Ducks vs Buffalo Sabres

Tonight's game is huge. It's the last home game until February for our hometown heroes, kicking off a six-game road trip. Of course, every game is another opportunity to get another two points in the standings, but yours truly tends to breathe a little easier when the opponent is an Eastern Conference team.

It's debatable whether the Eastern Conference is weaker this season than the Western, I've heard arguments favoring either side, but at least, when our opponent isn't a conference rival, winning in OT doesn't adversely affect the standings. Personally, I can't stand that a team losing in OT still gets a point. A loss should be a loss.

But it's not, which seems to be one of the big reasons why the Western Conference standings are so tight. I feel that time rather than ability is going to be the major factor in determining playoff berths this season in the West. After the last game of the season is played, whoever happens to be in that top eight will go on. Add another game, and those bottom seeds could look completely different.

But I digress... there's a game tonight.

Our Ducks showed up huge in the first period, absolutely blasting out of the gates. By the middle of the first, Ducks were up 4-0.

Yes, you read that right.


Absolutely unbelieveable!

Credit goes to Ryan Getzlaf, Evgeny Artyukhin, Mike Brown, and my boy Bobby Ryan, in succession. The game started to get really chippy, as it definitely would have if the tables had been turned. Frustrated, the Sabres took undisciplined penalties and made a number of sloppy turnovers during that first period.

I'm glad our boys capitalized, because a team like the Buffalo Sabres aren't going to keep that up for long.


While the fourth Ducks goal was being reviewed, Sabres switched out goalie Lalime for league save percentage leader Ryan Miller

One on hand, yours truly was thrilled to see Miller (who, incidentally, looks a lot like his brother Drew) live on Ponda ice, I also didn't want to see our Team USA number one goaltender worked too hard. It was supposed to be his night off. Of course then, I also knew Duck goals were going to be in very short supply for the rest of this game.

The second period was, unfortunately, not unlike other second periods for our Ducks. Our forechecking presence was all but gone. I think it followed our D out of the rink. Jonas Hiller was also notably out of sorts. Even his good saves would be followed by an unconfident glance towards the net behind him. Sabres clawed their way back with three unanswered goals in the second.

It never fails to surprise me just how huge the attendance always is by the opponent's fans at the Ponda.

Ducks put things together for a better showing in the third, where Troy Bodie would net his second NHL goal. How crazy, to get your second career goal, and the game winner, against none other than Ryan Miller. Major bragging rights there!

Hiller also tightened up the netminding and came up big in the third. Sabres would get one more goal after pulling Miller for the man advantage in the last 60 seconds on regulation, but they couldn't find the equalizer before the final horn.


Our Ducks would extend the home winning streak to eight games, and leave for their road trip on the right foot

Let's check out some pictures!


Bobby's tip-in goal against Lalime, which was deemed good after a lengthy league review for high-sticking. It wasn't actually his stick that touched that puck


Definitely deserving of a game star, Tuuk earned points on an awesome assist to Mikey's tip-in goal, as well as his own goal. It's a pleasure watching this big man skate!


Bobby and Corey Perry sniffing for loose change around Miller


Sabres' Kaleta reacts to a love tap from Nick Boynton in the first


USA! USA! Miller will be teammates with Bobby in less than a month


Dan Sexton jumps over a puck mere nanoseconds before it's gloved by Miller

Ducks at Boston, vs Bruins

When I found out Veniza-trophy winner Tim Thomas was going to be in net tonight, I got nervous.


Norris-trophy winner Zdeno Chara was also going to be in the lineup.

I wonder if our Erik Christensen was slightly relieved to find out he'd be spending the game up in the press box as a healthy scratch, considering Z's the one that seems to have permanently screwed up his shoulder seasons ago.

Yours truly watched this one at the first official Duck Watch Party of the season at O'Connell's Sports Bar and Grill in Huntington Beach. It's always fun being in the company of other sports fans when your boys are playing. O'Connell's is a small yet cozy place, with some awesome lunch specials. Baby Rebel was not cooperating with the harsh lighting, so no pictures from the scene.

Our Ducks haven't been able to get a win yet this season, would they be able to defend against such a decorated team? Last season's top seeded Eastern Conference team who handed them a humiliating 0-6 shutout the last time they shared ice? It definitely wasn't going to be easy. The Bruins came out with guns a-blazing, making some good bids on net, but they were handled very well by Jonas Hiller.

Hillsy did let in a five-holer which, I'm sure, he would've loved to take back as it looked as if it went right through him. My boy Bobby Ryan had a number of scoring chances in that first period (and throughout the game), none of which he could capitalize on. Our hometown heroes were looking good though. Feet were moving, forechecks were aggressive, our boys were moving into shooting and passing lanes, and dominating in the faceoff. They were doing those little things as well as much improved tape-to-tape passing... maybe it would just be a matter of time.

The second period saw the Bruins make a couple of crucial mistakes. They ended up with overlapping penalties, and our Ducks were gifted with a beautiful 69 seconds of 5-3 power play. Teemu Selanne found net on both penalties, the first with a slap shot that sped past a Corey Perry screen and between Thomas's legs. The second, showcasing what the Ducks do best on the doorstep, came off a Thomas rebound. Saku Koivu caught the puck bouncing back in the slot, his bid rebounding again off Thomas to Perry, who tapped it to Selanne as he approached the net on the left. It was Selanne's infamous backhander that slid the puck in behind Thomas's leg, and our Ducks would take the lead, 2-1.

Not that our boys were able to stay out of the sin bin themselves, but I'm glad it wasn't a revolving door. I noticed some favorable changes in our boys' penalty kill. Saku and Todd Marchant whittled penalty minutes by possessing the puck for extended periods of time, and both acted as pests making it difficult for the Bruins to penetrate the zone, more or less set up. Once they were set up, Saku intercepted a number of passes, sending the puck back down the ice and requiring the Bruins to set up once again.

Maybe it helps having a veteran former captain on our team who's had history playing against these Eastern Conference teams, but I was very pleased with our PK this game. Yours truly loves having Saku on the PK unit.

Our boys would score again with a beautiful play by Perry. Not the first time he's made good with this display of patience and solid puck handling, Perry skated the puck down the left wing off a feed from James Wisniewski, then across the slot in front of the crease. Faking with a shoulder, he baited both Bruin D-men and Thomas, who went down expecting a short-sided wrister. Once the goalie went down, Perry patiently slid the puck around to the opposite side of the net and lifted it top shelf.

Simply beautiful.

Our defense is doing a better job at keeping the doorstep clean, but I think there's still work to be done there. Opposing guys and pucks still linger around the crease a few seconds longer than they should. Every game our boys play though, has gotten increasingly better than the last. And that's a good thing. Credit to Steve Eminger and Luca Sbisa, who are both looking more and more like gritty Duck D-men.

Our boys headed into the third period with a nice 2-goal lead. Learning their lesson from Tuesday, when they blew their 3-goal lead and lost in overtime, our boys kept the foot on the gas through the third. There was a lot more puck possession in the offensive zone. And it paid off.

Big guy Evgeny Artyukhin caught a pass from Joffrey Lupul and, catching the Bruin D off guard, sped off to the races. I'm always amazed to see such a large player burn rubber the way Arty does, and that man sure can skate. With Hunwick on his heels, Arty bore down on Thomas and snapped the shot five-hole.

That's the second goal for Arty in three games. Again, big grins on the bench from the Russian. Fast becoming a fan-favorite?

I'm sure the game felt like it had turned a complete 180 for Jonas Hiller, who could've sat down with a lawn chair and a margarita during the third period. He faced 19 shots on goal in the first period, but only four during the third (for a total of 15 for the second and third combined).

Finally, finally! Bobby gets his goal. It's off a slap shot from the Captain at the blue line, which hits Bobby's leg on the way to the net, and then shoots past Thomas five-hole. Unbelievable, but Bobby will take it!


Picture by Elsa/Getty Images North America

Our boys looked quite comfortable with their 4-goal lead with 3 minutes left in the game. A couple of penalties gave the Bruins man-advantage opportunities, but our much-improved PK killed them all. On one of these, Perry would tally his second for the evening. Lupul would go down on one knee to block a shot from the blue line. Perry caught the bouncing puck and went on a short-handed rush. Not exactly known for agile speed-skating, Perry managed to shoot the puck which was easily blocked by Thomas. The puck rebounded, bouncing off Perry's shoulder and helmet, flipped over Thomas's shoulder and became Perry's first shorthanded NHL goal.

The cameras caught subsequent grins and laughing from coach Carlyle and the boys on the Duck bench.

"Sometimes you get to be lucky. But to be lucky, you've got to fight for it."---Jonas Hiller

Lucky bounces went the Ducks' way in tonight's game, but when it happens as many times as it did tonight, you have to admit there was more than just luck involved. Our hometown heroes ended their night with a well-earned 6-1 Bruin beating and what looked to be an altogether fun game to play. It was definitely a fun one for us fans to watch. Next up, a reunion with Chris Pronger and the Flyers in Philadelphia this Saturday.

Some interesting stats about today's game: Teemu logged his 115th career multi-goal game and Ryan Getzlaf played his 300th NHL game.

Ducks at Minnesota, vs Wild

Hoping to forget the awful home opener, our Ducks made their first appearance of a four-game road trip tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hopefully what the kinder analysts had to say would be true: an early road trip gives a team with a lot of new players the chance to bond, thus improving their game.

Some items of interest to look forward to in this game:
- J.S. Giguere will be in net tonight.
- Niklas Backstrom, an amazing butterfly goaltender in his own right, will be in net for the Wild. Offense will have to step it up on both sides to get by these veteran netminders.
- This will be only the fifth matchup of the Koivu brothers. Which team has the better Koivu?
- Andrew Ebbett and Nick Boynton will suit up for the first time this season. Yours truly is quite curious to see how they will do.

The 1st period of the game went scoreless, but I was happy to see that our Ducks didn't look like they were skating through quicksand (as they looked in their opener against the Sharks). Passes were completed, there were considerably less Duck turnovers in the neutral zone, and the forecheck looked good.

Our hometown heroes blew the game wide open in the 2nd period, with three Ducks earning their first goals as Ducks. Joffrey Lupul redirected a one-timer from Ryan Whitney into the net, before blocking a puck with his face later which sent him off for the rest of the period. Backstrom was beat a second time by a quick pass from Corey Perry across the slot to Evgeny Artyukhin, who hammered it home. The big smile on Arty's face afterwards said it all. And the third goal would come from Saku Koivu, off a rebound from James Wisniewski's bid on Backstrom.

It started to look as if our boys had found themselves. Ebbett added a welcomed element of speed and energy to the Todd Marchant-Mike Brown line. Grit and physicality dominated. Passing and shooting lanes were more effectively blocked, and some big hits were made. Jiggy looked top-notch between the pipes with great positioning and few rebounds.

Unfortunately, the 2nd period ended and the 3rd period began. Our boys started to look tired and less aggressive. Big George Parros got worked over in a fight with John Scott, and the game went rapidly downhill with three Wild goals (Koivu, Sykora, Belanger) that brought on OT. Wiz took an ill-timed roughing penalty and the Wild capitalized to win it.

It shouldn't have been. Our Ducks basically threw in the towel with 10 minutes left in the game. The defense isn't strong enough to withstand 10 minutes of continual puck chipping into the offensive zone and then trying to protect against the opponent's rush. Throw in a flat-out dumb penalty and... ugh.

Let's hope for a better outcome Thursday as the Ducks take on the Boston Bruins. If our Ducks can improve as much as they did from Saturday's game to tonight, I think they might actually win the next one. At least, it couldn't be worse than the last time they faced the Bruins (0-6).