these two teams over the course of this season has been nothing short of dramatic. From a 13 round shootout, another disappointing 4-3 loss for the Ducks in the midst of a plethora of 4-3 losses, a 3 on 3 overtime battle…it was only fitting that this game also went to a shootout.

I expected to see this dramatic fight from both teams. The Canucks are struggling against Calgary for the top spot in the Northwest Division and we all know that the Ducks are just hoping to make it to the playoffs…PERIOD.

The way the Ducks produced a win last night is a huge for the morale of a team headed into San Jose to play one of the best teams in the NHL this season. The Ducks need to keep this fire alive, they need to continue to produce offensively and hold strong(er) on the defensive end of the ice. I’d expect we’re going to be seeing JS Giguere in one of these upcoming games. Now is the time for the defense to play hard, provide support for their struggling net minder and provide him with some needed confidence going into the POTENTIAL playoffs (still no guarantees yet people).

Games like this are just another reason I never leave early, never turn off the TV. You NEVER know what is going to happen. Goals can be scored only seconds apart. Games can be decided on crazy stick measurements, last minute penalties, or shootouts.

Remember that fat lady? She got restless in Anaheim. As you read this, she’s on her way to LA to sing for the Kings. Turns out for the Kings…it’s over.

GO DUCKS!!!

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I’m thinking we’re going to be seeing Jonas Hiller in net tonight. For many reasons – but mostly because I want him to be there…which, we all know, doesn’t count for anything. But lets face it, Hiller won 6 of his 8 starts in the month of March. He SHOULD be in there.

Once again, I don’t think it matter WHO scores…just that it happens. Often.

But just for the heck of it…

Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Effin Ryan, and Petteri Nokelainen (I just love that guys name!)

Just WIN!

GO DUCKS!!!

*Tonight I’ll be away from the TV until about 9pm (I know…I’m slighty having a nervous breakdown about it…). I will be turning off my Twitter for the evening and I’ll be ignoring my phone until I have watched the game Tivo style.

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