Ducks Beat Rangers 5-2

 

It was a great effort from just about everyone on the ice to beat the Rangers last night.  It was a slow start with Dan Ellis giving up a goal on the first shot of the game for the second time in as many games.  He made up for it, though with a sprawling save on Brandon Dubinsky that turned the play the other way for Bobby Ryan to score a great goal in the third period.

The best part of the victory was seeing how much the Ducks were going to the front of the net.  Whether it was driving the puck in off the walls, battling for rebounds or screening Henrik Lundqvist someone, especially Corey Perry, was almost always at the top of the crease. 

On the other side of the puck, the Rangers shocked me with their soft defense.  John Tortorella must not have been very happy when the game was over, because the Ducks walked right around and passed right through New York defensemen all night long.  Meanwhile, the Ducks’ physical presence came in the form of Luca Sbisa celebrating his new four year contract and 100th NHL game with a couple of crushing body checks.

I was unusually impressed with was Dan Sexton.  Over the course of this season I have been slowly but surely falling out of love with Big Sexy for one reason:  he never seems to be able to shoot the puck on net.  In this game he had some great forechecking shifts and a couple of shots right on Henrik Lundqvist, but just for good measure he had to throw in his patented streak in on the right wing and wrist one off the high glass from the top of the circles play. 

Yesterday I suggested that Koivu sit out one extra game to make sure the groin is completely healed, and apparently that extra game was Sunday’s tilt against Vancouver, because he looked fantastic.  There was one moment where he looked to be hopping over the boards somewhat gingerly, but it wasn’t evident in his play at all.  In fact he made my favorite play of the night, of which there seems to be no isolated highlight, where he flipped a nasty little saucer pass to Teemu in full stride at the faceoff dot.  The puck didn’t go in, but it was an exhibition of why those two work so well together. 

Another correction from yesterday, I said that the Ducks would make their way into the eight seed with a win over the Rangers, but that didn’t quite take into account the Kings beating the (good for nothing) Red Wings and a miscalculation of games played.  As such, the Ducks currently sit in tenth, two points behind Phoenix who holds down the final playoff spot.

As a parting shot, I guess I’ll weigh in on the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, even though it is the same as most other reasonable hockey people and the NHL.  It was a hockey play gone horribly, horribly wrong.  It was interference and unfortunately Pacioretty ended up face first in the glass between the benches, causing a severe concussion and a broken vertebra.  The way I see it, the NHL couldn’t suspend Chara any more than they could suspend Shane Doan for hitting Ryan Getzlaf in the face with a shot.  I’m not trivializing the injury at all, but the fact of the matter is that hockey is a very dangerous game and shit happens. 

Best wishes to Pacioretty on his recovery.

Ducks/Rangers; Sbisa Extension etc.

 

Tonight is the Ducks’ last game against an Eastern Conference opponent, hopefully until June, as the Rangers come to Anaheim.  The Ducks currently sit in 11th place in the West and represent the last team still really contending for a playoff spot.  With a win the Ducks will move into a three way tie for the eight seed with LA and Minnesota and lead that trio by virtue of a game in hand on the Wild and more non-shootout victories than the Kings. 

It is liberating not to have to worry about giving away a charity point and just root for two points by any means necessary.  It would be nice if it was before the shootout, for tie-breaking purposes and because New York is a killer in shootouts.  They are tied with the Kings for the best shootout record in the league 7-2, but I’m getting ahead of myself, it’s all about getting two points.

Lots of news came out of yesterday’s practice from Eric Stephens at the OC Register.  First of all, Luca Sbisa signed a four year contract extension with a $2.175 million cap hit.   According to USA Today, Sbisa’s salary increases gradually from $1.2 million next year to $2 million the year after, $2.6 million in 2013-’14 and $2.9 million in the final year.  At the end of the contract he’ll be 25 years old, just beginning the prime of his career (hopefully) and will still be a Restricted Free Agent in the summer of 2015. 

I don’t see anything wrong with the deal.  Randy Carlyle said that they only see Sbisa getting better, as one would expect with a 21-year-old defenseman, and this deal bears that out.  The only negative comment I’ve read about it is from Puck Daddy, saying that it may be a little much considering the Ducks aren’t buying any unrestricted years of his contract.  As with any move a GM makes, time will tell, but for now I’m pretty happy about it.  Sbisa and Cam Fowler are the building blocks of this defense for years to come and this is a  step toward securing that future.

On a more immediate note, Saku Koivu participated in a full practice on the second line yesterday for the first time since suffering a groin injury just over two weeks ago.  It’s up to Koivu to decide when he is ready to play again, the team desperately needs him back on that line with Teemu and the games are worth so much right now, but I’d still like to see him sit out for at least tonight just to get an extra two days of rest on that groin to reduce the probability of a recurrence. 

Ray Emery has been recalled from Syracuse after a 3-1 win on Monday morning.  The Ducks don’t have any back to back games until the 23rd and 24th so the odds of Emery starting are theoretically still pretty low, but his success in the American League inspires some confidence in his ability to come in as a backup if necessary at any time.  Jonas Hiller’s status remains mysterious.  The best sign for Hiller is that he and Sbisa (on xm yesterday) have both said it is a matter of time, which isn’t saying much.