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'...