Ducks vs Nashville Predators

Tonight's goaltender matchup: rookie sensation Pikka Rinne for the Predators and veteran J.S. Giguere for the Ducks.

I don't even have to say how important a win, preferably a regulation win, is for our Ducks tonight. I'm really hoping our boys have stepped up their power play, because that's what needs work. And particularly against the Nashville Predators who are doing very well with their penalty kill as of late.

Right off the bat, our boys get a power play off a delay of game penalty when a Pred chips the puck off the glass and into the penalty box.

I can see why these guys have such an effective penalty kill. They defend aggressively, putting lots of pressure on the puck. Our boys don't get a chance to focus their shots, and consequently, no goals during this power play opportunity.

Maybe not during the power play, but our first line (now consisting of my boy Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf) makes good. A nice assist from Bobby to Getzlaf, who's in the slot and heads toward goal, but passes it right up to Perry who's in his usual place next to Rinne and the net. Perry holds the puck, swinging it to the right of the netminder, and then patiently swinging it back to the left and past Rinne.

I may have questionable concerns about Perry's playing ethics (that's for a future post), but I have to admit that he is excellent under pressure in front of the net. That was one helluva goal, and a first goal at that (yes!).

Coach Randy Carlyle gets our winning line right back out there. This is a nice change. Our top line, stacked with our best scorers, not resting but back out on fresh goal momentum to attempt to score again. That's what we need.

Uh oh, the Predators get their first power play of the game when Todd Marchant trips up a Pred on his charge towards Giguere. Right at the beginning of the pp, an odd pass from a Pred at the top of the circle clips another Pred at the net on the left side of his rib cage. Unfortunately, the puck changes direction and hits the far top corner of the net behind Giggy.

Man, we didn't even get a chance to enjoy that lead.

Either way, this is a great game. We're getting a lot of great shot attempts on goal, lots of power in the forechecks, and some well-timed turnovers. Our Ducks are doing very well with their offense. They're moving around, keeping the defense on their toes and generating a lot of good scoring chances. I just wish the scoreboard reflected how well they've been playing this period. If you're getting so many opportunities with the puck in front of the net, chances are more of those shots will actually go in, right?

Too quickly we're at the first intermission. The score is tied 1-1.

Giggy has also been making some good stops, holding onto the puck and withholding those dangerous rebounds. The second period starts with another Preds power play. This time, it's against Ryan Whitney for tripping the same guy that Marchant tripped. At least this time, there's no goal in the first 14 seconds. But then, Marchant gets a boarding penalty, and Preds have the 5 against 3 advantage for 20 seconds. They capitalize and take the lead for the first time this game.

What's a Ducks game without questionable calls? There are a couple in the second period, including a no-call that leaves Teemu Selanne tripped up and on his back at the blue line, followed closely by an offside pass that angers an already agitated crowd.

Then our boys get a power play, when a 5'9" Pred manages to trip up a 6'6" Pronger. Talk about David versus Goliath. Perry manages to get one into the net off a mishandle from Rinne, but the whistle is blown before the puck goes in. Fans are pissed, shouts of "Ref, you suck!" echo around the arena. But then, it's the Ducks' chance for an odd bounce goal. James Wisniewski fires a puck that pounces off the back of a Pred leg at the net and then off Andrew Ebbett. The rebound lands right in front of him and he's ready to turn around and chip it in. The goal earns assist points for newbees Christensen and Wisniewski and we're tied again, 2-2

Bobby gets a great scoring opportunity, stealing the puck and steering it quickly right in front through the crease, and tries to stuff it past Rinne. No goal, but an excellent try. He's obviously frustrated sitting on the bench after the play. And frustrated again, as his next play involves a rebound catch that slides just through the crease mere inches away from the goal line and past Getzlaf.

Another excellent play by the new second line of Ebbett, Selanne, and Christensen. Ebbett took it just wide, but caught the rebound twice. No goal, but lots of opportunities. They play a lot of the last part of the second deep in the Predator zone. And, as it's usually just a matter of time, Preds get a penalty when superstar defenseman Shea Weber crosschecks Ryan Carter. The Ducks can't capitalize during the first half, but maybe on the second which will take place after the second intermission.

The first half of the third is high on intense play, low on whistles... and zero for Duck goals. About halfway through, Bobby practically flips onto his face as he trips over a Pred's high stick. It's another power play opportunity for our boys. Bobby brings the power play opportunity and follows it all the way through to his 24th goal of the season. He passes a puck to Pronger at the point, who fires it on the Pred net. Captain Scott Niedermayer is there, creating a screen and trying to stuff the puck which rebounds out. As it rolls away from the crease, Bobby sees it and heads straight for it, still using Scotty as a screen while chipping it into the net over a fallen Rinne.

"Bobby! Bobby!" I'm chanting it at home along with the thousands of Duck fans at the arena. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?

That's yet another power play goal for our Ducks. Looks like they've been practicing this!

We're leading 3-2 with six minutes left in the game. The Preds are finally playing back in the Anaheim zone after being absent for nearly the past ten minutes. They try to set up but a lot of their passes get intercepted by Ducks or are missed by the Pred recipient. With only 2:45 left in the game, a wild pass carems off what looks like a high stick over Giggy and into the Anaheim goal. Video review doesn't overturn the decision and the Preds have officially tied up the game.

Argh. I want our boys to win and I want them to do it in regulation. Ideally, I don't want the Preds to take any points away from this game. But, considering how long it has taken any shots to reach the scoreboard during this game, I'm betting we're taking this one to overtime.

In the last minute, there's a huge power play for our Ducks off a tripping call on Pronger. They can't score in the first half of the power play so now we're in overtime.

Entering overtime, our boys take possession of the puck and have that extra man on the ice. Taking their time and measuring space for passes and shooting, our boys pass from Pronger to Getzlaf to Selanne, who passes it back to Getzlaf and back to Pronger who brings his stick back for a slap shot towards the goal. Selanne, as he later admitted, had his stick on the ice hoping the two would connect. And sure enough, they did. He sends the backhander straight into the net for the win.

The goal is also Selanne's 1200th career point. He's just the 6th player outside of North America to ever achieve this in the league. It earns him the #1 star of the game and a little one-on-one with commentator Patrick O'Neal. "With 12 games left in the season, does Anaheim have enough in the tank to make that playoff push?" feeds O'Neal, with the final question of the interview.

"Absolutely!" Selanne growls with a broad grin.

I certainly hope so.