Ducks vs San Jose Sharks

Before this game started, commentator Kent French and color analyst Brian Hayward held short interviews with former Duck Travis Moen and his long-term linemate Rob Niedermayer. They both admitted that it would be weird playing on opposite teams tonight, because they'd been through so many of the same battles on the same line for the last couple of seasons. The telecast replayed the historic footage of the boys hoisting the Stanley Cup, Robbie and Moen together sharing broad grins across their faces.

I swear, I teared up just watching it. I know why the trades went down as they did, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it. I can't help but ask, how could we trade away a guy like Moen?

*sigh*

Those Shark prospects better be worth it, that's all I'm sayin'.

During the first television commercial break, Moen was given a special ceremony with highlights of his four-year career as a Duck shown on the Honda Center big screen. The sold-out crowd gave him a standing ovation, and his ex-teammates also applauded him. You'll be missed, Travis, best of luck to you.

I don't have a lot of time to recap this game, but I'll focus on a few highlights, like the Moen tribute above.

Our boys are very energetic during the first period. They're skating fast and Jonas Hiller is making some great saves. I do wish our boys capitalized a bit more on the rebounds, as Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov seems to be leaving a few around after his saves. But they do a good job keeping the Sharks from scoring and, at the end of the first, it's tied 0-0.

The second period is much like the first, up and down the ice, back and forth, shots on net but no goals. Honestly, I don't know how Hiller is keeping pucks out of his net. There's so many guys in front of him, so much traffic, how can he even see the puck, more or less block it?

It isn't until the last minute of the second period that the Sharks get a garbage goal off an odd bounce and carem. Ironically, it's Moen who gets the goal. If that isn't karma... I guess it's definitely saying something that our Ducks managed to keep things tied against this very powerful Sharks team all the way up until this point.

Another bit of karma? I'm hearing that ex-Duck Chris Kunitz successfully landed a 3-point game (2 goals, 1 assist) for a win with the Pittsburg Pens (6-4). So many of our boys are doing well in their post-Duck careers. I won't read too much into what that might mean.

So, our Ducks enter the third period desperately trying for that equalizer. They put up an excellent offensive front, and here's where you can really appreciate the skills of Nabokov. The Ducks' attempts are nothing short but heroic. I wish they'd have played like this against those bottom feeders they shouldn't have lost to months ago. In any sense, I'm frustrated for our boys as the final third period seconds slip away without that equalizer.

The loss just doesn't give any justice to the passion and talent of our players and our extraordinary netminder.