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.