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
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