Hooray! Toronto got their first win of the year! In Anaheim!
I could be defensive (unlike the Ducks - zing!) and point out that the Ducks needed to be shorthanded for roughly half the game in what turned out to be their most penalized game in team history in order for the Leafs to win. But there's no point (just like the Ducks got no points last night - zing!).
In other news, the Ducks played their most penalized game in team history. In terms of the power plays given, at least. If memory serves, they gave up 13 power plays including 4 5-on-3 opportunities, but I'm really much too depressed to go back and look at the stats or watch the game again.
It's time for a road trip.
(Interesting side note: I've apparently moved from describing the team as "we" and have started using "they." Not a good sign. Please, boys - get me back on board. And the rest of us. We really, really want you to succeed. We want our faith to be justified. Please.)
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 27, 2009
Game 9: Blue Jackets 6 - Ducks 4
So close.
Again.
But we lost.
Again.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Again.
But we lost.
Again.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 26, 2009
Interesting Times
Sorry for the delay, kids. Some technical issues with my usual computer have left me high and dry for the moment. But fear not - if all goes as planned, recaps of Saturday's game (a.k.a. The Sadness), tonight's game, and the weekend goings-on will all be posted within the next 24 hours.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 22, 2009
Game 8: Stars 4 - Ducks 2
Where to begin..?
With the obvious, I suppose. The Ducks played, by my estimation, about 22 minutes of quality hockey. There are two problems with this. First, hockey games are 60 minutes, and the Dallas Stars seemed more acutely aware of that fact than the Ducks did; Second, those 22 minutes were the first 5 of the game, the last 2 of the second period, and the last 15 of the game.
Dallas' goals came at 14:01 in the first period, and 04:17 & 8:53 in the second period. And an empty-netter.
In other words, when the Ducks were doing their ducky thing - when heads were down and skates were churning and all the little battles were won - all Dallas could do was clog up some ice and watch Ryan Getzlaf and Joffrey Lupul do their thing.
Important note: The Stars' second goal was a gift from Jonas Hiller, from Switzerland with love (and presumably a brown paper package tied up with string). Had Hiller not misplayed the puck behind the net - had he just stayed in position a little longer or been a little quicker in returning there - it would have been a very different game. Instead, it created enough uncertainty to hand Dallas their third goal just a few minutes later.
Note how I emphasized the idea of staying in position above. Kind of important for a goalie.
The upsides for the evening:
But still and all, Dallas played the better game (for a full 60 minutes) and they got their two points as a result.
Just as a random aside, has anyone else noticed that Steve Eminger has a weird sort of BrundleFly look about him?
I'd like to promise that this will be the last Eminger-bash here, but I can't do that. I need something amusing to write about, damnit, and so far the games themselves have been fairly unamusing.
Here's to better things this coming Saturday against Columbus.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
With the obvious, I suppose. The Ducks played, by my estimation, about 22 minutes of quality hockey. There are two problems with this. First, hockey games are 60 minutes, and the Dallas Stars seemed more acutely aware of that fact than the Ducks did; Second, those 22 minutes were the first 5 of the game, the last 2 of the second period, and the last 15 of the game.
Dallas' goals came at 14:01 in the first period, and 04:17 & 8:53 in the second period. And an empty-netter.
In other words, when the Ducks were doing their ducky thing - when heads were down and skates were churning and all the little battles were won - all Dallas could do was clog up some ice and watch Ryan Getzlaf and Joffrey Lupul do their thing.
Important note: The Stars' second goal was a gift from Jonas Hiller, from Switzerland with love (and presumably a brown paper package tied up with string). Had Hiller not misplayed the puck behind the net - had he just stayed in position a little longer or been a little quicker in returning there - it would have been a very different game. Instead, it created enough uncertainty to hand Dallas their third goal just a few minutes later.
Note how I emphasized the idea of staying in position above. Kind of important for a goalie.
The upsides for the evening:
- James Wisniewski. That guy was everywhere and smashing everyone, and he got an assist for his efforts. A+ individual effort there. And let's not forget that he was a game-time decision thanks to his spranied shoulder.
- Lupul and Getzlaf, the goal-scorers, scored goals. It's nice to see Getzlaf take that kind of tight shot when he has it. And Lupul... well, I wouldn't want to bet against him in a snooker match.
- Saku Koivu seems ridiculously close to breaking through as a Duck. He had a solid game last night and created a few lovely scoring chances but just couldn't find the back of the net. Also, Selanne-Koivu-Ryan was clicking along fairly well, fairly quickly. Hopefully that's the line that takes the ice on Saturday.
- George Parros and Mike Brown both dropped the gloves, against Krystopher Barch and Francis Walthier respectively. Brown definitely won his tilt, and I'll give the nod to Parros as well, if only for not backing down after dropping to the ice once or after being cut. Unfortunately, Dallas answered each fight loss with a goal less than 2 minutes later. Isn't that supposed to work the other way around?
- Brendan Mikkelson played very well, with fewer mistakes and needless giveaways, and with much more gumption about joining the attack. I'd still like to see Luca Sbisa at Scott Niedermeyer's side, but I understand how dangerous that is while Sbisa is still a little too eager and too loose. In the meantime, Mikkelson gets my vote as the other half of the top pair.
- Ryan Whitney point shot = cannon.
But still and all, Dallas played the better game (for a full 60 minutes) and they got their two points as a result.
Just as a random aside, has anyone else noticed that Steve Eminger has a weird sort of BrundleFly look about him?
I'd like to promise that this will be the last Eminger-bash here, but I can't do that. I need something amusing to write about, damnit, and so far the games themselves have been fairly unamusing.
Here's to better things this coming Saturday against Columbus.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 21, 2009
Oh, Crap
Justin Pogge has been recalled.
Justin Pogge who, in case you need a reminder, is currently the proud owner of a 4.36 GAA and .866 save percentage through his 7 NHL games last year, and who allowed Douglas "Chin Dribble" Murray to score a hat trick in the preseason, has been recalled, presumably to take Giguere's seat while he nurses a "body injury" that just reared its head.
Oh, crap.
Coming on the heels of a 5-0 thumping by St. Louis that we really didn't deserve, this is kind of atrocious news.
In fairness, the overwhelming odds right now are that Pogge sits on the bench tonight and shows off his "interested" face while Hiller tries to make some magic happen in net. Hiller, on the other hand, really needs to make that magic happen. But I’m not sure that he can.
To state the obvious: The Ducks need a boost right now. They need something to galvanize them. Maybe it'll be Bobby Ryan waking up, saying "Oh yeah - I'm Bobby Ryan" and providing some tangible offense. Maybe it'll be some random Todd Marchant heroics. Maybe it'll be George Parros dominating a fight, or Artyukhin using his size to break a guy (and if that guy happens to be Mike Ribiero in tonight's game, the "WOOT!" you hear will be mine), or even Getzlaf dropping the gloves.
I think it will be when J.S. Giguere steals a game.
It's tempting to write a diatribe about why, exactly, I have such fiery hatred of the Sharks, but I'll save that for another time. The crux of that argument is, however, relevant to this discussion. Specifically, it's that the Ducks have heart. Visible, tangible heart. Sure, we have quite a nice sampler plate of raw talent present in our roster; not many teams would turn down the opportunity to sign Scott Niedermeyer, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Whitney... well, you get the idea. And yet on most nights, we don't use that talent to win games. We win faceoffs. We check. We beat icing calls and force the opponent offsides. When we win, we win through strength of will.
You've seen "Pulp Fiction," right? Remember this?
That's what we need right now. For John Travolta to shoot us full of adrenaline. Because right now, we're passed out on the floor.
Right about now, you may be asking yourself just what the Pogge recall has to do with our need to wake up and smell the nachos. Simple - it would be great for this team if Giguere found a solid win. Even better if he held down a shutout.
When you consider this, remember the human factor. Giguere has carried the team on more than one occasion, sometimes while he was fighting personal demons off the ice. He's a big-hearted guy, and this was the season for him to prove himself and to reclaim the #1 job. That hasn't happened yet, and I truly don't think it's because of Giguere's play. He's been very solid, and I believe all the various comments he's made to the press about how good he's feeling and how well he's seeing the puck. A new defense is still figuring itself out, and Randy Carlyle it still figuring out how to deploy it. So yeah, Hiller and Giguere have seen their numbers fall a bit. It happens.
If Pogge is up tonight, then Giguere isn't playing. Ergo, he won't be getting his big win tonight. Therefore, the softer, more tentative Ducks that tend to hit the ice in front of Hiller will be playing tonight's game. Q.E.D., the pattern probably doesn't break tonight. Hence "Oh, crap."
Yeah.
Hence.
Bear in mind that no part of this is anti-Hiller. Quite the opposite. I like the guy quite a bit. It's just that he hasn't stepped up to take the mantle of #1 Goalie. He’s as self-assured (possibly even arrogant) as his talent allow him to be. He has all the skill you'd ever need, but I'm not convinced of his heart.
What I am convinced of is that we'll need heart to win, and to get some momentum going.
But Pogge was called up.
Oh, crap.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Edit: Hope is not lost. Apparently, Jiggy is a "maybe" for tonight, but he's still injured and not at 100%. Hence, my post remains valid.
Hence.
Justin Pogge who, in case you need a reminder, is currently the proud owner of a 4.36 GAA and .866 save percentage through his 7 NHL games last year, and who allowed Douglas "Chin Dribble" Murray to score a hat trick in the preseason, has been recalled, presumably to take Giguere's seat while he nurses a "body injury" that just reared its head.
Oh, crap.
Coming on the heels of a 5-0 thumping by St. Louis that we really didn't deserve, this is kind of atrocious news.
In fairness, the overwhelming odds right now are that Pogge sits on the bench tonight and shows off his "interested" face while Hiller tries to make some magic happen in net. Hiller, on the other hand, really needs to make that magic happen. But I’m not sure that he can.
To state the obvious: The Ducks need a boost right now. They need something to galvanize them. Maybe it'll be Bobby Ryan waking up, saying "Oh yeah - I'm Bobby Ryan" and providing some tangible offense. Maybe it'll be some random Todd Marchant heroics. Maybe it'll be George Parros dominating a fight, or Artyukhin using his size to break a guy (and if that guy happens to be Mike Ribiero in tonight's game, the "WOOT!" you hear will be mine), or even Getzlaf dropping the gloves.
I think it will be when J.S. Giguere steals a game.
It's tempting to write a diatribe about why, exactly, I have such fiery hatred of the Sharks, but I'll save that for another time. The crux of that argument is, however, relevant to this discussion. Specifically, it's that the Ducks have heart. Visible, tangible heart. Sure, we have quite a nice sampler plate of raw talent present in our roster; not many teams would turn down the opportunity to sign Scott Niedermeyer, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Whitney... well, you get the idea. And yet on most nights, we don't use that talent to win games. We win faceoffs. We check. We beat icing calls and force the opponent offsides. When we win, we win through strength of will.
You've seen "Pulp Fiction," right? Remember this?
That's what we need right now. For John Travolta to shoot us full of adrenaline. Because right now, we're passed out on the floor.
Right about now, you may be asking yourself just what the Pogge recall has to do with our need to wake up and smell the nachos. Simple - it would be great for this team if Giguere found a solid win. Even better if he held down a shutout.
When you consider this, remember the human factor. Giguere has carried the team on more than one occasion, sometimes while he was fighting personal demons off the ice. He's a big-hearted guy, and this was the season for him to prove himself and to reclaim the #1 job. That hasn't happened yet, and I truly don't think it's because of Giguere's play. He's been very solid, and I believe all the various comments he's made to the press about how good he's feeling and how well he's seeing the puck. A new defense is still figuring itself out, and Randy Carlyle it still figuring out how to deploy it. So yeah, Hiller and Giguere have seen their numbers fall a bit. It happens.
If Pogge is up tonight, then Giguere isn't playing. Ergo, he won't be getting his big win tonight. Therefore, the softer, more tentative Ducks that tend to hit the ice in front of Hiller will be playing tonight's game. Q.E.D., the pattern probably doesn't break tonight. Hence "Oh, crap."
Yeah.
Hence.
Bear in mind that no part of this is anti-Hiller. Quite the opposite. I like the guy quite a bit. It's just that he hasn't stepped up to take the mantle of #1 Goalie. He’s as self-assured (possibly even arrogant) as his talent allow him to be. He has all the skill you'd ever need, but I'm not convinced of his heart.
What I am convinced of is that we'll need heart to win, and to get some momentum going.
But Pogge was called up.
Oh, crap.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Edit: Hope is not lost. Apparently, Jiggy is a "maybe" for tonight, but he's still injured and not at 100%. Hence, my post remains valid.
Hence.
October 18, 2009
Game 7: Blues 5 - Ducks 0
Ugh.
There simply isn't enough beer to soothe this sting.
Let's just assume that everyone was so bummed about Ebbett being claimed, they couldn't execute.
Because really... ugh.
(No offense to the Blues, by the way. In fact, I kind of admire their determination when it's not being wielded against the Ducks. So, kudos to them. I guess. Whatever.)
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
There simply isn't enough beer to soothe this sting.
Let's just assume that everyone was so bummed about Ebbett being claimed, they couldn't execute.
Because really... ugh.
(No offense to the Blues, by the way. In fact, I kind of admire their determination when it's not being wielded against the Ducks. So, kudos to them. I guess. Whatever.)
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 17, 2009
Ebbett Exits
Andrew Ebbett was claimed off of waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bummer. His tenacity was a valuable asset, I thought, but he was going to be a bubble player this year thanks to the acquisition of Saku Koivu and the re-signing of Todd Marchant. I guess the bubble burst.
This is probably good news for Eric Christensen, who I'm hoping to see back on the second line tonight with Koivu and Selanne, and for Petteri Nokelainen.
The only question left in my mind is whether we'll be waiving another player any time soon. The answer may have a lot to do with Wisniewski's injuries and whether Brendan Mikkelson (or Sheldon Brookbank) can assertively step up to the plate.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Bummer. His tenacity was a valuable asset, I thought, but he was going to be a bubble player this year thanks to the acquisition of Saku Koivu and the re-signing of Todd Marchant. I guess the bubble burst.
This is probably good news for Eric Christensen, who I'm hoping to see back on the second line tonight with Koivu and Selanne, and for Petteri Nokelainen.
The only question left in my mind is whether we'll be waiving another player any time soon. The answer may have a lot to do with Wisniewski's injuries and whether Brendan Mikkelson (or Sheldon Brookbank) can assertively step up to the plate.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 15, 2009
Game 6: Wild 2 - Ducks 3
Sorry, Wild fans, but we all knew that this would be the outcome.
At the same time, though, it's probably fair to assume that a lot of the Ducks faithful felt a bit of that faith ebbing away when the Ducks took a 3-0 lead.
But we won. So there.
And how about that Corey Perry kid, eh? Is it too much to hope that he'll keep providing us with gems like this?
Although, in fairness to Nick Backstrom, it has to be super-extra hard to stop a shot when you've got sweaty Perry ass in your face.
I would assume.
Not really sure.
As for the big fight of the evening, I seem (based on my conversations so far) to be the only one who finds the sight of a fighty Evgeny Artyukhin kind of hilarious.
Comedy!
And not entirely dissimilar from this:
Yeah, sure, that dog has a fairly benign expression. He's not going to really hurt the kitten. But let's face it - the kitten is exactly where the dog wants it to be.
Coincidence that Hnidy basically disappeared for the night after that fight? Nope - the kitten was exactly where the dog wanted it to be.
In other news, I'm starting to get mildly concerned about Bobby Ryan. He's ridiculously talented, and stronger than ever before, but he also seems to be trying a little too hard. Last night was, in my opinion, his best of the season thus far, but he still had a few too many spin moves and dish passes while Getzlaf and Perry were playing their game along the boards. Bobby will get his goals, and he's already notched a few assists, but he needs to ease off a bit.
That Christensen guy, though? A revelation. And frankly, seeing him out there with Teemu (I love that guy) threw Saku's ineffectiveness to date into sharp relief. Again, I have no faith that the magic will happen, but sooner would be better then later. And for now, Coach Carlyle needs to keep that trio together. As much as I enjoyed the "Finnish Line" configuration with Selanne, Koivu and Nokelainen, Christensen really carried a large load last night.
As did George Parros. The books will say he was scoreless, but he definitely allowed Ryan Carter's game-winning goal to happen with his Perryesque screen on Backstrom's doorstep. The whole fourth line shone last night. Kudos, boys.
The third line somehow doesn't impress like the others, but everyone there had their moments of awesome last night. Joffrey Lupul grew quite the physical game during the offseason and, though my sister won't like to hear me say so, he fits in with Artyukhin and Marchant well. I like to think of that combo as the Size, the Stone, and the Sizzle.
Solid D. Even without Wisniewski. Steve Eminger, on whom I harped in the early going, has blossomed well and quickly. It's tough to tell how much of that is the Niedermeyer effect and how much is his own skill, but that's not a question I feel compelled to answer. Boynton and Sbisa continue to impress in their own ways (despite a few youthful mistakes from the latter), and Whitney is really stepping up to the plate as the heir-apparent to the #1 D-man spot. And Brendan Mikkelson? Well, I've defended him before and I'll continue to. He's a solid player - and he's freakin' excited, man!
You know what? My criticisms haven't changed (sloppy passing, moments of random immobility), but they've diminished. At the same time, the team's strengths seem to be mounting. Chemistry is brewing. Good things are in the works. Can't wait to see how we do against St. Louis...
In a totally random aside, I hope that when the inevitable remake of "Jurassic Park" happens, they get Pierre-Marc Bouchard to play the Pachycephalosaurus.
You're welcome, Hollywood.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
At the same time, though, it's probably fair to assume that a lot of the Ducks faithful felt a bit of that faith ebbing away when the Ducks took a 3-0 lead.
But we won. So there.
And how about that Corey Perry kid, eh? Is it too much to hope that he'll keep providing us with gems like this?
Although, in fairness to Nick Backstrom, it has to be super-extra hard to stop a shot when you've got sweaty Perry ass in your face.
I would assume.
Not really sure.
As for the big fight of the evening, I seem (based on my conversations so far) to be the only one who finds the sight of a fighty Evgeny Artyukhin kind of hilarious.
Comedy!
And not entirely dissimilar from this:
Yeah, sure, that dog has a fairly benign expression. He's not going to really hurt the kitten. But let's face it - the kitten is exactly where the dog wants it to be.
Coincidence that Hnidy basically disappeared for the night after that fight? Nope - the kitten was exactly where the dog wanted it to be.
In other news, I'm starting to get mildly concerned about Bobby Ryan. He's ridiculously talented, and stronger than ever before, but he also seems to be trying a little too hard. Last night was, in my opinion, his best of the season thus far, but he still had a few too many spin moves and dish passes while Getzlaf and Perry were playing their game along the boards. Bobby will get his goals, and he's already notched a few assists, but he needs to ease off a bit.
That Christensen guy, though? A revelation. And frankly, seeing him out there with Teemu (I love that guy) threw Saku's ineffectiveness to date into sharp relief. Again, I have no faith that the magic will happen, but sooner would be better then later. And for now, Coach Carlyle needs to keep that trio together. As much as I enjoyed the "Finnish Line" configuration with Selanne, Koivu and Nokelainen, Christensen really carried a large load last night.
As did George Parros. The books will say he was scoreless, but he definitely allowed Ryan Carter's game-winning goal to happen with his Perryesque screen on Backstrom's doorstep. The whole fourth line shone last night. Kudos, boys.
The third line somehow doesn't impress like the others, but everyone there had their moments of awesome last night. Joffrey Lupul grew quite the physical game during the offseason and, though my sister won't like to hear me say so, he fits in with Artyukhin and Marchant well. I like to think of that combo as the Size, the Stone, and the Sizzle.
Solid D. Even without Wisniewski. Steve Eminger, on whom I harped in the early going, has blossomed well and quickly. It's tough to tell how much of that is the Niedermeyer effect and how much is his own skill, but that's not a question I feel compelled to answer. Boynton and Sbisa continue to impress in their own ways (despite a few youthful mistakes from the latter), and Whitney is really stepping up to the plate as the heir-apparent to the #1 D-man spot. And Brendan Mikkelson? Well, I've defended him before and I'll continue to. He's a solid player - and he's freakin' excited, man!
You know what? My criticisms haven't changed (sloppy passing, moments of random immobility), but they've diminished. At the same time, the team's strengths seem to be mounting. Chemistry is brewing. Good things are in the works. Can't wait to see how we do against St. Louis...
In a totally random aside, I hope that when the inevitable remake of "Jurassic Park" happens, they get Pierre-Marc Bouchard to play the Pachycephalosaurus.
You're welcome, Hollywood.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 13, 2009
Game 5: Ducks 0 - Rangers 3
Just because everyone loves Jeopardy:
"I'll take Hockey for $400, Alex."
"Ugly, flat, disjointed, and far too deep in its own back end."
"Um... 'What is Sean Avery's face?'"
"Correct. We also would have accepted 'How did the Ducks play in the last game of their road trip?'"
But they were clearly very, very tired, and they had already whomped the Bruins and stole one from the Flyers, and it's still early in the season (as I'm continually having to remind myself), so not too big a deal.
I could harp on some of the little things again - I find the sloppy passing to be a particularly large problem - but I'll choose to focus on the upcoming rematch with Minnesota. Something tells me that we won't be so casual with them this time.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
"I'll take Hockey for $400, Alex."
"Ugly, flat, disjointed, and far too deep in its own back end."
"Um... 'What is Sean Avery's face?'"
"Correct. We also would have accepted 'How did the Ducks play in the last game of their road trip?'"
But they were clearly very, very tired, and they had already whomped the Bruins and stole one from the Flyers, and it's still early in the season (as I'm continually having to remind myself), so not too big a deal.
I could harp on some of the little things again - I find the sloppy passing to be a particularly large problem - but I'll choose to focus on the upcoming rematch with Minnesota. Something tells me that we won't be so casual with them this time.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 11, 2009
Game 4: Ducks 3 - Flyers 2 (SO)
It's been nearly unanimous among journalists this offseason that the top four teams in the East are likely to be Boston, Philly, Piitsburgh, and Washington. We will play 6 games against those 4 teams (2 each for Boston and Pittsburgh, 1 for Philadelphia and Washington) and we've already taken wins on 2.
Also, we're also officially on a win streak. Granted, it's the smallest possible win streak right now (2 games! Hooray for us!), but it still counts, dammit.
Honestly, it wasn't our best game of the nascent season - passing was a little loose again, and we did the dump-and-chase dance a little too often considering how much we seemed to be relaxing on the "chase" part - but it was solid overall. Chris Pronger scored his first goal as a Philadelphia Flyer against his former teammates, which was a bummer, but it was to no avail. Teemu Selanne (I love that guy) was ablaze from the third period on, potting 2 goals on his only two registered shots and firing the only successful shootout goal.
And what was running through my head through the last 10 minutes of the game, when the Ducks clearly got their passion back and decided to close a 2-goal defecit?
Never give up. Never surrender.
(I never said I wasn't a geek...)
Ray Emery was almost as good as he was lucky; how did he manage to stop all of those little chips and jams thrown at him if not a touch of luck?
Jonas Hiller looked much tighter than he did against Boston, and that's saying something. He might have lucked out a little on the shootout, as all three shooters for the Flyers (Danny Briere, Mike Richards, and Simon Gagne; Scott Hartnell and his awesome mullet remained on the bench*) made the same move. For Briere it's acceptable, and I'll cut Mike Richards a pass becuse he's Mike Richards, but did Simon Gagne really think to himself "Sure, Hiller stopped that shot twice already, but when I do the exact same thing once again it will totally catch him by surprise!!!"
Did he then steeple his fingers and cackle like a B-movie evil genius?
Ultimately, it matters not. What matters is that the Ducks notch one more victory on this road trip, and the Rangers were always the easiest target. Hopefully, the complacent exhaustion that the team has to be feeling won't get in the way of that victory.
Oh yeah: Just so I can't be accused of not saying so, Chris Pronger was a class act in this game. I was afraid before the puck dropped that he might feel compelled to do some gooning and send a message (though I don't know what that message would be apart from "see you in June!"), but instead he went out and did the Pronger thing. A+, Mr. Pronger.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Not really relevant, but I had to get in a mention of Scott Hartnell and his awesome mullet. Also, Riley Cote sucks.
Also, we're also officially on a win streak. Granted, it's the smallest possible win streak right now (2 games! Hooray for us!), but it still counts, dammit.
Honestly, it wasn't our best game of the nascent season - passing was a little loose again, and we did the dump-and-chase dance a little too often considering how much we seemed to be relaxing on the "chase" part - but it was solid overall. Chris Pronger scored his first goal as a Philadelphia Flyer against his former teammates, which was a bummer, but it was to no avail. Teemu Selanne (I love that guy) was ablaze from the third period on, potting 2 goals on his only two registered shots and firing the only successful shootout goal.
And what was running through my head through the last 10 minutes of the game, when the Ducks clearly got their passion back and decided to close a 2-goal defecit?
Never give up. Never surrender.
(I never said I wasn't a geek...)
Ray Emery was almost as good as he was lucky; how did he manage to stop all of those little chips and jams thrown at him if not a touch of luck?
Jonas Hiller looked much tighter than he did against Boston, and that's saying something. He might have lucked out a little on the shootout, as all three shooters for the Flyers (Danny Briere, Mike Richards, and Simon Gagne; Scott Hartnell and his awesome mullet remained on the bench*) made the same move. For Briere it's acceptable, and I'll cut Mike Richards a pass becuse he's Mike Richards, but did Simon Gagne really think to himself "Sure, Hiller stopped that shot twice already, but when I do the exact same thing once again it will totally catch him by surprise!!!"
Did he then steeple his fingers and cackle like a B-movie evil genius?
Ultimately, it matters not. What matters is that the Ducks notch one more victory on this road trip, and the Rangers were always the easiest target. Hopefully, the complacent exhaustion that the team has to be feeling won't get in the way of that victory.
Oh yeah: Just so I can't be accused of not saying so, Chris Pronger was a class act in this game. I was afraid before the puck dropped that he might feel compelled to do some gooning and send a message (though I don't know what that message would be apart from "see you in June!"), but instead he went out and did the Pronger thing. A+, Mr. Pronger.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Not really relevant, but I had to get in a mention of Scott Hartnell and his awesome mullet. Also, Riley Cote sucks.
October 9, 2009
Game 3: Ducks 6 - Bruins 1
In the first two regular season games, the Ducks' top line couldn't have found a goal even if they had NASA's biggest, shiniest goal-findinator.
In game three, Corey Perry went on a breakaway (!) and chipped one in with his head*.
I'm pretty sure that's what you call a "turnaround."
Almost across the board, this was a prototypical example of what we want to be doing. To wit:
I'd say the only things missing were an assist by Getzlaf (even though he set up Bobby Ryan in front of the net three times, and Tim Thomas beat the shot on all three attempts) and a goal from the blue line. But when you're looking at a 6-1 victory, is it really all that worthwhile to wonder about missed opportunities?
It is if you're Pete Peeters. The eeriest moment of the night was watching Marco "Hi, I'm German" Sturm slip a puck through Hiller's 5-hole just like Eric Belanger did to JS Giguere two nights earlier. Errant goals happen. Goalies get surprised. But a carbon-copy repeat of a sloppy goal in consecutive games makes me wonder if maybe (just maybe) one of Peeters' new goaltending tricks isn't working. But at the same time, we saw a much more confident and aggressive Giguere two nights ago than we saw all of last year, and Hiller seems to be stronger and sharper than ever before, so I'll concede that there's more going for us than against us in net right now.
This was a good game for us. The smiles on the bench - Randy Carlyle was laughing at Perry's second goal, for goodness' sake - were great to see. Just as it's not productive to get too bent about early-season losses, there's no need to buy any trophy polish after one decisive win. But if we can do it again in Philly, when emotions will likely be rather weird on both benches, then maybe we can start to walk a little taller.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*If Ovechkin had done that, it would have been reported all over the place. Since Corey Perry did it, the NHL website declares "Selanne Bests Bruins."
Do I already have to start in with my "can't get no respect" rantings?
In game three, Corey Perry went on a breakaway (!) and chipped one in with his head*.
I'm pretty sure that's what you call a "turnaround."
Almost across the board, this was a prototypical example of what we want to be doing. To wit:
- A Selanne goal on the power play? Check. In fact, there were two. In 83 seconds. I love that guy.
- Some crazy handwork from Bobby Ryan? Check. A tip-in between the legs on a point blast from Scott Niedermeyer.
- Corey Perry following a rebound to the net? Check. See above.
- Random scoring from a third- or fourth-liner? Check. Evgeny Artyukhin finds twine for the second time in so many games. Also, George Parros missed it by that much.
I'd say the only things missing were an assist by Getzlaf (even though he set up Bobby Ryan in front of the net three times, and Tim Thomas beat the shot on all three attempts) and a goal from the blue line. But when you're looking at a 6-1 victory, is it really all that worthwhile to wonder about missed opportunities?
It is if you're Pete Peeters. The eeriest moment of the night was watching Marco "Hi, I'm German" Sturm slip a puck through Hiller's 5-hole just like Eric Belanger did to JS Giguere two nights earlier. Errant goals happen. Goalies get surprised. But a carbon-copy repeat of a sloppy goal in consecutive games makes me wonder if maybe (just maybe) one of Peeters' new goaltending tricks isn't working. But at the same time, we saw a much more confident and aggressive Giguere two nights ago than we saw all of last year, and Hiller seems to be stronger and sharper than ever before, so I'll concede that there's more going for us than against us in net right now.
This was a good game for us. The smiles on the bench - Randy Carlyle was laughing at Perry's second goal, for goodness' sake - were great to see. Just as it's not productive to get too bent about early-season losses, there's no need to buy any trophy polish after one decisive win. But if we can do it again in Philly, when emotions will likely be rather weird on both benches, then maybe we can start to walk a little taller.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*If Ovechkin had done that, it would have been reported all over the place. Since Corey Perry did it, the NHL website declares "Selanne Bests Bruins."
Do I already have to start in with my "can't get no respect" rantings?
October 7, 2009
Game 2: Ducks 3 - Wild 4 (OT)
A Tale of Three Periods, or How Intermission Changes Everything.
Period 1 - Great Expecations
The Ducks looked a lot like the team that fell to the Sharks last Saturday. Missed it by that much. Maybe it was the difference between watching the game on TV versus being there live, but we seemed to be scrambling more last night than in our opener. It wasn't just a case of missing passes or fanning shots - we'd do that and then we'd seem to collectively freak out about it. While it was good to see a ratcheting of awareness, it was just as disheartening to see the boys hustling for the wrong reasons. Other than that, the first period was pretty much even. Scoreless, with the Ducks firing 7 shots and the Wild notching 10. The defense in the offensive zone was loose, and we lost the line a couple of times when it wasn't necessary. Teemu almost scored on a beautiful stutter-step breakaway, but almost doesn't cut it.
Period 2 - Our Mutual Friend
Ladies and gentlemen, this was our period. This was it. Three goals on 10 shots, absolute ownership of the puck, and a surge of forward momentum. Joffrey Lupul deflected in a bomb from Ryan Whitney that was reviewed for about .0587 seconds in case his stick was high. It wasn't. Then, as if to prove his badassery, that same Mr. Lupul proceeded to block a shot with his face.
Ducks Hockey.
Moments later, while the big line was in the midst of changing out, Getzlaf fed Perry who fired, and the ricochet was flipped into goal by... Evgeny Artyukhin? Cool. Works for me. I don't think I was quite as surprised as Artyukhin was, but a goal's a goal. And make no mistake: it was generated by hard work through hard forechecking.
Ducks Hockey.
As if that weren't enough, Saku Koivu sniped in a Power Play one-time off a feed from Ryan Whitney (currently the Ducks' scoring leader; wonder if he can keep that up?) and James Wisniewski. Not much to say about that one. It was just a well-executed Power Play.
Ducks Hockey.
Period 3 - Bleak House
Heartbreak. What was quite possibly on track to be the Wild's first regulation loss in home opener, and a shutout at that, turned into something much uglier (for the Ducks, that is). We went into "protect the lead" mode, and that allowed Minnesota the upper hand. All of the offensive power we mustered during the second period had somehow wandered over into the other bench, and we wound up watching as three goals chipped in. The first, a Power Play goal from Mikko Koivu (who won the Battle of the Koivus by a single shot, by the way) was actually very good. The second, by Petr Sykora, wasn't as pretty, but it was legitimate. The third one was another of those mystery goals. Somehow, Eric Belanger slipped the puck exactly where he needed to, and it trickled through a normally-nonexistent five hole.
Do you see a hole there? Do you see where the puck went between Jiggy's pads? I sure don't, and neither did Jiggy.
In a little more than 11 minutes, we went from protecting a three-goal lead to just trying to eke out a single point in OT.
Heartbreak.
Epilogue - Hard Times in Overtime
I'm on the record as being a James Wisniewski fan, and there are so many variables in effect during a 4-on-4 sudden death situation that I'm not about to claim that he lost us the game. Losing his head and taking a stupid roughing penalty certainly didn't help us win it, though.
We almost killed the penalty, too. Almost. But almost doesn't cut it.
And so, in summation, I really have only one question to ask: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DURING THOSE INTERMISSIONS?
Whichever flavor of Kool-Aid the Ducks were sipping between the first and second periods was exactly right. Whatever bad mojo they found between the second and the third... well, let's just hope that they never find it again.
We get another chance at our first win tomorrow against Boston. Best of luck, boys. I'll be pulling for you. Just do that second-period thing and you'll be fine.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Period 1 - Great Expecations
The Ducks looked a lot like the team that fell to the Sharks last Saturday. Missed it by that much. Maybe it was the difference between watching the game on TV versus being there live, but we seemed to be scrambling more last night than in our opener. It wasn't just a case of missing passes or fanning shots - we'd do that and then we'd seem to collectively freak out about it. While it was good to see a ratcheting of awareness, it was just as disheartening to see the boys hustling for the wrong reasons. Other than that, the first period was pretty much even. Scoreless, with the Ducks firing 7 shots and the Wild notching 10. The defense in the offensive zone was loose, and we lost the line a couple of times when it wasn't necessary. Teemu almost scored on a beautiful stutter-step breakaway, but almost doesn't cut it.
Period 2 - Our Mutual Friend
Ladies and gentlemen, this was our period. This was it. Three goals on 10 shots, absolute ownership of the puck, and a surge of forward momentum. Joffrey Lupul deflected in a bomb from Ryan Whitney that was reviewed for about .0587 seconds in case his stick was high. It wasn't. Then, as if to prove his badassery, that same Mr. Lupul proceeded to block a shot with his face.
Ducks Hockey.
Moments later, while the big line was in the midst of changing out, Getzlaf fed Perry who fired, and the ricochet was flipped into goal by... Evgeny Artyukhin? Cool. Works for me. I don't think I was quite as surprised as Artyukhin was, but a goal's a goal. And make no mistake: it was generated by hard work through hard forechecking.
Ducks Hockey.
As if that weren't enough, Saku Koivu sniped in a Power Play one-time off a feed from Ryan Whitney (currently the Ducks' scoring leader; wonder if he can keep that up?) and James Wisniewski. Not much to say about that one. It was just a well-executed Power Play.
Ducks Hockey.
Period 3 - Bleak House
Heartbreak. What was quite possibly on track to be the Wild's first regulation loss in home opener, and a shutout at that, turned into something much uglier (for the Ducks, that is). We went into "protect the lead" mode, and that allowed Minnesota the upper hand. All of the offensive power we mustered during the second period had somehow wandered over into the other bench, and we wound up watching as three goals chipped in. The first, a Power Play goal from Mikko Koivu (who won the Battle of the Koivus by a single shot, by the way) was actually very good. The second, by Petr Sykora, wasn't as pretty, but it was legitimate. The third one was another of those mystery goals. Somehow, Eric Belanger slipped the puck exactly where he needed to, and it trickled through a normally-nonexistent five hole.
Do you see a hole there? Do you see where the puck went between Jiggy's pads? I sure don't, and neither did Jiggy.
In a little more than 11 minutes, we went from protecting a three-goal lead to just trying to eke out a single point in OT.
Heartbreak.
Epilogue - Hard Times in Overtime
I'm on the record as being a James Wisniewski fan, and there are so many variables in effect during a 4-on-4 sudden death situation that I'm not about to claim that he lost us the game. Losing his head and taking a stupid roughing penalty certainly didn't help us win it, though.
We almost killed the penalty, too. Almost. But almost doesn't cut it.
And so, in summation, I really have only one question to ask: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DURING THOSE INTERMISSIONS?
Whichever flavor of Kool-Aid the Ducks were sipping between the first and second periods was exactly right. Whatever bad mojo they found between the second and the third... well, let's just hope that they never find it again.
We get another chance at our first win tomorrow against Boston. Best of luck, boys. I'll be pulling for you. Just do that second-period thing and you'll be fine.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
October 4, 2009
Game 1: Sharks 4 - Ducks 1
Half a second behind.
We spent our home opener making every play pretty much correctly... just half a second behind.
Too many little things were off-kilter. Too many hesitations. Too many players relying on the next guy to make the right move.
Worst of all, the guy who arguably lost us the game is the guy we were all taking completely for granted: Jonas Hiller. Two goals, including Patrick Marleau's short-handed breakaway, looked like something out of a video game; it wasn't so much that the puck was snuck under Hiller's pads, but more like the pads were momentarily absent.
The Ducks looked a lot stronger in the third period, so that's a plus. And both Bobby Ryan and Mike Brown filled their roles admirably. Steve Eminger also stepped up and did as solid a job as anyone on the blue line. And after 40 ineffective minutes, Ryan Getzlaf finally played a little bit like Ryan Getzlaf on his lovely fake-and-feed to Ryan Whitney.
Also, Doug Murray was scoreless before he was ejected for being an unrepentant douche, so that's a plus.
Tuesday it's Saku vs. Mikko in Minnesota. Honestly, I'd say that looking better than we did in our home opener is virtuall guaranteed.
God, I hate the Sharks.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
ps - To the woman I saw during the warmups holding the sign reading "real teams don't come from movies," I would counter that real teams win Stanley Cups.
Boo-yeah.
We spent our home opener making every play pretty much correctly... just half a second behind.
Too many little things were off-kilter. Too many hesitations. Too many players relying on the next guy to make the right move.
Worst of all, the guy who arguably lost us the game is the guy we were all taking completely for granted: Jonas Hiller. Two goals, including Patrick Marleau's short-handed breakaway, looked like something out of a video game; it wasn't so much that the puck was snuck under Hiller's pads, but more like the pads were momentarily absent.
The Ducks looked a lot stronger in the third period, so that's a plus. And both Bobby Ryan and Mike Brown filled their roles admirably. Steve Eminger also stepped up and did as solid a job as anyone on the blue line. And after 40 ineffective minutes, Ryan Getzlaf finally played a little bit like Ryan Getzlaf on his lovely fake-and-feed to Ryan Whitney.
Also, Doug Murray was scoreless before he was ejected for being an unrepentant douche, so that's a plus.
Tuesday it's Saku vs. Mikko in Minnesota. Honestly, I'd say that looking better than we did in our home opener is virtuall guaranteed.
God, I hate the Sharks.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
ps - To the woman I saw during the warmups holding the sign reading "real teams don't come from movies," I would counter that real teams win Stanley Cups.
Boo-yeah.
October 2, 2009
Gazing Into the Ice Crystal Ball II - The Report Card
The lines have been announced.
How did I do? Let's go gown the list...
Forwards
Line 1 Prediction: Getlaf-Perry-Ryan
Line 1 Actual: Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan
I'm amazing!
Line 2 Prediction: Koivu-Selanne-Lupul
Line 2 Actual: Koivu-Selanne-Lupul
2-for-2!
Line 3 Prediction: Marchant-Brown-Ebbett
Line 3 Actual: Marchant-?-?
The article is very vague about this, probably because nobody's quite sure yet. Marchant was always going to be "the constant," as Mr. Vevoda put it, and I'm stoked that Ebbett will be winging it on this line. I guess we'll just have to see who hits the ice tomorrow.
Line 4 Prediction: Nokelainen-Parros-Artyukhin
Line 4 Actual: Carter-Parros-Brown
Mike Brown and Evgeny Artyukhin are flopped from my original... wait a second. Ryan Carter's not an automatic scratch this year? Sweet!
Defensemen
Pair 1 Prediction: Niedermeyer-Sbisa
Pair 1 Actual: Niedermeyer-Sbisa
Friggin' sweet.
Pair 2 Prediction: Whitney-Boynton
Pair 2 Actual: Whitney-Wisniewski
This puts Wisniweski in as Mr. Plow, which was my alternate hypothesis. I really like this pairing.
Pair 3 Prediction: Wisniewski-Mikkelson
Pair 3 Actual: ?-?
Wiz is obviously moved up and Mikkelson was reassigned, so that pretty much killed my prediction. The official listing doesn't say who among the remaing trio of Eminger, Boynton and Brookbank will be matched up, but I'm liking Boynton and Brookbank at this point. Mostly because "Boynton and Brookbank" is fun to say.
Also, Niedermeyer retains the C, Getzlaf and Koivu will each wear an A. As it should be.
The goalie question remains unanswered. Pretty big shock, eh?
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
How did I do? Let's go gown the list...
Forwards
Line 1 Prediction: Getlaf-Perry-Ryan
Line 1 Actual: Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan
I'm amazing!
Line 2 Prediction: Koivu-Selanne-Lupul
Line 2 Actual: Koivu-Selanne-Lupul
2-for-2!
Line 3 Prediction: Marchant-Brown-Ebbett
Line 3 Actual: Marchant-?-?
The article is very vague about this, probably because nobody's quite sure yet. Marchant was always going to be "the constant," as Mr. Vevoda put it, and I'm stoked that Ebbett will be winging it on this line. I guess we'll just have to see who hits the ice tomorrow.
Line 4 Prediction: Nokelainen-Parros-Artyukhin
Line 4 Actual: Carter-Parros-Brown
Mike Brown and Evgeny Artyukhin are flopped from my original... wait a second. Ryan Carter's not an automatic scratch this year? Sweet!
Defensemen
Pair 1 Prediction: Niedermeyer-Sbisa
Pair 1 Actual: Niedermeyer-Sbisa
Friggin' sweet.
Pair 2 Prediction: Whitney-Boynton
Pair 2 Actual: Whitney-Wisniewski
This puts Wisniweski in as Mr. Plow, which was my alternate hypothesis. I really like this pairing.
Pair 3 Prediction: Wisniewski-Mikkelson
Pair 3 Actual: ?-?
Wiz is obviously moved up and Mikkelson was reassigned, so that pretty much killed my prediction. The official listing doesn't say who among the remaing trio of Eminger, Boynton and Brookbank will be matched up, but I'm liking Boynton and Brookbank at this point. Mostly because "Boynton and Brookbank" is fun to say.
Also, Niedermeyer retains the C, Getzlaf and Koivu will each wear an A. As it should be.
The goalie question remains unanswered. Pretty big shock, eh?
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
George Lucas is a Genius
How can you not love this?
No, seriously. How can you not love this?
In case you can't tell, this is the first non-hockey post here, but it's still tangentially related. And not just because of the Honda Center.*
I won't belabor any obvious points by professing my love of the Star Wars movies here. Suffice it to say that among my most prized possessions is this publicity photo of Luke Skywalker on a Tauntaun, framed alongside autographs from Luke and from the Tauntaun.
Okay, okay... the autographs aren't from Luke and the Tauntaun. They're from Mark Hammill and Phil Tippett (the stop-motion genius behind such extraordinary characters as the aforementioned tundra shelter, Return of the Jedi's Rancor, Robocop's ED-209, and many others). Or are they?
At last night's Star Wars concert, I and my three associates weren't rowdy twentysomethings at a show; we were children in awe of the light and the sound. We, along with a few thousand spiritual brethren, were whisked away by Anthony Daniels** to a specific and wholly personal place in our past. A place unique to each individual but common to everyone in that arena.
If someone ever took me to task and asked me to define "magic," this sort of experience would be a good place to start. And look - Mr. Daniels seems to agree:
That's a screengrab from his website, by the way. Credit where credit's due.
Right about now, you're proably thinking "That's all well and good, RD, but you haven't mentioned George Lucas yet."
It's because, in this discussion, he doesn't really matter. And because he's all that matters.
He's all that matters because this is his work. He created, and has continued to foster, a world so dense and layered and accessible that it has become a part of the common experience. Not just to sci-fi/fantasy fans, but to the populace at large. There aren't many people who wouldn't recognize Darth Vader, even if they couldn't quite place why he was so familiar.
Maybe it's a testament to the universality of the Joseph Campbell "Hero's Journey" sort of story. Maybe it's a deep, shared cultural affinity for good-looking kids in fast vehicles. Maybe we're not so cynical as we like to believe, and we just want to see the clear-cut Good Guy beating the clear-cut Bad Guy.
It doesn't make a lick of difference at this point.
The difference is this (from an episode of Futurama, and directly tied to that other "Star" franchise, but no less relevant because of that):
Fry: ...The world needs "Star Trek" to give people hope for the future.
Leela: But it's set 800 years in the past!
Bender: Yeah, why is this so important to you?
Fry: 'Cause it... it taught me so much. Like how you should accept people, whether they be black, white, Klingon, or even female. But most importantly, when I didn't have any friends, it made me feel like maybe I did.
Leela: Well, that is touchingly pathetic.
Sitting there, watching those images (and lasers!) and listening to the orchestra, was like being in the company of an old friend. Chewbacca is my homeboy. Obi-Wan is like an awesome uncle. I've never been to Hoth, but it's as immediate and familiar as the house I grew up in. Frankly, it's no more or less tangible then the house I grew up in; they might as well be one and the same.
When Anthony Daniels merely spoke the name Han Solo and received booming applause, I realized that I wasn't alone. And after all, isn't that why we go to events like this? To not be alone. To be part of a community that we've chosen for ourselves; one that surrounds us and penetrates us, and binds us together.
When the once and future C-3PO flashed his gold lamé vest and reminded us with a smirk that the odds of surviving an asteroid field are approximately three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one, I smiled the smile usually reserved for Christmas morning.
In those moments, George Lucas is nonexistent. So is John Williams, for that matter. This is bigger than them. Bigger than all of us, really.
This is a part of us. And in those colder moments that we all have, it's a pocket of warmth. Fleeting and infinitessimal, but as real and genuine as anything.
I chose to be a "Star Wars" fan. I'm proud to be a "Star Wars" fan.
I also chose to be a Ducks fan. And sitting in my seat, with an orchestra to my right breathing life into the soundtrack of my childhood and with a banner to my left that read "2007 Stanley Cup Champs," I was as deep in my happy place as I've been in a long time. Looking at the people seated down on the floor and realizing that in 48 hours I'd be looking in the same spot and seeing the Ducks and the Sharks, I couldn't help but consider that maybe I'm not so cynical after all. That maybe I just want to see the ragtag group of big-hearted heroes take down the big, scary machine one more time.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Every time I refer to the Honda Center, I feel a slight yet palpable sting at the missed opportunity. Whoever made the decision to not re-christen it as the Honda Pond (or something similar) made a bad call. Not only because "Honda Pond" is fun to say, but also because Ducks belong in a pond, not in a center. To all the Duck fans reading this, I implore you: Start (or keep on) referring to it as the Pond. It's good for the soul.
**Interestingly, this is the second concert I've been to in so many weeks that was led by an effeminate Briton who knows exactly who his audience is. The other concert was Alan Cumming's "I Bought a Blue Car Today," and it was much more deeply and honestly affecting than I could have expected. It was accompanied by a CD that I haven't had a chance to listen to yet, but if it contains even a fraction of the outpouring provided on stage, it's definitely worth a listen.
September 30, 2009
And Then There Were 23
Just a quick hit: the Ducks have made their final two roster moves.
1. Logan MacMillan (not a surprise) went to Bakersfield.
2. Brendan Mikkelson (rather kinda large-ish surprise) went to Toronto (the AHL Marlies, not the NHL Maple Leafs).
This leaves the Ducks with the requisite starting roster of 23: 14 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies.
What I find more noteworthy are Andrew Ebbett's place on the big-time roster (hooray!) and Sheldon Brookbank getting the nod in the swing position. It's as close to starting with 15 forwards as we're likely to get any time soon.
Also, count me among those greatly pleased that Sbisa starts the year in a Ducks uniform. If you're reading this, Luca: earn the spot you've been handed. You can do this. We the fans want you to.
It should be mentioned that neither of these moves precludes placing Eminger or Boynton on waivers, and Mikkelson (and Festerling, for that matter) remain dependable as backups if that's their destiny this year. At the same time, though, another of the points mentioned in last night's Fan Forum is that the Ducks' salary cap position has enough room right now for another acquisition. If that's true, then there's clearly no urgent need to move anyone's salary. That's another feather in Bob Murray's cap, in my humble opinion; let's not forget that these same Ducks were in such a precarious salary position last year that Bobby Ryan (and his entry-level $850k contract) posed enough of a problem that he had to stay in Iowa.
Then again, having cap space and having money to pay salaries are two different things. Next time you're at a game, buy a t-shirt. You'll look good in it. I promise.
That's probably going to be all there is to say until the puck drops on Saturday. However, if anything else happens between now and then you can rest assured that I'll opine about it here.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
1. Logan MacMillan (not a surprise) went to Bakersfield.
2. Brendan Mikkelson (rather kinda large-ish surprise) went to Toronto (the AHL Marlies, not the NHL Maple Leafs).
This leaves the Ducks with the requisite starting roster of 23: 14 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies.
What I find more noteworthy are Andrew Ebbett's place on the big-time roster (hooray!) and Sheldon Brookbank getting the nod in the swing position. It's as close to starting with 15 forwards as we're likely to get any time soon.
Also, count me among those greatly pleased that Sbisa starts the year in a Ducks uniform. If you're reading this, Luca: earn the spot you've been handed. You can do this. We the fans want you to.
It should be mentioned that neither of these moves precludes placing Eminger or Boynton on waivers, and Mikkelson (and Festerling, for that matter) remain dependable as backups if that's their destiny this year. At the same time, though, another of the points mentioned in last night's Fan Forum is that the Ducks' salary cap position has enough room right now for another acquisition. If that's true, then there's clearly no urgent need to move anyone's salary. That's another feather in Bob Murray's cap, in my humble opinion; let's not forget that these same Ducks were in such a precarious salary position last year that Bobby Ryan (and his entry-level $850k contract) posed enough of a problem that he had to stay in Iowa.
Then again, having cap space and having money to pay salaries are two different things. Next time you're at a game, buy a t-shirt. You'll look good in it. I promise.
That's probably going to be all there is to say until the puck drops on Saturday. However, if anything else happens between now and then you can rest assured that I'll opine about it here.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
September 29, 2009
Ducks Eat Fish?
How did my Duck-loving, sushi-loving self not know about this event?
The Ducks made sushi.
Three questions:
1. I know that Saku has caught some flack over the years for not mastering French, but is it possible that he hasn't really gotten the hang of English either? Or is the name of his roll, "When You're Finnish You'll Want More Saku" not the non-pun that I'm reading it as? Maybe he just wrote his name next to the roll's name and someone ran the two together. Either way, it's very close to a Finnish pun (and there can never, ever, EVER be too many of those) and it gave me a chuckle. So, it gets a pass. Hooray for Saku!
2. Mike Brown looks really natural as a chef, doesn't he? It seems like there's a Food Network show in there somewhere just waiting to be hatched. Hooray for Mike!
3. Nobody put shark in their rolls? For serious? In fairness, I'm not sure that would even be a viable option (in fact, I bet it's not)... but octopus is. Because screw Detroit. Just sayin'...
And just so nobody feels left out - Hooray for Scott! Hooray for James!
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
The Ducks made sushi.
Three questions:
1. I know that Saku has caught some flack over the years for not mastering French, but is it possible that he hasn't really gotten the hang of English either? Or is the name of his roll, "When You're Finnish You'll Want More Saku" not the non-pun that I'm reading it as? Maybe he just wrote his name next to the roll's name and someone ran the two together. Either way, it's very close to a Finnish pun (and there can never, ever, EVER be too many of those) and it gave me a chuckle. So, it gets a pass. Hooray for Saku!
2. Mike Brown looks really natural as a chef, doesn't he? It seems like there's a Food Network show in there somewhere just waiting to be hatched. Hooray for Mike!
3. Nobody put shark in their rolls? For serious? In fairness, I'm not sure that would even be a viable option (in fact, I bet it's not)... but octopus is. Because screw Detroit. Just sayin'...
And just so nobody feels left out - Hooray for Scott! Hooray for James!
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Gazing Into the Ice Crystal Ball
If you've never taken a moment to think about ice, this is as good a time as any. It's amazing stuff, really. Water ice (the stuff we're concerned with as hockey aficionados) is primarily composed of a single, simple, symmetrical ionized molecule (that would be dihydrogen monoxide, or H2O) but never takes the same form twice. We've all heard that no two snowflakes are identical and, insofar as my Southern California lifestyle allows me to tell, that's true. But even more than that, no two forms of ice will ever be exactly the same. No matter how predictable the formation should be, what it will be is always variable.
And that's only true of some magical, theoretical pure ice. In reality, the ice will almost always have some sort of inclusion. The inclusion will happen, and it will change the shape of the outcome - possibly subtly, possibly not.
It might be tempting to call the inclusion an "impurity," but I don't see it that way. "Impurity" connotes a flaw that detracts some better, "pure" state. It suggests that the ideological version will always be superior to the practical version. That the version on paper is the virtuous one.
But, as they say in the sports world, the game isn't played on paper.
With that, I present my humble prognostications of the Ducks' final pre-season roster moves and opening night lineup.
Forwards
Line 1: Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan
You're not really going to ask me to explain this one, are you?
Line 2: Koivu-Selanne-Lupul
It's going to take some time to gel, and there may be more sensible options as the second wing for the Selanne-Koivu tandem, but Sunday's goal against the Kings (see it here and marvel) shows exactly what this line can do. As such, my money's on it being intact on opening night.
Line 3: Marchant-Brown-Ebbett
Here's where things get complicated. I'd have Petteri Nokelainen in this line and Erik Christensen centering the 4th line if he were at 100%. But he's not, it seems like it's Ryan Carter's eternal destiny to be a healthy scratch, and someone has to step up. By virtue of his still being on the roster as of this writing, it seems like Ebbett has indeed answered the call. If Coach Carlyle's comments have been genuine - if he really is looking to move away from a true checking line and closer to a tertiary scoring line - then Marchant-Brown-Ebbett makes good sense. All three are full of fight (if not necesasrily size), are unlikely to take too many penalties, and can chip in a goal from time to time. In this scenario I'm putting Marchant at center and Ebbett at left wing, but part of the grace of this concept is its interchangeability. It also helps that all three are, in their own way, big character guys. Odds are high that on any given shift, this threesome could be appropriately responsible and engage the (home) crowd. That's always a plus.
Line 4: Nokelainen**-Parros-Artyukhin
It just makes sense at this point. The Nokelainen-Brown-Parros line from last year was a thing of beauty. A well-oiled machine. A (insert positive imagery here). For time being, at least, I see merit in preserving a part of that line. But why, you may ask, is Artyukhin all the way down here? Simple - the bad penalties during the preseason. Coach Carlyle can't be happy about that, but I also can't see him benching the speed and muscle that Artyukhin can bring to the Anaheim system. The solution: stick him on the 4th line so he can grow with a minimal chance to do penalty damage. Ryan Carter remains a good option to center this line as well, but... see above.
Defensemen
There's a lot more pure speculation here. Properly warned ye be, says I.
Pair 1: Niedermeyer-Sbisa
Hey, I calls 'em like I sees 'em. Sbisa has been very solid (if obviously young) in his brief time as a Duck. I see no reason not to give him the Beauchemin treatment and start him at Niedermeyer's side. If it doesn't work out, Sbisa can be moved. If it does work out, we could be looking at another franchise player and engaging young star. It's the right call - at least for opening night.
Pair 2: Boynton-Whitney
Nick Boynton as a crease-clearing quasi-Pronger, Whitney and his slap shot at the other end of the ice. I'm a little concerned with Boynton's speed, but his size (at 6'1" and 218 lbs he's our biggest D-man) and experience will hopefully cover that deficiency.
Pair 3: Wisniewski-Mikkelson
The Steve Eminger I've been watching for these past few weeks just isn't quite up to par. I think he'll be on the roster as a #7 (i.e. as Carter's scratch buddy). Brendan Mikkelson (who kills in NHL 10, by the way) seems like the safer option. Also, he's been getting a very long look from the coaching staff, including his stint at forward in San Jose. Putting Wisniewski on the "bottom" pairing stings me a little since I'm a fan of any man who will take a puck to the chest, suffer a lung contusion, and still want to be in the lineup the next night. Conversely, I suspect that the defensive pairings will be more fungible this year than last year, and Pronger won't be gobbling up half of any given game, so the minutes will be much more evenly distributed. If there's one point that I'm pre-emptively assuming myself to be wrong about, it's this pairing. Wisniewski could just as easily fill Sbisa's spot on the #1 pair and Boynton's spot on the #2 pair for the exact reasons already given - he could use the Captain's babysitting (it's not that he plays young, and more that... well... who wouldn't benefit from that?) and he can clear the crease. With his chest.
Goalies
#1 - Giguere
#2 - Hiller
There it is, folks. I have called it, it is published, and you may mock me after Saturday's game. I won't say that Giguere has outplayed Hiller so far this year - even if I could definitively make that case based on what I saw, too much has gone on that I haven't seen - but I will say that he's the big-hearted option.
Having said that, Hiller was a Shark-killer in April and we're talking about opening night here, so I will be approximately 0% surprised if Hiller gets the first nod.
Hooray for backing down from your own convictions!
Saturday can't get here soon enough. There will have to be a few roster moves between now and then (including Logan MacMillan's inevitable shift back down to the minors and maybe, just maybe, placing either Eminger* or Boynton on waivers to alleviate the blueline glut) so we might not have to wait until the puck drops to see what the lineups will be. And until then, we're really just trying to draw the snowflake before it forms, aren't we?
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Hey, Steve. I'm sorry for ragging on you, man. You're probably a great guy and I'd happily buy you a beer and talk puck any time you wanted, but I just can't see you fitting into the team I love. Please prove me wrong. Please.
**Edit (7:37 pm): Someone (pretty sure it was Coach Carlyle, but not sure enough to say so outright) just mentioned in the Fan Forum while discussing the lineups that Nokelainen is "injured." I guess that groin strain is a little worse than advertised. That changes my prognostications a little... and is a major bummer.
September 28, 2009
Game H (Preseason): Kings 4 - Ducks 5
Well, kids, that's it. The end of the (pre-)line. It's in the (pre-)books.
The 2009 preseason record for the Anaheim Ducks: 5-3-0
Seriously, though: why does Bobby Ryan love laying the smack down on the Kings? I personally suspect (with no factual support whatsoever) that when he was younger he wanted to stay in the Kings' system. One factoid that I've found conspicuously absent from all the blurbs and bios is the reason why a kid from New Jersey would play junior hockey in Southern California. And why that same kid would initially reject the courting of the OHL. Now that he's made the big time, it's almost as though he's showing the Kings what they don't have, and doing so with regularity.
Don't believe me? Check out his tallies against the Kings:
9-30-08 (preseason) -- Ducks 2-Kings 1 (SO) -- 0 pts
10-1-08 (preseason) -- Kings 2-Ducks 3 (OT) -- 0 pts
(Hang on. It gets better.)
10-14-08 -- Ducks 3-Kings 6 -- B-Ry didn't play
11-4-08 -- Ducks 1-Kings 0 (OT) -- Bobbyless
11-16-08 -- Kings 0-Ducks 2 -- Still no Bobby
1-6-09 -- Kings 1-Ducks 3 -- 1 pt
1-8-09 -- Ducks 3-Kings 4 -- 3 pts*
2-18-09 -- Kings 4-Ducks 3 -- 0 pts
9-19-09 -- Ducks 1-Kings 4 -- Bobby sat out
9-27-09 (preseason) -- Kings 4-Ducks 5 -- 3 pts
There you go, kids. Let the statisticians call this an insignificant sample size if they must. I see 7 points in 6 games. Still not impressed? He was only on the top line for one of those games - the most recent one - and the lines were fluctuating so much during those January and February games that he was somewhere between a 2nd-liner and a 4th-liner**.
Those are some fierce numbers. The trend is such that you have to look at that February 18 game and wonder if he had eaten some dodgy Indian food or something.
Moving on...
There were also some guys on the ice last night not named Bobby Ryan. The final and game-winning goal of the evening, and the play of the game by many accounts, went from Selanne to Koivu to Lupul to net. Beautiful. And pretty much exactly what that second line ought to be doing a lot of this season, provided that they can keep healthy and focused. Right now, I choose to believe.
Also, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each took a goal and an assist. I think that means we can officially call it a very good night for the top line. This seems like a good time to mention The Hockey News' Pacific Division preview, in which Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan are referred to as "the envy of the league." That might be hyperbole, but I accept nonetheless.
Interestingly, Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar each found the net twice for LA. I'm sure that some people will feel conflicted about that.
But 4 Los Angeles goals (on 35 shots) wasn't enough to keep Anaheim down. Not this time.
And with that, I'm off to go muse about the final roster moves to be made. Hopefully I'll be able to post my wild speculation before any solid news gets out. It's more fun that way, and I'm more likely to look like a buffoon.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Let us never forget the 2:21 hat trick.
**Logically, one might assume that "between a 2nd-liner and a 4th-liner" would mean "a 3rd-liner," but that was never really the case while Marchant-Pahlsson-Moen were together. I always thought that the Ebbett-Selanne-Ryan version of the 2nd line was pretty slick, though. Just sayin'...
The 2009 preseason record for the Anaheim Ducks: 5-3-0
Seriously, though: why does Bobby Ryan love laying the smack down on the Kings? I personally suspect (with no factual support whatsoever) that when he was younger he wanted to stay in the Kings' system. One factoid that I've found conspicuously absent from all the blurbs and bios is the reason why a kid from New Jersey would play junior hockey in Southern California. And why that same kid would initially reject the courting of the OHL. Now that he's made the big time, it's almost as though he's showing the Kings what they don't have, and doing so with regularity.
Don't believe me? Check out his tallies against the Kings:
9-30-08 (preseason) -- Ducks 2-Kings 1 (SO) -- 0 pts
10-1-08 (preseason) -- Kings 2-Ducks 3 (OT) -- 0 pts
(Hang on. It gets better.)
10-14-08 -- Ducks 3-Kings 6 -- B-Ry didn't play
11-4-08 -- Ducks 1-Kings 0 (OT) -- Bobbyless
11-16-08 -- Kings 0-Ducks 2 -- Still no Bobby
1-6-09 -- Kings 1-Ducks 3 -- 1 pt
1-8-09 -- Ducks 3-Kings 4 -- 3 pts*
2-18-09 -- Kings 4-Ducks 3 -- 0 pts
9-19-09 -- Ducks 1-Kings 4 -- Bobby sat out
9-27-09 (preseason) -- Kings 4-Ducks 5 -- 3 pts
There you go, kids. Let the statisticians call this an insignificant sample size if they must. I see 7 points in 6 games. Still not impressed? He was only on the top line for one of those games - the most recent one - and the lines were fluctuating so much during those January and February games that he was somewhere between a 2nd-liner and a 4th-liner**.
Those are some fierce numbers. The trend is such that you have to look at that February 18 game and wonder if he had eaten some dodgy Indian food or something.
Moving on...
There were also some guys on the ice last night not named Bobby Ryan. The final and game-winning goal of the evening, and the play of the game by many accounts, went from Selanne to Koivu to Lupul to net. Beautiful. And pretty much exactly what that second line ought to be doing a lot of this season, provided that they can keep healthy and focused. Right now, I choose to believe.
Also, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each took a goal and an assist. I think that means we can officially call it a very good night for the top line. This seems like a good time to mention The Hockey News' Pacific Division preview, in which Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan are referred to as "the envy of the league." That might be hyperbole, but I accept nonetheless.
Interestingly, Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar each found the net twice for LA. I'm sure that some people will feel conflicted about that.
But 4 Los Angeles goals (on 35 shots) wasn't enough to keep Anaheim down. Not this time.
And with that, I'm off to go muse about the final roster moves to be made. Hopefully I'll be able to post my wild speculation before any solid news gets out. It's more fun that way, and I'm more likely to look like a buffoon.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Let us never forget the 2:21 hat trick.
**Logically, one might assume that "between a 2nd-liner and a 4th-liner" would mean "a 3rd-liner," but that was never really the case while Marchant-Pahlsson-Moen were together. I always thought that the Ebbett-Selanne-Ryan version of the 2nd line was pretty slick, though. Just sayin'...
September 25, 2009
Game G (Preseason) Ducks 0 - Sharks 6
Hey, Justin.
Two words for you, brother: never again.
Dumb penalties were taken by the guys in front of you. I get that.
The offense didn't produce like it could (and should) have. Not much you can do about that.
Tonight's lineups were a little light and a little shaky. Nothing you can do about that.
Though admitting it hurts like face-planting on a sea urchin, San Jose was packing a lot of heat up front tonight.* That's just part of the game.
But 6 goals on 36 shots?
Never again.
That is all.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*This is an even more damning point when you realize that 3 of the 6 goals came from Douglas Murray. That's 50% more goals that he's scored in his tenure to date as a Shark.
To reiterate, tonight saw the following tallies:
Joe Thornton - 0 goals
Dany Heatley - 0 goals
Patrick Marleau - 0 goals
Rob Blake - 0 goals
Joe Pavelski - 0 goals
This guy (shown here being broken by George Parros)?
- 3 goals
My brain hurts. I'm going to go drink now.
Edit: Pogge was sent down to the minors, suprising nobody. Timo Pielmeier did a celebratory Batusi upon realizing that he, in fact, might be Anaheim's real #3 - at least based on the stats in the books during training camp and the preseason.
Two words for you, brother: never again.
Dumb penalties were taken by the guys in front of you. I get that.
The offense didn't produce like it could (and should) have. Not much you can do about that.
Tonight's lineups were a little light and a little shaky. Nothing you can do about that.
Though admitting it hurts like face-planting on a sea urchin, San Jose was packing a lot of heat up front tonight.* That's just part of the game.
But 6 goals on 36 shots?
Never again.
That is all.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*This is an even more damning point when you realize that 3 of the 6 goals came from Douglas Murray. That's 50% more goals that he's scored in his tenure to date as a Shark.
To reiterate, tonight saw the following tallies:
Joe Thornton - 0 goals
Dany Heatley - 0 goals
Patrick Marleau - 0 goals
Rob Blake - 0 goals
Joe Pavelski - 0 goals
This guy (shown here being broken by George Parros)?
- 3 goals
My brain hurts. I'm going to go drink now.
Edit: Pogge was sent down to the minors, suprising nobody. Timo Pielmeier did a celebratory Batusi upon realizing that he, in fact, might be Anaheim's real #3 - at least based on the stats in the books during training camp and the preseason.
Catching up is hard to do
So, seeing the Ducks' preseason games has turned out to be... challenging.
By "challenging," I mean "virtually impossible."
That's why the last few recaps appear the way they do. Things will get better as the season progresses and the games are, you know, viewable. I promise
As tempting as it is to opine on recent headlines, some of which involve the financial stakes and coaching staff of a certain intra-division buddy, I won't take up space by doing that, either. Gotta stay on mission, after all, and my boundless booming homerism tells me that this blog will stay Duck-centric.
Instead, I'll just sign off now and look forward to the opportunity to enjoy a radio broadcast of tonight's game. In my mind, it's being billed as "Ducks/Sharks II - The Fish Have No Finns."*
Time will tell, and October 3rd really can't get here fast enough.
Until next time...
The Raving Duck
*The world can never, ever, ever, EVER have too many Finnish puns. This was just an easy one.
By "challenging," I mean "virtually impossible."
That's why the last few recaps appear the way they do. Things will get better as the season progresses and the games are, you know, viewable. I promise
As tempting as it is to opine on recent headlines, some of which involve the financial stakes and coaching staff of a certain intra-division buddy, I won't take up space by doing that, either. Gotta stay on mission, after all, and my boundless booming homerism tells me that this blog will stay Duck-centric.
Instead, I'll just sign off now and look forward to the opportunity to enjoy a radio broadcast of tonight's game. In my mind, it's being billed as "Ducks/Sharks II - The Fish Have No Finns."*
Time will tell, and October 3rd really can't get here fast enough.
Until next time...
The Raving Duck
*The world can never, ever, ever, EVER have too many Finnish puns. This was just an easy one.
Game F (Preseason): Ducks 3 - Canucks 2
I lovelovelovelovelove the idea of the Ducks as spoilers. As dream-breakers. As the tenacious (and pugnacious) little bastards who take your little plans and dreams and drop kick them into a brick wall because they can.
Vancouver just got a little taste as their perfect preseason was wrecked by Anaheim.
Awesome. And great payback for that shutout loss last week.
Also, Teemu rocked it with the game-winner.
Fantastic.
It is October yet?
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Edit: Found this photo and am risking the wrath of the AP by running it, but I'm placing it here as good luck. As a harbinger of things to come. All things considered, we should be seeing this image quite a bit during this season.
Vancouver just got a little taste as their perfect preseason was wrecked by Anaheim.
Awesome. And great payback for that shutout loss last week.
Also, Teemu rocked it with the game-winner.
Fantastic.
It is October yet?
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Edit: Found this photo and am risking the wrath of the AP by running it, but I'm placing it here as good luck. As a harbinger of things to come. All things considered, we should be seeing this image quite a bit during this season.
Game E (Preseason): Sharks 2 - Ducks 3
Hey, Sharks! What's up? How's work been going? How's your mom?
Yeah.... great, great.
You remember the Ducks, right? I know that it's been a while since you've seen each other.
Perhaps you'll recall the flaming thud that was the end of your best season ever? Aw, sure you do - it was only in April, so it gave you a nice, long summer to seethe about it.
Those guys who whupped your flashy and skilled yet non-commital asses? Those were the Ducks.
And they're back. With a purpose.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck.
Yeah.... great, great.
You remember the Ducks, right? I know that it's been a while since you've seen each other.
Perhaps you'll recall the flaming thud that was the end of your best season ever? Aw, sure you do - it was only in April, so it gave you a nice, long summer to seethe about it.
Those guys who whupped your flashy and skilled yet non-commital asses? Those were the Ducks.
And they're back. With a purpose.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck.
September 18, 2009
Game B (Preseason): Canucks 3 - Ducks 0
The Anaheim Ducks beat the Carolina Hurricanes in 5 games to win the Stanley Cup!
Oh, wait. That was just on my Xbox.
Apropos, since the real Ducks apparently spent last night wishing that they were at home with their video game systems of choice. Seeing as how I was unable to watch the game myself, I'm relying on statistics to tell the story. Those statistics say that in their debut as an NHL tandem, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu combined for 6 shots and no points in 36:04 of ice time.
Bummer.
They also say that Corey Perry and Andrew Ebbett were effectively shut down, notching only 2 shots in 16:52 and 1 shot in 18:26, respectively. That's not really damning for Perry, but Ebbett needed to come out strong in order to earn a spot on the roster.
In fairness, 3:01 of Ebbett's 18:26 was on the PK (second only to Mark Mitera and James Wisniewski, who each logged 3:13 on the kill), so clearly there's some confidence there. Still, the tale of his numbers is one of malaise. It's what the kids would call "weak sauce," and it was indicative of the team's performance as a whole.
Or as Randy "Ray of Sunshine" Carylye put it: "We got outplayed."
On the bright side, Justin Pogge stopped 19 of 20 shots, so he's on pace for a GAA of 1.98 with the Ducks. That's a 119.6% improvement from his time in Toronto. Think about that. A 119.6% improvement*. Pretty groovy.
Alrighty then.
The team is off to Phoenix for a rematch. I'll start thinking happy thoughts now.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Yes, I'm fully aware of how specious that statistic is, and that it doesn't mean anything about anything, but I couldn't bear to write an entirely negative post.
September 17, 2009
Game A (Preseason): Coyotes 2 - Ducks 3 (SO)
Did you miss the warm embrace of a Ducks victory as much as I did?
On paper, the preseason opener against Phoenix was a close one, but the Ducks were never really in danger of losing it.
Some thoughts about the game last night:
All in all, it was a fine showing for the flock of new Ducks. Call it premature if you like - you won't be wrong to do so - but I'm sensing very big things for this team.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Yes, I know that there have been rumblings of the Ducks attempting to roll three scoring lines at the expense of a true checking line, but I won't believe it until I see it. The configurations of Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan, Selanne-Koivu-Lupul, Marchant-Brown-Artyukhin, and Parros-Nokelainen-(probably Carter) seem too solid not to try in most situations.
On paper, the preseason opener against Phoenix was a close one, but the Ducks were never really in danger of losing it.
Some thoughts about the game last night:
- So, that Bobby Ryan kid is pretty good, eh? None of his three goals for the night were particularly pretty, but they were effective. Honda Center was only about half full last night, but you wouldn't know it from the volume of the "Bobby" chants.
- Joffrey Lupul, on the other hand, seemed like he spent most of the night warming up. He wasn't skating particularly hard and lagged behind a few plays. Then, when the team needed him most, he potted a very slick shootout goal over Jason LaBarbera's shoulder. It's good to see him back in a Ducks uniform, and the shots that he did manage to pop off make me very interested to see how he looks on the seemingly-inevitable line with Selanne and Koivu.
- Apparently, a happy Mike Brown is a dangerous Mike Brown. The guy was all over the ice, ramming everyone he could into the nearest board and smiling about it afterwards. Prior to tonight's game I had stubbornly hoped Brownie to stay on the fourth line with George Parros. However, if he can keep up the tenacity that he had tonight, he'll be better used on a checking line* with Todd Marchant and...
- ...Evgeny Artyukhin. Seriously. Evgeny Artyukhin. He may have displayed stone hands last night, but they couldn't weigh him down. The man was all over the ice mopping up everything that Brown left behind. A few of his hits were awkward and he invited a couple of holding calls (the thankfully didn't come), but with a little time to refine his skills he could wind up being a major role-player this year.
- Who greased up the sticks before the game? They were falling out of players' hands left and right - Dan Sexton's most of all (but that didn't stop him from notching two assists, so I suppose it's alright).
- It occurred to me while watching the game that it can't be easy to be Peter Holland right now. When you're looking up the roster and seeing Ryan Getzlaf, Saku Koivu (!) and Todd Marchant as surefires, plus have guys like Nokelainen, Carter, Christensen and Ebbett all ready and willing to play Center ahead of you, you know it's going to be a long road. Unfortunately, it also seemed to occur to Peter Holland that it can't be easy to be Peter Holland right now. His little mistakes built through the night, and by the end of the game he was sitting on the bench, hanging his head like a scolded grade-schooler. He definitely needs some more time to develop.
- As does Timo Pielmeier. The goal he gave up was mostly due to Sheldon Brookbank's sudden and inexplicable decision to take a nap with the puck in the crease, but some extra lower-body strength on Pielmeier's part would have been enough to keep that puck on the right side of the line.
- Hiller looked pretty good out there, even if the goal he gave up was an unfortunate one. He has to work on that rebound control, though. There were too many juicy second chances just waiting to be had. It's a good thing, then, that Phoenix is apparently too cool to capitalize on second chances.
- If you've noticed how little I've said about the defense, it's because less is more in this case. Luca Sbisa was decent, but was veering way too low whenever he got a chance (I caught Mike Brown covering the point while Sbisa was crashing the net on two separate occasions; it really ought to be the other way around). Poor Steve Eminger mostly looked lost out there. Brookbank and Mikkelson both made too many little mistakes for the outing to be considered a true success, and Brian Salcido didn't fare much better (though he was definitely the best of the three returning Ducks defenders and showed some much-needed tenacity). Only Nick Boynton really held his own out there. Then again, we're talking about the preseason opener, so there's plenty of time left for three of these guys (and/or maybe possibly Brett Festerling) to rise to the call.
- Last but not least, Troy Bodie won a few hearts last night with his fight. If and when he gets called up to the big game, I'll be happy to see him. That said, he's another one of those unfortunate bubble players who's probably too good for the minors, but won't be able to cut it in the majors. Maybe if he grows a moustache...
All in all, it was a fine showing for the flock of new Ducks. Call it premature if you like - you won't be wrong to do so - but I'm sensing very big things for this team.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Yes, I know that there have been rumblings of the Ducks attempting to roll three scoring lines at the expense of a true checking line, but I won't believe it until I see it. The configurations of Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan, Selanne-Koivu-Lupul, Marchant-Brown-Artyukhin, and Parros-Nokelainen-(probably Carter) seem too solid not to try in most situations.
September 16, 2009
The Final Countdown
We're hours away from our first preseason game. There seems to be an extra crackle in the air, and it's deeply gratifying to know that some time very, very soon, the Honda Center doors will be opening on a new frontier.
According to the official Ducks website, we'll have an interesting mix of players strutting their stuff tonight. It's probably time to eat a little crow about my earlier write-off of Timo Pielmeier, as he's highly-thought-of enough to warrant tonight's backup job. I would've bet $5 that Pogge would have been on the bench, but that would have made me $5 poorer.
There aren't any big surprises in the forward lineup, but I do find it kind of amusing that Bobby Ryan is leading the charge tonight. Don't get me wrong - I'm as impressed with the kid as anyone and can't wait to see what he can do with a full season (in a contract year) on the top line - but it's another sign of Anaheim's rampant turnover that the premier skater in tonight's game has been with the team full-time for less than a year.
On defense, we have three new faces in Luca Sbisa, Nick Boynton and Steve Eminger, and three of our more interesting developing D-men with Sheldon Brookbank, Brian Salcido and Brendan Mikkelson. I fully expect Coach Carlyle to swap around several of these pairings to see who plays well together. But what about Brett Festerling? Is his omission here something worth noting, or simply a side effect of just how many players are competing for, at best, three spots on the blue line? Perhaps it's best to wait until we see tomorrow night's lineup before we make any calls.
Meanwhile, I'll be watching the clock wind slowly to 7pm. The skates are sharp, the ice is fresh, and the nacho cheese is heating up.
It's almost here.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
According to the official Ducks website, we'll have an interesting mix of players strutting their stuff tonight. It's probably time to eat a little crow about my earlier write-off of Timo Pielmeier, as he's highly-thought-of enough to warrant tonight's backup job. I would've bet $5 that Pogge would have been on the bench, but that would have made me $5 poorer.
There aren't any big surprises in the forward lineup, but I do find it kind of amusing that Bobby Ryan is leading the charge tonight. Don't get me wrong - I'm as impressed with the kid as anyone and can't wait to see what he can do with a full season (in a contract year) on the top line - but it's another sign of Anaheim's rampant turnover that the premier skater in tonight's game has been with the team full-time for less than a year.
On defense, we have three new faces in Luca Sbisa, Nick Boynton and Steve Eminger, and three of our more interesting developing D-men with Sheldon Brookbank, Brian Salcido and Brendan Mikkelson. I fully expect Coach Carlyle to swap around several of these pairings to see who plays well together. But what about Brett Festerling? Is his omission here something worth noting, or simply a side effect of just how many players are competing for, at best, three spots on the blue line? Perhaps it's best to wait until we see tomorrow night's lineup before we make any calls.
Meanwhile, I'll be watching the clock wind slowly to 7pm. The skates are sharp, the ice is fresh, and the nacho cheese is heating up.
It's almost here.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
September 15, 2009
It's Game Time
Video game time, that is.
Pardon the brevity, but I'm about to immerse myself in NHL 10's many refinements. But before I do, here are a few random observations that have no bearing on anything of import, but are interesting nonetheless.
*Out of the box, the Ducks are rated 87 on Offense, 84 on Defense, and 88 on Goaltending. Compared with 89/87/89 for the Penguins, 87/85/91 for the Sharks (in their pre-Heatley configuration, sure to be updated shortly), 85/86/88 for the Stars, 86/86/86 for the Kings and 86/83/88 for the Coyotes, I find only the Sharks 91 in goaltending to be off-kilter. The rest seems fair enough in my humble estimation. Also, Detroit rates at 87/85/87, meaning that they're almost exactly on pace with the Ducks in the eyes of the fine folks at EA. Again, I find that to be a fair estimation.
*The forward lines are set as Getzlaf/Perry/Ryan, Koivu/Selanne/Lupul, Christensen/Ebbett/Carter, and Parros/Marchant/Brown. I suppose that 2 out of 4 isn't a terrible rate of success, but even based on before the last bits of our offseason trading frenzy fell into place those bottom two lines seem... off. Still, it's good to see #48 getting some love.
*The defense pairings are Niedermeyer/Wisniewski, Boynton/Whitney, and Sbisa/McCarthy. All three are highly suspect and appear to be driven only by players' in-game ratings.
*Last, but not least, Hiller is slotted as the #1 goalie despite being rated 84 overall, while Giguere (and his slyly-grinning portrait) holds an 85 rating and the #2 seat.
Also, the Ducks' "logo" (I think we've already established that I'm a fan, so you'll know where I'm coming from when I say that the word "Ducks" in pointy letters isn't a logo, it's a font) is awkwardly placed in several of the selection screens. At the moment, I'm looking at a pre-game screen with the Winged Wheel and... an orange U.
Enough rambling - I'll see you in the EASHL.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Pardon the brevity, but I'm about to immerse myself in NHL 10's many refinements. But before I do, here are a few random observations that have no bearing on anything of import, but are interesting nonetheless.
*Out of the box, the Ducks are rated 87 on Offense, 84 on Defense, and 88 on Goaltending. Compared with 89/87/89 for the Penguins, 87/85/91 for the Sharks (in their pre-Heatley configuration, sure to be updated shortly), 85/86/88 for the Stars, 86/86/86 for the Kings and 86/83/88 for the Coyotes, I find only the Sharks 91 in goaltending to be off-kilter. The rest seems fair enough in my humble estimation. Also, Detroit rates at 87/85/87, meaning that they're almost exactly on pace with the Ducks in the eyes of the fine folks at EA. Again, I find that to be a fair estimation.
*The forward lines are set as Getzlaf/Perry/Ryan, Koivu/Selanne/Lupul, Christensen/Ebbett/Carter, and Parros/Marchant/Brown. I suppose that 2 out of 4 isn't a terrible rate of success, but even based on before the last bits of our offseason trading frenzy fell into place those bottom two lines seem... off. Still, it's good to see #48 getting some love.
*The defense pairings are Niedermeyer/Wisniewski, Boynton/Whitney, and Sbisa/McCarthy. All three are highly suspect and appear to be driven only by players' in-game ratings.
*Last, but not least, Hiller is slotted as the #1 goalie despite being rated 84 overall, while Giguere (and his slyly-grinning portrait) holds an 85 rating and the #2 seat.
Also, the Ducks' "logo" (I think we've already established that I'm a fan, so you'll know where I'm coming from when I say that the word "Ducks" in pointy letters isn't a logo, it's a font) is awkwardly placed in several of the selection screens. At the moment, I'm looking at a pre-game screen with the Winged Wheel and... an orange U.
Enough rambling - I'll see you in the EASHL.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
September 14, 2009
Holy Star Treatment, Batman!
Seriously, did the NHL read my "nobody loves us" comments below?
Yeah, okay, it's just the start of 2009-2010 season previews, but I don't really care. Better to just take this warm embrace and run with it. Just in case our front page glory is gone by the time you're reading this, check out the main article here.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
The 2-Headed Beast
Is anyone else as riveted as I am by the surge of press coverage about the upcoming war between J.S. Giguere and Jonas Hiller?
Of course, something tells me that it won't be the war that's been hyped. Frankly, it probably won't even be a skirmish.
Why?
Because both gentlemen are professionals. This summer has really gotten me thinking about how lucky the Ducks are in one key regard: they are a team of men.
To use a timely example, when was the last time you heard of a Duck player assaulting a cabbie? For that matter, when was the last time you heard of a Duck assaulting anyone? (And no, Mike Brown's hit on Jiri Hudler this past postseason doesn't count as assault - for the last time, it was a clean hit, dammit.)
On top of that, I can't remember a single occasion post-lockout (i.e. under the current set of financial limitations faced by teams) where a Duck asked to be traded out of Southern California. As an OC native, I can intuitively understand why a player might be a little slower to leave here than, say, Ottawa (*coughcoughHeatleycough*), but it's still interesting to note.
Saku Koivu's quip from when he was traded probably sums it up as well as any: "Coming from Montreal to sunny beautiful California is going to be different. It’s been nothing but hockey in Montreal for 14 years, and I’m sure it’s going to be different. I’m fairly confident I’m going to like that."
(A minor digression: That's part of what made Francois Beauchemin's departure a tough one, in my mind. I have no doubt that he would have stayed if he could have, and in all likelihood the departure of Pronger would have automatically anointed Frankie B as the #2 defenseman, but he thought he was worth more money and Brian Burke proved him right. Tough deal for us, and I hope that I'll get to hear some candid feelings from him about his new environs, but in the interim I'll keep my autographed puck in the display case...)
And this takes me back to the Giguere/Hiller situation. I can't believe that either of them actively wants to leave Anaheim, so the only reason either of them is likely to do so is if they've lost our #1 netminder job and someone else comes calling. Sure, it could happen, and from a salary standpoint it's a lot more likely that another team will try to snipe Hiller than Giguere, but the trade has to be approved by both parties and the Ducks won't let go of either goalie easily.
So what's going to happen? If our front office is as intelligent as I give them credit for being, they'll keep up the "1A and 1B" spiel right up until somebody hits either a hot streak or a slump. That's when things will change. But as Giguere himself recently alluded, the battle won't be between the goalies, it will be in each goalie's head.
It's up to Giguere to put his personal demons behind him and keep his eyes on the puck. If he can do that, and if he can swallow shots like we know he can, he'll be back to his old self in no time. Having Pete Peeters as a new and apparently highly-supportive voice can only help in that regard.
It's up to Hiller to ignore the cacophany that now surrounds him, and to tighten up his already tight system so that he allows as few rebounds as possible. Until our new defensive corps proves that they'll be able to retrieve any pucks that Hiller leaves prone, the onus will be on Hiller not to leave them prone in the first place. And again, having a few all-new tips from Peeters (or at least an all-new perspective on the same old tips) should be a boon.
And what about that Pogge kid? It's almost impossible to say at this point. He simply hasn't yet done what the scouts and pundits thought he could. Maybe he'll turn that around here, maybe not, but being without a steady gig in the AHL will be a damper on his development.
(I'm sorry, Levasseur and Pielmeier, but you've got some waiting to do. Unless a long string of unlikely events occurs, you're not going to be part of this year's conversation.)
All in all, we're lucky to have two excellent netminders and a potentially solid #3. Nobody is going to request a trade unless they bring it on themself by underperforming. Nobody is going to directly compete with anyone or anything outside of their own body. And most importantly, nobody is going to be locker room poison just because they're feeling pouty (looking at you again, Heatley).
Now, if Bob Murray thinks that he can move a certain 2-year, $13 million salary and get a decent return on it, that's another story...
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
Of course, something tells me that it won't be the war that's been hyped. Frankly, it probably won't even be a skirmish.
Why?
Because both gentlemen are professionals. This summer has really gotten me thinking about how lucky the Ducks are in one key regard: they are a team of men.
To use a timely example, when was the last time you heard of a Duck player assaulting a cabbie? For that matter, when was the last time you heard of a Duck assaulting anyone? (And no, Mike Brown's hit on Jiri Hudler this past postseason doesn't count as assault - for the last time, it was a clean hit, dammit.)
On top of that, I can't remember a single occasion post-lockout (i.e. under the current set of financial limitations faced by teams) where a Duck asked to be traded out of Southern California. As an OC native, I can intuitively understand why a player might be a little slower to leave here than, say, Ottawa (*coughcoughHeatleycough*), but it's still interesting to note.
Saku Koivu's quip from when he was traded probably sums it up as well as any: "Coming from Montreal to sunny beautiful California is going to be different. It’s been nothing but hockey in Montreal for 14 years, and I’m sure it’s going to be different. I’m fairly confident I’m going to like that."
(A minor digression: That's part of what made Francois Beauchemin's departure a tough one, in my mind. I have no doubt that he would have stayed if he could have, and in all likelihood the departure of Pronger would have automatically anointed Frankie B as the #2 defenseman, but he thought he was worth more money and Brian Burke proved him right. Tough deal for us, and I hope that I'll get to hear some candid feelings from him about his new environs, but in the interim I'll keep my autographed puck in the display case...)
And this takes me back to the Giguere/Hiller situation. I can't believe that either of them actively wants to leave Anaheim, so the only reason either of them is likely to do so is if they've lost our #1 netminder job and someone else comes calling. Sure, it could happen, and from a salary standpoint it's a lot more likely that another team will try to snipe Hiller than Giguere, but the trade has to be approved by both parties and the Ducks won't let go of either goalie easily.
So what's going to happen? If our front office is as intelligent as I give them credit for being, they'll keep up the "1A and 1B" spiel right up until somebody hits either a hot streak or a slump. That's when things will change. But as Giguere himself recently alluded, the battle won't be between the goalies, it will be in each goalie's head.
It's up to Giguere to put his personal demons behind him and keep his eyes on the puck. If he can do that, and if he can swallow shots like we know he can, he'll be back to his old self in no time. Having Pete Peeters as a new and apparently highly-supportive voice can only help in that regard.
It's up to Hiller to ignore the cacophany that now surrounds him, and to tighten up his already tight system so that he allows as few rebounds as possible. Until our new defensive corps proves that they'll be able to retrieve any pucks that Hiller leaves prone, the onus will be on Hiller not to leave them prone in the first place. And again, having a few all-new tips from Peeters (or at least an all-new perspective on the same old tips) should be a boon.
And what about that Pogge kid? It's almost impossible to say at this point. He simply hasn't yet done what the scouts and pundits thought he could. Maybe he'll turn that around here, maybe not, but being without a steady gig in the AHL will be a damper on his development.
(I'm sorry, Levasseur and Pielmeier, but you've got some waiting to do. Unless a long string of unlikely events occurs, you're not going to be part of this year's conversation.)
All in all, we're lucky to have two excellent netminders and a potentially solid #3. Nobody is going to request a trade unless they bring it on themself by underperforming. Nobody is going to directly compete with anyone or anything outside of their own body. And most importantly, nobody is going to be locker room poison just because they're feeling pouty (looking at you again, Heatley).
Now, if Bob Murray thinks that he can move a certain 2-year, $13 million salary and get a decent return on it, that's another story...
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
September 13, 2009
Hello There!
Welcome to the party, Ducks fans!
First, a bit of pre-history. It's really all about Blades of Steel (play a halfway decent version here). My dad and I would play for hours on end, letting the NES controller jam its hard little corners into our sweaty palms. Surely there were some Oedipal overtones in my trying to draw my father into fights, but I won't examine that too deeply right now...
I usually played as Toronto because I liked the blue players, and my dad was usually New York. So many fights. So many zamboni interludes. So many angry goalies pounding the ice like an 8-bit King Kong.
Also, there was some dude named Gretzky playing up the road in LA. Apparently that was a big deal or something.
And so it was that the NES and grainy telecasts of Kings games spurred me into wanting to play hockey. I took one skating lesson that resulted in my falling and breaking my wrist after about 5 minutes on the ice.
With playing hockey ceasing to be an option, I was left with a renewed passion for the game and an irrational fear of slick, hard surfaces.
~Fast forward a couple more years~
Disney made a hockey movie. My mom took me to see it, and it was pretty good. Not only did the good guys win, but they did so with an awesome Triple Deke. Realism be damned - how can you not love that?
Then, next thing you know, the Mighty Ducks were going to be a real hockey team. And not a team of misfit kids led by a washed-up lawyer. Like, an actual team. A hockey team that would play hockey in Orange County. Wham, bam, thank you Disney.
Coincidentally, the company that my dad was working for at the time was intrigued by the new arena in Anaheim and went in on a suite with a few other companies. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you create a Ducks fan. My impressionable little mind made its decision right then and there at the very first game I attended: Wild Wing was awesome, and so was the team. Paul Kariya! Guy Hebert! Oleg Tverdovsky! A bunch of other guys with awesome names!
I was an instant die-hard. My commemorative Inaugural Season puck, bought at that very first game (#5869 of 9394, by the way) remains a cherished possession, fresh and clean in its original package. And yet, I was young enough at the start that the attraction was at least as much about being able to throw peanut shells on the floor as it was about the game itself.
One man changed that. Teemu Selanne.
Allow me to repeat that.
TEEMU SELANNE.
This guy right here. This is the guy.
To this day, I couldn't tell you exactly what it is about him that I found so magnetic, but there you have it. From the moment he became a Mighty Duck, I was myself unable to take my eyes off him. If he was on the ice, so was the entirety of my attention.
Teemu Selanne.
Oh, sure. There were and are and surely will be plenty of other luminaries to don a (Mighty) Ducks sweater, and each of them has added their own special spice to the OC hockey gumbo.
That's part of what makes the Ducks so... unique. Even after all the wins, after all the big names and personalities to arrive (some of whom stayed, some not so much *coughFedorovcough*), and after an especially good offseason in 2007, we somehow remain a footnote. We aren't a love-us-or-hate-us team like so many other upper-echelon teams are. We're more of the love-us-or-forget-we-exist option. As a local, and as a Day-1 fan, it's fascinating to watch my team get overlooked with such shocking regularity. Hell, even the NHL's own "30-in-30" piece on the Ducks alluded to their inability to get the respect they deserve.
Up or down, winning or losing, the Ducks will be respected here.
"So, what's this blog gonna be about, anyways?"
Good question, faithful reader. In addition to the occasional worship at the altars of Selanne, Niedermeyer, Parros (yeah, that's right - I'm a 'stache fan) and the rest of the core that makes us so freakin' fantastic, you can come here for a Duck fan's perspective on as many of our 8 preseason, 82 regular season, and 16 postseason* games as my fingers will allow. This promises to be an outstanding year of hockey here in Anaheim, and as soon as that first puck drops on September 16, I'll be here to tell you what I see.
There will also be plenty of Shark-bashing and Red Wing-hating. You've been warned.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Yes, I just predicted a loss-free run to the Cup. So sue me. I'm an optimist.
First, a bit of pre-history. It's really all about Blades of Steel (play a halfway decent version here). My dad and I would play for hours on end, letting the NES controller jam its hard little corners into our sweaty palms. Surely there were some Oedipal overtones in my trying to draw my father into fights, but I won't examine that too deeply right now...
I usually played as Toronto because I liked the blue players, and my dad was usually New York. So many fights. So many zamboni interludes. So many angry goalies pounding the ice like an 8-bit King Kong.
Also, there was some dude named Gretzky playing up the road in LA. Apparently that was a big deal or something.
And so it was that the NES and grainy telecasts of Kings games spurred me into wanting to play hockey. I took one skating lesson that resulted in my falling and breaking my wrist after about 5 minutes on the ice.
With playing hockey ceasing to be an option, I was left with a renewed passion for the game and an irrational fear of slick, hard surfaces.
~Fast forward a couple more years~
Disney made a hockey movie. My mom took me to see it, and it was pretty good. Not only did the good guys win, but they did so with an awesome Triple Deke. Realism be damned - how can you not love that?
Then, next thing you know, the Mighty Ducks were going to be a real hockey team. And not a team of misfit kids led by a washed-up lawyer. Like, an actual team. A hockey team that would play hockey in Orange County. Wham, bam, thank you Disney.
Coincidentally, the company that my dad was working for at the time was intrigued by the new arena in Anaheim and went in on a suite with a few other companies. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you create a Ducks fan. My impressionable little mind made its decision right then and there at the very first game I attended: Wild Wing was awesome, and so was the team. Paul Kariya! Guy Hebert! Oleg Tverdovsky! A bunch of other guys with awesome names!
I was an instant die-hard. My commemorative Inaugural Season puck, bought at that very first game (#5869 of 9394, by the way) remains a cherished possession, fresh and clean in its original package. And yet, I was young enough at the start that the attraction was at least as much about being able to throw peanut shells on the floor as it was about the game itself.
One man changed that. Teemu Selanne.
Allow me to repeat that.
TEEMU SELANNE.
This guy right here. This is the guy.
To this day, I couldn't tell you exactly what it is about him that I found so magnetic, but there you have it. From the moment he became a Mighty Duck, I was myself unable to take my eyes off him. If he was on the ice, so was the entirety of my attention.
Teemu Selanne.
Oh, sure. There were and are and surely will be plenty of other luminaries to don a (Mighty) Ducks sweater, and each of them has added their own special spice to the OC hockey gumbo.
That's part of what makes the Ducks so... unique. Even after all the wins, after all the big names and personalities to arrive (some of whom stayed, some not so much *coughFedorovcough*), and after an especially good offseason in 2007, we somehow remain a footnote. We aren't a love-us-or-hate-us team like so many other upper-echelon teams are. We're more of the love-us-or-forget-we-exist option. As a local, and as a Day-1 fan, it's fascinating to watch my team get overlooked with such shocking regularity. Hell, even the NHL's own "30-in-30" piece on the Ducks alluded to their inability to get the respect they deserve.
Up or down, winning or losing, the Ducks will be respected here.
"So, what's this blog gonna be about, anyways?"
Good question, faithful reader. In addition to the occasional worship at the altars of Selanne, Niedermeyer, Parros (yeah, that's right - I'm a 'stache fan) and the rest of the core that makes us so freakin' fantastic, you can come here for a Duck fan's perspective on as many of our 8 preseason, 82 regular season, and 16 postseason* games as my fingers will allow. This promises to be an outstanding year of hockey here in Anaheim, and as soon as that first puck drops on September 16, I'll be here to tell you what I see.
There will also be plenty of Shark-bashing and Red Wing-hating. You've been warned.
Until next time...
-The Raving Duck
*Yes, I just predicted a loss-free run to the Cup. So sue me. I'm an optimist.
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