Ducks/Sharks, A Rather Large Game

Big.  Huge.  Enormous.  Gigantic.  Humongous.  Colossal.  Titanic.  Gargantuan.  Monumental.  Astronomical.  Immense.  The magnitude of tonight’s game cannot be understated.

There is some excess animosity floating around this game after Saturday’s nastiness.  Douglas Murray was pretty tactful in discussing his hit on Lubomir Visnovsky after the game, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic (aka Pickels) had this to say of George Parros to the San Jose Mercury News.

“If Jay (Jason Demers) was on that side, he would have went after Jay,” Vlasic said. “The only guy he wouldn’t have gone after was Douglas Murray. Dougie hits Visnovsky 4-2, 20 seconds left, you put the fighter on the ice. What do you think?”

Then there’s the playoff preview factor.  The Ducks need to show that they can beat this Sharks team.  They’ve gone 2-3 so far in the season series versus San Jose.  Since the last time the Ducks beat the Sharks, San Jose has gone 26-6-4 including two wins over Anaheim.  They are going into the playoffs hotter than they ever have before and with a proven goalie.  This team is scary. 

Between the acrimony at the end of the game, Randy Carlyle slinging F-Bombs and possibly flipping the bird at the Sharks players and/or coaching staff and accusations in the press, this would be a great playoff series.  Not to mention all but one of the games so far in the season series were decided by one goal or one plus an empty netter.  The Ducks will have to put any thoughts of a rematch of the 2009 series and that game Saturday out of their heads, except of course lessons learned from video etc., this game is far to important.

A win would put the Ducks two points away from locking up a playoff spot and take some of the pressure off of the back to backs with the Kings Friday and Saturday.  On the other side of that coin, a loss would force the Ducks to win out or pray for help from Colorado and Minnesota. 

Get ready for a day of nervous anticipation leading into a night of pure stress and tension.

Ducks Lose Two, Fans Unjustifiably Outraged; New Hockeytalk

Housekeeping first, Check out my newest contribution to Hockeytalk.biz:  Key cast shadow over Kings’ stretch run.

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March may have gone out like a lamb for the Ducks but April has come in like a lion.  After an 11-3-0 month of March the Ducks have dropped their first two April dates, and in the case of Sunday’s loss to Dallas, a chance to punch their own ticket to the playoffs.  The losses to the Sharks and Stars were the Ducks’ first back to back losses since they dropped five straight in February. 

There was some genuine vitriol from fans and even from Randy Carlyle after Saturday’s 4-2 loss in San Jose, mostly due to the fact that Lubomir Visnovsky left the game with an apparent shoulder injury after a third period hit from Douglas Murray.  To me, the hit was maybe a little bit late, but really the only reason that it was of any note is because Lubo went down awkwardly and a large man fell on top of him.  Obviously this is on a much smaller scale in terms of the result and the exposure, but it is essentially the same thing as the Chara/Pachioretty incident.  I doubt that Air Canada or the San Jose police will have anything to say on the matter.

The other source of unrest regarding the Sharks game was a result of the penalty called against Jason Blake that lead to the eventual game winner.  The problem that I have with that indignation is that it was an obvious penalty and the Ducks had, at that point, all of the power play chances in the game, they were due and had to be walking on eggshells not to catch the eyes of one of the referees.  Now you might think that it was a dumb penalty to take in that situation, but there I disagree as well.  The puck was loose in the crease and had Blake not molested Ryane Clowe it was a goal anyway.  Two minutes well worth it, as they say. 

As for the Dallas game, I admit to being one of the pitchfork carrying masses on this one.  Had I written this blog immediately upon arriving home, it would have gotten a ten out of ten on the Boudreau scale of vulgarity.  Now, after a few hours of reflection and further review of the replays, I think the right calls were made.  The DucksTV insert at the bottom of this Puck Daddy post has a lot of reaction and the two pertinent replays.  Both Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan scored goals that were waived off, the former due to goaltender interference by Saku Koivu and the latter on a hand pass from Corey Perry.  No question on the hand pass.  The goalie interference was closer but from the low angle replay you can really see how much Kari Lehtonen was affected by the bump from Koivu. 

I am still disgusted, however with the fact that Mike Ribeiro was allowed to play and ultimately score two critical goals in that game.  On Saturday Ribeiro laid a text book rule 48 lateral hit to the head of Michal Handzus of the Kings.  Not only was there no call on the ice, he was not suspended or fined and the only person that even mentioned the hit, to my knowledge, was Craig Button on NHL On the Fly that night. 

Unrelated sidenote:  I don’t know what the criteria are for the league’s new policy of 15 minutes in a quiet place for anyone who may be suspected to have a concussion, but it seems like Handzus should have been taken off the ice, after that hit, regardless of the fact that he got up relatively quickly. 

Two things I did like from the Ducks/Stars game:  1) they showed the replay of the goaltender interference on the big screen at the game.  It didn’t make much difference, as just about everyone in the building was too pissed to care what it showed, but it was nice to see something from the video staff at the Pond, when usually they try to keep the controversial stuff under wraps.  2) A sellout crowd fully invested in the result of the game.  This was by far the best crowd the Ducks have had all year, a packed house with very few opposition fans and everyone into the game.  The prolonged booing over perceived injustice that bled into a standing ovation of encouragement for the team to overcome said perceived injustice was a great thing to participate in/see/hear from a crowd that can be less than engaged, at times.  It was a playoff crowd hoping to see a playoff bound team by the end of the night, and we were not amused that we’d have to wait at least another few days to be assured of a postseason, if at all.

The Ducks’ magic number is still four.  If they win two of their remaining three games, or win one and lose the others in OT/Shootout they’ll clinch a spot regardless of what any team below them does, and they can still make it if that doesn’t happen, but it would be a dangerous way to go into the playoffs.

UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE

The Ducks have done it again; four wins in a row, three in overtime and two comebacks within the last two and a half minutes of regulation.  John Ahlers keeps calling the Ducks the “Cardiac Kids” for their late game heroics.  The only problem with that is, the last second game tying goals against Dallas and Calgary, as well as the Feb. 11 game against Calgary and the March 4 game against Dallas were scored by the team’s oldest player, Teemu Selanne.  Although it is understandable how one might not realize that he is the third oldest skater in the league right now, based on the celebration of his goal last night. 

The game last night against Dallas, was by far the most complete hockey game the Ducks have played since beating St. Louis on March 16, but they cannot continue doing this.  Once Dallas scored the go ahead goal, I was utterly dejected because, 1) Dallas usually can lock it down with the best of them and 2) the law of averages has to catch up with these Ducks at some point and they simply have to run out of race track eventually on one of these attempts at a last minute comeback. 

What I should have realized is that Dallas had done this at least twice in the month of March.  The aforementioned blown lead to the Ducks on March 4 where Teemu tied it late and Lubo Visnovsky finished off his hat trick in overtime, and March 13 vs. the Kings when the Stars took the lead with 43 seconds left and still lost in regulation thanks to a Michal Handzus goal 22 seconds later.  I have to chalk those blown leads up to Marc Crawford being a much less defensively minded tactical coach than Dave Tippett or Ken Hitchcock who led the Stars for 13 of the last 14 years.

In the first period Bobby Ryan had a chance going in three on one with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, but didn’t realize how the play was developing and tried to dangle through the Dallas D.  It was the most recent of many times he’s made this mistake, it’s almost become his signature, the way that Dan Sexton’s is flying in on right wing and firing a shot off the high glass, although slightly less frequent.  In fairness Big Sexy has taken to getting the puck toward the net and hoping for Brad Winchester to pick up a rebound of late, but I digress.  After Bobby made a gorgeous pass to Corey Perry to tie the game up at two my theory on Bobby officially became “He is better when he is passing.”

While that thought was bubbling through my head, I also noticed Cam Fowler having trouble handling pucks on the power play.  After one particular fumble that cleared the zone for Dallas I realized that maybe Cam isn’t perfectly suited to playing the point on the power play … YET, if only because he can’t use his best weapon:  his skating.  Don’t get me wrong, he is much better than, say … Ryan Whitney, but he doesn’t have the shot, and it is seems to be the part of his game where he is least poised, of course on Fowler’s scale, a lack of poise is like a beach lacking sand.  Along the same lines as the Bobby Ryan theory, I summed my thoughts up into one sentence:  “Cam Fowler is better when he is skating.”

Whether it was a crazy coincidence or some kind of spooky premonition, Bobby and Cam combined for the overtime game winner by each showcasing the trait that I internally identified as their respective tickets to success. 

Last night’s win sets up another insanely huge game against the Nashville Predators, who sit only one point ahead of the Ducks in seventh place.  With a regulation win and a Kings regulation loss the Ducks could reach as high as sixth by the end of the night, and they would be tied with their next opponent, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, who’ll hold a game in hand, but I’m getting way ahead of myself. 

Jonas Hiller was activated from IR yesterday to back up Ray Emery, indicating that 1) he didn’t have a Ben Lovejoy-esque reaction on the flight to Dallas and 2) the coaching staff has confidence in him to, at least, come into a game and hold down the fort.  During the broadcast Hazy said that Hiller has looked great in practice and seems ready to go.  Being the second of back to back games, it is well within reason to assume that it won’t be Emery starting tonight.  Hiller was the preferred option to come in if something happened to Emery last night, therefore there is a good chance Hiller could take the net back tonight in Smashville.   

Not knowing the intricacies of the situation, I would hold Hiller back until Monday’s game back home against Colorado for four reasons.  First, that game vs. Colorado has the least riding on it out of the remaining games on the schedule.  Second, a related point, Colorado will be an easier test for Hiller than any of the other remaining teams on the schedule.  Third, it would give him four extra days of rest to make absolutely certain that he is symptom free.  Fourth, and finally nobody wants Hiller to take a Shea Weber slapper off the mask and end up right back where he started.  Of course I was wrong about holding Saku Koivu back an extra game after his groin injury, so maybe they’ve already held Hiller back for a few extra days rest. 

The Ducks are flying from Dallas to Nashville today, so no practice or morning skate means that no one, aside from Randy Carlyle and the goalies themselves, will know who is starting for Anaheim until they take the ice for warm-ups at 4:30 PT.

LET THE BUTTERFLIES BEGIN!

Bonus Saturday Blog: Vulnerable Teams?

While I was walking the dog this morning, I had this idea to look at which teams, currently in a playoff spot, are most vulnerable to being knocked out by the Ducks.  Since the standings change from hour to hour in the West these days, I decided not to wait until Monday.  Hopefully by Monday this post will make no sense, because the Ducks will have beaten Phoenix and moved into the top eight on their own. 

Here are the standings of the teams that I consider still in contention after Friday’s games.

	Team	DIV	GP	W	L	OT	Pts	ROW
1	Vancouver	NW	69	44	16	9	97	40
2	Detroit	CEN	68	40	20	8	88	36
3	San Jose	PAC	68	39	22	7	85	34
4	Dallas	PAC	68	37	23	8	82	32
5	Chicago	CEN	68	37	24	7	81	32
6	Los Angeles	PAC	68	38	25	5	81	31
7	Phoenix	PAC	69	35	23	11	81	31
8	Calgary	NW	70	36	25	9	81	28
9	Anaheim	PAC	68	37	26	5	79	33
10	Nashville	CEN	68	34	24	10	78	28
11	Minnesota	NW	69	35	27	7	77	33

 

So now let’s go through the teams in a playoff spot and see who is, in my estimation the most likely for the Ducks to knock out.

Just Another Ducks Game

The Stanley Cup Champion 2007 Ducks could beat anyone, any day, anywhere, playing any style.  Their dominant defense, great goaltending, balanced scoring and toughness made them an unstoppable force.  Since then false retirements, questionable free agent signings, trades forced by salary cap concerns and an ever improving Western Conference has made the road bumpy and unpredictable. 

Last night on NHL On the Fly Brian Duff said he couldn’t figure out the Ducks:  so good at home (7-1-1) and yet only 3-7-1 on the road.  It really isn’t that hard to explain.  The team’s identity now is based on just hanging around, keeping it close any way they can and going for the one goal victory.  When you play every game like that it’s basically a coin flip whether you win or lose and home ice is often the tipping point. 

Having said that, last night was way closer than it should have been.  The Ducks went one for six on the power play, all but one of which were in the first two periods when they could have jumped out to an early lead and put it on cruise control, saving energy for tonight’s game in Minnesota.  But no, it was a typical Ducks game that came down to a puck that crossed the goal line on edge by about an inch. 

This year’s incarnation of the franchise doesn’t have that killer instinct that the great teams have.  A quarter of the way through the season the Ducks are 10-8-2, essentially a .500 record.  From all indications they seem to be able to have long stretches of winning and losing, but that will likely prove be an anomaly and the law of averages will catch up with them over the course of the season. 

One of the good things about this game was the old fall back of all goal scorers, they’re getting their chances.  To be fair Kari Lehtonen was out of control.  His stop on Todd Marchant’s breakaway and Bobby Ryan twice in the dieing seconds of the first period were unbelievable.  The Ducks did out shoot Dallas 26-27 so maybe it was a bit of a role reversal with the Stars acting as the opportunistic team that pulls it out in a close game, but that’s just the point.  It’s a fine line the Ducks walk playing this type of game.

The worst part of the game wasn’t the early power play futility, but strangely enough Teemu Selanne’s attitude.  The puck just wouldn’t settle down for him last night.  He hit a post early and had several opportunities with open nets that he couldn’t get a stick on.  His frustration showed in the third with back to back penalties for slashing (after he had just gotten away with holding the stick) and elbowing (more like boarding) after Dallas took the lead. 

The silver lining:  that frustration didn’t spread like Ebola through the bench the way it did in the first three games when the RPG line was fighting it. 

There were plenty of things to like and dislike about the Ducks’ play last night.  Corey Perry stayed hot, Ryan Carter was all over the place early on, Todd Marchant is playing great, Luca Sbisa has been solid, but the number one thing has to be the play of Cam Fowler. 

In the past few games he has looked good.  He’s made some rookie mistakes sure, but what do you expect he’s 18.  On a side note, that is a great excuse.  If he makes a mistake it’s “Ahhhh … no big deal he’s just a kid.”  If he does something outstanding he’s a child prodigy.  Have your cake and eat it too Cam, it won’t last for long. 

Last night though his outlet passes were Pronger-esque.  I couldn’t find a replay of his best one, but I believe it was to Teemu in full flight with Bobby for a clear-cut two-on-one.  That pass was an absolute bullet.  It was Peyton Manning finding Reggie Wayne across the slot crisp, and from long distance too.  He released it from the faceoff circle and hit Teemu’s tape at dead center ice in stride, unbelievable.  And as great as that was, he isn’t forcing those types of glory plays he also sprung the Masterton line on a three-on-one with a deft little flick of  the wrist at his own blueline. 

It’s fitting that he switched to number four last night – a bold statement for a defenseman, and an offensive one at that – as it was the best game of his NHL career thus far, maybe if he would have finished that Phoenix game it would have been better.  The kid is here to stay and he deserves it.

Anyway, there will be plenty of time to gush over Cam Fowler for years to come, tonight the Ducks finish off this short road swing in Minnesota looking for a win before coming back to Anaheim for Columbus on Friday.  Enjoy your Wednesday of hockey, everybody.