Game 10: Maple Leafs 6 - Ducks 3

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

Game 9: Blue Jackets 6 - Ducks 4

So close.

Again.


But we lost.

Again.

Until next time...
-The Raving Duck

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

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:

• 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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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:

• 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?

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

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.

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

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.