Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings

This was the Anaheim Ducks annual Fan Appreciation Game but, more importantly, it was the game that, if won in regulation, would allow the Ducks to clinch a playoff berth.

Either way, it was going to be a big game made even bigger considering the opponents were none other than hated rivals the Los Angeles Kings.

Still out with a lower body injury, Ray Emergy would sit this one out as a healthy scratch. Jonas Hiller was announced as the backup to Dan Ellis.


As exciting as it was to see Hiller, I really prayed that Ellis would be on his game tonight. Hiller did NOT look sharp during warmups


Serious expressions on the faces of our Ducks. There was a lot riding on this game

In the early minutes of the game, both teams took their time feeling one another out. With Jonathan Quick in goal for the Kings, I suspected it would be harder rather than easier to get pucks into the net.

The Kings would score first, making the score 1-0 as we entered the first intermission.


Ryan Getzlaf's bid goes wide


RPG line attempting to crash the crease and get traffic to the net

Honestly, I feel that our boys play better when they're trying to come up from behind. Call it that extra bit of motivation, they just seem to be that much hungrier.

At about the game's halfway mark, they would be rewarded.


The Ponda erupting with a goal by the great eight


Just another record set in another typical night for the Finnish Flash

The score at the end of the 2nd is 1-1. 20-minute hockey game, folks.


I wonder which section won the thunder sticks??

The tempo of the 3rd was fast and feverish. Both teams pushed themselves to break the tie. I was particularly happy with how loud the crowd was. Definitely felt like playoff atmosphere.



And then, with a little over fourteen minutes to go, the Flash decides this team isn't going to get any help reaching playoffs (Dallas just won over the Colorado Avalanche, keeping them in the race), so he took matters into his own hands.


Off an amazing feed from Saku Koivu, Selanne gets one behind a falling Quick


The Masterton line, getting work done

The crowd is on their feet, screaming. Ducks have pushed ahead 2-1. If only our boys can just hang on! Fourteen minutes have never felt so long.

Thanks to the heroics of Ellis in goal, and a defense that has had a season to finely tune itself, our boys get the job done. Ducks win 2-1 but more importantly, ensure themselves a spot in the top eight.


We're going to playoffs!!

Ducks at Los Angeles, vs Kings

Have I mentioned how much I HATE watching Ducks games at the Staples Center??

Sitting hours in bumper to bumper traffic, trying to find parking on the dirty streets of LA, getting heckled by scores of ignorant Kings fans on my way to the arena... and then, even once inside the arena, there's more heckling, annoying anti-Ducks cartoons and other nonsense on the Kings' jumbotron, and drunk fans getting in my face.

Then, if we lose, multiply all that torture 10-fold.

It's just not my idea of a good time.

However, when there's a big group of Ducks fans planning to invade the Staples Center, and I can be surrounded by a lot of my fellow fans, I'm a little more open to the idea of going there for a game.


A big group of nearly 100 Ducks fans came in for this one

Of course, there are drawbacks to being in a large group like this, but there are perks too.

Included in the "package," the group got the opportunity to stand on the ice before the game. At first, I thought this to mean we'd get a chance to mill about on the ice, sit in the penalty boxes and benches, and otherwise get some good photo opportunities. Not quite. We walked out on a carpet, took a group picture, and walked back.


We did, however, catching a glimpse of our boys warming up with a rousing game of kickball

We were allowed to bring signs for our team at warmups, but apparently, Staples crew members were also allowed to tell us our signs were too big. The sign I'd made (of the same size I've always made for games) boasted "Stanley Cups: Ducks = 1, Kings = 0" was deemed "too big" and I was forced to either cut it in half or have it trashed. Not to mention others had signs even bigger than mine and were able to get them in, including some anti-Duck signs with dirty four-letter words that rhyme with "duck."

Not cool, Staples Center. Not cool.

Our seats were allllll the way up in the rafters against the concrete wall. I don't think we were heard by anyone but the people around us, but I didn't mind because I couldn't hear them.


I loved hearing the crowd roar with McMillan's goal

We screamed like crazy when rookie Brendan McMillan put us on the board first with a beautiful breakaway. Happily, we held onto the lead all the way up through the first and second periods until captain Dustin Brown got the Kings an equalizer halfway through third.

The game became a typical nailbiter as we waited to see if anyone else would score in regulation. Going into overtime, I was beginning to feel nauseous. But luckily, Corey Perry saved us all. The crowd roared, we screamed and random high-fives were shared.

It was a tremendous win for our boys, another two points for the playoff race, and an incredibly comfortable walk back to our cars.

Particularly satisfying was hearing a young boy walking with his parents, who were both clad in Kings jerseys, "Mommy, can you buy me a Ducks jersey?"

Win.

Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit, vs Red Wings (Round 1, Game 6)

Big game for the Phoenix Coyotes, if they expect to extend their post-season another night.

Early on, it doesn't look good. Defenseman Ed Jovanovski takes a penalty and puts the highly effective Detroit Red Wings on a power play. The Yotes keep their forecheck hard however, and create a turnover in neutral ice that allows Lauri Korpovkoski to send a short-hander past Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard five-hole.

Yotes take the lead five minutes into the first, 1-0.

The Yotes capitalize on the momentum and put up a tremendous fight to kill a 5-on-3 penalty. The game is not unlike the other games in this series: fast-paced, aggressive, hard-hitting... everything playoff hockey should be! captain Shane Doan is still out, having sustained an upper-body injury during Game 3.

But the Yotes have played remarkably despite the loss. The boys have said that Doan is active in the locker room before the game and between periods, rallying his team and boosting the morale. What a captain!

The Wings are playing an intensely physical game, landing hit after hit. The Yotes are making use of their offensive defensemen, guys like Jovo and Keith Yandle often jumping into plays below the circles. And the Yotes are landing plenty of hits of their own.

Phoenix takes the only goal into the first intermission.

Not to sell anyone short, I should mention that both netminders are standing tall in this game, but Ilya Bryzgalov comes up huge against those Red Wings shots.

Yotes continue their pressure and, on a rare Wings penalty, Matthew Schneider receives the puck from Adrian Accoin (who blocks a Wings attempt to clear) and slaps it home from the point. Unfortunately, less than a minute later, the Wings answer and get on the board.

The Wings go on to take a pair of penalties, very rare for them, but probably a sign of frustration. The first is killed off but the second sees Verdim Vrbata snapping a wrister into the net.

Before the end of the period, Petr Prucha puts another into the net. Unlike my beloved Ducks, the Yotes continue to put offensive pressure on their opponent. Yotes take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission...

... and increase that lead to four goals with a bid by Yandle in the third. Bryz continues to be phenomenal despite the Wings getting a goal that was initially waved off. Fights break out in the third as the Wings attempt to turn their impending loss at home into a message for the hungry Coyotes. Yours truly enjoyed watching the frustration... and the plethora of empty seats at the Joe.

With that, the Yotes force a game 7 on Tuesday back at home in Phoenix. You won't want to miss that one!

Edited: This just in, the Vancouver Canucks clinched tonight, knocking the Los Angeles Kings out of the playoffs! It's a good day in hockeyland, ladies and gents.

2010 Playoffs, round 1 (Western)

Even though our hometown heroes are well on their way to various golf courses around the globe, yours truly is hoping Duck fans are still enjoying playoff hockey. If anything, it's kind of fun to cheer against long-time Duck rivals.

And this post-season, the games have been very entertaining so far. The Phoenix Coyotes are my self-proclaimed mistress team, so I've been quite entertained watching them take on the Detroit Red Wings. Ex-Duck goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has been stellar, capping off a Vezina-nominated season with what could be a legitimate run for the cup. Personally, yours truly would love to see this. The Coyotes have had their troubles this season, complete with ownership and bankruptcy squabbles that had most of the hockey purists denouncing the desert underdogs at the beginning of the season.

Under new coach Dave Tippett, the Yotes have fought their way into the post-season, breaking a number of franchise records in stride. They've risen dramatically in the playoffs, keeping pace with the Wings for a furiously entertaining series. Hockey enthusiasts can at least agree that both of these clubs have brought their best to the first round.

As a sidenote, I'm also enjoying seeing newly acquired ex-Duck Petteri Nokelainen bring his energy and enthusiasm to the Yotes. At least I get to see one of my boys in the playoffs.

I'm hoping to see the Yotes end the Wings' run early, and avenge my Ducks for last post-season's lame series-winning goal. It would be hockey justice, you know?

Also very intriguing is the San Jose Sharks contest against the eighth-seeded Colorado Avalanche. In keeping with the Sharks' post-season choking tradition, yours truly tuned in to last night's game just in time to watch Sharks veteran defenseman Dan Boyle fire a shot that was deflected behind his own goaltender within the first minute of overtime. I feel incredibly bad for Boyle, but I can't help but snicker at the Chokes' Sharks' misfortune.

I'm also keeping tabs on the Los Angeles Kings/Vancouver Canucks matchup. However, this is primarily to keep me aware of which nights to steer clear of the Staples Center. I've already mentioned how fond I am of Kings fans, and the hecklings I receive every time I step foot near Staples with my Bobby Ryan jersey. So here's hoping the Kings are quickly pushed out of their first playoffs since 2002.

I haven't been watching too many games in the Eastern Conference, highlights aside. But that will change as the rounds advance and there are less games to watch. Ducks fan or not, playoff hockey is playoff hockey.

Go Yotes/Avs/Canucks!

Officially eliminated

Tonight's game between our hometown heroes and their Freeway Faceoff rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, could have had a lot more at stake. It could have been uglier, it could have been nastier... especially considering these two teams had just competed at the Los Angeles Staples Center, the Ducks barely eeking out a win in the shootout.

Had the Vancouver Canucks been successful at winning their contest against the Colorado Avalanche, a win for the Ducks tonight could have kept their postseason hopes alive. But the Canucks lost about half an hour before the Ducks did.

I suppose in the end, it's probably better this way. The Canuck loss signalled the official elimination of the Ducks from the 2010 playoffs. We fans couldn't blame our boys when they let yet another three-goal lead slip away in the second half of tonight's game.

Although, that doesn't keep yours truly from being upset at the coaching staff for instructing (or allowing) our boys to simply attempt to protect a lead once they'd established one early on. Why do we always do this? Why come up so big, just to let it all frustratingly slip away with ineffectual puck-dumping maneuvers, lack of forechecking, and no pressure on the puck? We let the other team come back, we encourage them to take shot after shot on our poor goaltenders, we challenge them to get past our defensemen... and more times than not, they do.

Before the Kings won in the shootout, we fans were treated to goals from Jason Blake, my boy Bobby Ryan (who finally beat his goal tally for last season), and two from Teemu Selanne.

It was actually an awesome game up through the first half.

Having suspected our hometown heroes would be ending their season early this month, yours truly followed the subplots that had developed during the season. I would cheer for two-point wins, of course, but I also rallied behind the Finnish Flash's endeavor to break the big 600 club. Of course, he made this happen before the end of the season.

We would also see him tie and eventually break his childhood hero's 601-goal record. I will back-post pictures from those games, as the touching tribute is definitely something worth documenting. Ducks fans held their heads high as one of their most notable Ducks was honored for creating hockey history.

Speaking of Selanne, another subplot that yours truly found remarkable to watch unfold was the development of a wonderfully productive scoring line consisting of Selanne, Saku Koivu, and Jason Blake. Towards the end of the season, these boys could not be beat. Every shift held a possible goal-scoring opportunity. We fans had waited all season for that magical Saku-Teemu chemistry, it's a shame we won't see it continue in the postseason.

Perhaps next season? Murray, that's your cue to MAKE SURE Saku gets re-signed and Blake stays on this line.

There are three games left on the Ducks schedule, two away and one at home next Sunday. I will follow up Sunday's fan appreciation game with my exclusive interview with Bobby Ryan, and perhaps track the playoff games.

After all, playoff hockey is an entirely different animal.

Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings

After last Thursday's Kings/Ducks defeat, yours truly was looking for retribution in tonight's contest between the same two teams. This time, we'd be on Ducks home ice. And this time, our hometown heroes wouldn't be playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

Maybe this time, we'd actually win for the first time in this season's Freeway Faceoff series. To add a little more pressure to the situation, the Kings roll into Anaheim riding a 9-game franchise-high winning streak. Our Ducks would hope to snap that streak, and add to their own 9-game home winning streak.

Yours truly was able to attend this game thanks to a generous Duck buddy with an extra ticket, but Baby Rebel was sans batteries. So no pictures tonight.

Even though tonight's contest took place on Duck ice, there were plenty of Kings fans in attendance. Such is always the case. And since the Kings scored first, those fans were even more obnoxious. Such is always the case. But our boys were playing hard. They were aggressive and gritty, putting lots of shots on goal. Just a matter of time.

Before the end of the first, our boys would tie things up with a power play goal from Teemu Selanne on a Kings 3-on-5. Bad penalties for the Kings to take (delay of game with a puck tossed over the glass, followed shortly by too many men on the ice), and Ducks capitalize after shooting repeatedly on Jonathan Quick.

Gotta say, Quick is one helluva goalie, even if he is a Kings goalie. Ducks have multiple chances, and yours truly is left wondering what they're going to have to do to get any more goals here.

We're tied 1-1 starting the second period.

Before the first half is over, our boys pull ahead with two more goals. The first comes off an awesome blind pass from Corey Perry to Ryan Getzlaf who quickly converts. It's a Pears-Getzy beauty, plain and simple.

What would have been the second goal of the period gets waived off. Perry is in the crease to knock a James Wisniewski rebound past Quick. The reason it's waived? "Player in the crease." And somehow, there is no penalty, just a no-goal. The crowd roars its disapproval.

To literally add injury to insult, Getzy twists awkwardly onto his ankle during that play. He disappears to the bench and doesn't return for the night.

Less than a minute later, Ducks get a goal that isn't waived off. It's Saku Koivu, chipping in a rebound from Teemu. He's not in the paint and it's good!

Ducks up 3-1, and there's a bit of a reprieve before the obnoxious King fan behavior starts up again. But just a bit. Kopitar nails one at the end of a Ryan Whitney penalty.

Ducks answer that goal less than 30 seconds later with a beauty of a sniper shot past the Kings defender and Quick's glove. Ducks take their two-goal lead into the second intermission. Yours truly must admit, this was one of the best second periods I've seen our hometown heroes play in a loooong time.

The Kings are expected to come on strong in the third, and that they do. Jonas Hiller is phenomenal, stopping bid after bid. I can feel the tension in the air, how long can he hold them off?

All. Period. Long. Hiller holds strong despite another Whitney penalty, and sees his team snap the Kings' streak while upholding the Ducks' home winning streak.

Ducks at Los Angeles, vs Kings

It's no secret that yours truly isn't exactly fond of Los Angeles Kings fans. Granted, they aren't as bad as Red Wings fans, and any half-knowledgeable Duck fan can always rebuke by pointing out that the Kings still have yet to win the Cup, but they're still nasty.

So by default, yours truly also isn't too hot about traveling 2+ hours in traffic to the proverbial lion's den to get heckled by Kings fans on their home turf.

However, a Duck friend offered a free ticket to tonight's contest and who am I to turn down free Ducks hockey?

John T. Meyer, of www.pickmyNHLteam.com fame, was also coming along to witness an away game with a small group of Ducks fans.

The game did not have the outcome I'd wanted, but it was encouraging to see the Ducks rally to tie things up in the third, 4-4, and for a while they managed to silence those pesky Kings fans. Unfortunately, victory would not be theirs, and Ducks would fall 4-6 in regulation. Despite the outcome, and despite the heckling, yours truly did get a number of excellent pictures.

So let's just focus on those.


Kings home ice


Warmups


Davis Gaines sings the national anthem


Jonas Hiller did well between the pipes. I believe our D could've done more to help him out.

I will give kudos to Brett Festerling, who played a gritty, hard-hitting game. Festerling was out there on every shift, hitting anything that moved. It was impressive.


Newcomer Jason Blake would pot his first goal as a Duck during the first period


George Parros engages in a long-winded fight with Ivanans in the first


A very loud Ducks fan (standing) in the next section over thoroughly annoyed all of the Kings fans around him with never-ending cries of "Let's go Ducks!" Priceless


Troy Bodie skating by the bench for high-fives after putting away his third NHL career goal


Ryan Carter (pictured) and Matt Beleskey would also score for the Ducks tonight


Staples Center crew replacing a pane of glass that fell after Ryan Getzlaf placed a huge hit on Matt Greene against the boards

Our hometown heroes will try to take some much-needed Western Conference points away from the Kings again Monday night. This time, our boys will be on home ice. And this time, they won't be playing the second of a back to back.

I'm hoping it'll make a difference.

Ducks at Los Angeles, vs Kings

Coming off an exhaustingly physical game against the Boston Bruins the evening before, our Ducks are in no shape to take on division rivals, the Los Angeles Kings.

Looking at the NHL schedule, yours truly has to ask, why do we face the Kings at the Staples Center on the second night of a back-to-back three times this season??

I understand coach Carlyle wanting to reward Jonas Hiller with yet another start, especially after he handled the second Nashville-Chicago back-to-back with such excellence, but really? Do we need to tire out our number one goaltender at this point in the season? If it were up to me, J.S. Giguere would have started this game.

Yours truly watched this one at the official Ducks watch party at Mutt Lynch's in Newport Beach. Nice sports bar, tasty BBQ wings, would definitely visit again.

I was not expecting much from our hometown heroes tonight, but what I was definitely not wanting was a lower body injury (they're saying it's a knee injury) to Saku Koivu that takes him out of the game. Also, there's a huge hit that my boy Bobby Ryan placed on a King in the final moments of the game that might possibly be under review by the league.

Otherwise, our boys did not play that badly in the first and second periods of the game. However, they just could not generate the needed offense. Two of the Kings goals were lucky pinball bounces that no goaltender would have been able to stop, if only by luck. It was also very apparent that the Kings had studied our game with the Bruins the night prior, and they took our boys to task physically. The game started to get downright angry in the third as penalty minutes piled up.

In the end, I believe the 0-4 score doesn't accurately reflect the efforts and early game play of the Ducks, but I'm hoping that, with two days rest, our boys will be ready to put that winning streak back together for Sunday's matchup here at home against the Calgary Flames.

But first, stay tuned for story and pictures from tonight's Casino Night!

Ducks 2009 exhibition

Our hometown heroes went out on a high note with their last preseason game. This one, played at the Ponda against the LA Kings, saw what will most likely resemble our offensive lines and defensive pairings when the puck drops for this Saturday's season opener against the San Jose Sharks.

Ducks managed to keep an edge above the Kings to win it 5-4, the majority of our goals coming from the infamous Legion of Doom line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan. My boy Bobby netted two of those goals and earned the assist on another. The other goal undoubtedly had the Duck suits voicing an emphatic, "Yup, that's why we did that," as it came off a beautiful pass from Teemu Selanne speeding up the right wing, to Saku Koivu in the center who quickly tapped it to Joffrey Lupul on the left wing for a hammered home goal top-shelf.

The Ducks roster is just a few men from being complete. Yours truly has a few remarks on how things are shaping up:

Matthew Beleskey, Matt McCue, Dan Sexton, Brett Festerling, Mark Mitera, and Timo Pielmeier were all sent down to the minors. Yours truly is no hockey coach, nor do I claim to know anything about what would earn a player a spot on the roster, but I thought these boys put on an impressive show in training camp and exhibition games. Whether the issue is usability (if the Ducks actually need a player right now who possesses some of the skills these boys displayed), or just not thinking a player is ready for the NHL, I'm hoping to see them get a shot later in the season. Especially Pielmeier who, in my opinion, impressed more than Justin Pogge (our supposed #3 netminder).

The #1 goaltender has yet to be determined. J.S. Giguere and Jonas Hiller appear to be equally effective so far. While Hiller pulls a few moves that continue to make me VERY nervous (he tends to leave the crease and fall horribly out of position trying to get back in), he is still holding his own. I'm proud of Jiggy for what looks to be a much improved performance over last season, but I think many more games need to be played before we have a winner.

Despite retaining Scott Niedermayer on our blue line, the Ducks defense can use some work. Scotty can only do so much on his own, this I realize. To their credit, Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski have stepped up their game quite a bit, but I can still feel some huge holes where Chris Pronger and Frankie Beauchemin once were. Here's hoping more gelling goes on between all of the new defensive faces and our older ones. And by "older," we're only really speaking about guys who've been with the team since the last trade deadline, 'cept Scotty, of course.

The Ducks have continued their love of the sin bin. One thing is true: our penalty killing is going to have to get a whole lot better because penalties still seem to be our Ducks' middle name. I do like the Big Man, Evgeny Artyukhin, and I cheer for him every time I see him out on the ice. Heck, he's hard to miss. But Arty draws a lot of penalties. He's going to have to work on that. There's a fine line between a large, effective player and a blundering oaf who becomes a liability.

This time around, size does matter. There's a huge difference having little Andrew Ebbett on that second line with Koivu and Selanne versus Lupul. Yes, Ebbett did a remarkable job centering Selanne last season. But now that Lupes is an option, and a very viable one at that, I'm not sure where that will leave Ebbett. Unfortunately, with him on that second line, there just isn't enough size and physicality. Neither Koivu nor Selanne are big, physical players. With Ebbett as the third forward, a match up with the opponent's larger players completely shuts down that line. But with Lupes, there's at least a little equaling out of the size difference. And since we're seeing Lupes gel with his Finnish teammates, I couldn't blame coach Carlyle for favoring him over Ebbett in that role. As for other line possibilities for Ebbett, he doesn't fit in the top six, but he seems too small for the bottom six. While I would hate to see Ebbett go, he plays with such heart that you can't help but love him, he would probably make excellent trade bait for a team that would appreciate and make use of his abilities.

Either way, the fans and the players are ready and anxious for the season to start. I've got a good feeling about our Ducks this time around, hopefully it turns out to be more than a feeling.

I should be able to update and finalize the side bar pictures shortly. Shooting pictures at numerous events throughout the preseason, I believe I'll be able to replace a majority of those pictures with ones that I've taken myself. As for the blog entries, I'm debating whether I should retain the format from last season, where the game entries are mostly play-by-plays? A more time-efficient approach would be simply to provide a performance review with impressions and such. For the games I actually attend, of course, I will have pictures to supplement what would be a standard review. Any reader suggestions/comments are encouraged and welcomed!

Next up, the annual Meet the Team event this Wednesday...