Ducks vs San Jose Sharks, preseason

Thanks to last-minute tickets from my friend J, I was able to attend my Ducks first preseason game against the San Jose Chokes Sharks. (Sorry, just a little trash talk there!)



We could only watch the 2nd period and the first half of the 3rd, but we were treated to four Duck goals and enough line chemistry to leave happy!



Again, it's a preseason game, and we had big names on the ice. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Jonas Hiller had a lot to do with the 5-2 win. Hiller stopped all 19 of the shots he faced in the first half of the game. Ex-Sharks prospect Timo Pielmeier also did well, finishing the game by stopping all but 2 of his 21 shots. I'm not sure if the Sharks were rookie-heavy on this game roster, but I did notice scorers Joe Thornton, Devin Setoguchi, and Torey Mitchell out there. So there wasn't a complete imbalance of talent!


Perry and Lilja battle along the boards as Antero Niittymaki watches.

I was very curious to see how Niittymaki would do in the Sharks net. Having let perennial goaltender Evgeni Nabokov go in the offseason, Sharks picked up Niittymaki and Anti Niemi. Impressive on paper, but not so much in the net, Niittymaki would let in 4 of the 12 shots he faced.


Parros, Getzlaf, and Perry wore the As that night.


Matt Beleskey and Corey Perry, two-thirds of an awesome scoring line.

I was so happy to see Beleskey on the top line again with Perry and Getzlaf. I loved this line combination last season, and really believe Beleskey should stay there. He has the grit and the drive to crowd the crease and battle for pucks in the corners--an effective compliment to the "twins."


How strange yet somewhat familiar, seeing #25 up there for the Ducks.

I had hoped to see more of Andy Sutton's performance on the ice, although I have to admit that seeing his #25 up on the penalty board made me smile.

Also curious about how Danny Syvret would do (I've liked his play so far in training camp), I was happy to see him combine good defense and a willingness to shoot the puck, even though his goal during the game fortuitously knocked in off the back of a Shark skate.


The boys congratulate Syvret on his first preseason Duck goal.


Getzlaf would go on to score off a Beleskey assist, 18 seconds after Syvret's goal.


Syvret giving Luca Sbisa a few d-man pointers.

Sbisa and 2010 draftee Cam Fowler both played in this game too, having also played in last night's contest against the Phoenix Coyotes. Fowler did well, keeping a calm presence much beyond his years. He got his second assist in as many games. I thought Sbisa was a bit soft, but maybe he was just tired?


Big Joe Thornton, sitting in the sin bin and thinking about what he'd done (clumsily tripping over Pielmeier in the crease and earning himself a goaltender interference call).

It will be interesting to see who makes it out of camp for a spot on the starting roster and who gets sent back down to the minors or juniors. After last season's slow start, I'm hoping we can put together a much better product right out of the gate. This was a great comeback game for our Ducks going into their preseason roadtrip. Yes, just a preseason game, but it sure does feel nice to win!

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 vs Boston Bruins

Teemu Selanne, classy team player that he is, says he doesn't mind playing on the fourth line. He doesn't get nearly as many ice minutes, but he does get to skate on the power plays. "When the team is playing this well, you don't want to change anything."

Right on, Teemu.

Ducks haven't played since the back-to-back over the weekend, and now they have another back-to-back starting tonight against the Boston Bruins. Collectively, Ducks fans everywhere are holding their breath, praying the winning streak continues.

It's Jonas Hiller in net again tonight, his first game since winning accolades all the way up from the league itself. Hiller was awarded the second star of the week for his excellent play last week. Only six goals given up in the last four games. That's the Hiller we know and love!

Tuukka Rask, the current league leader in goals against average, is in net for the Bruins.

Already a fight in the first five minutes of period one! Troy Bodie and Adam McQuaid exchange some huge hits and get the crowd into the game.

Geezus, can I just say that Zdeno Chara is really frickin' huge?? Mike Brown looks like a toddler trying to get the puck away from him. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

After a seemingly slow start for our boys, the pace quickens to see our Ducks with a number of scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, Rask is as good as we feared he'd be. Hiller's mates ask him to come up huge a few times, and he delivers. It looks like it's going to be a battle of the goaltenders.

Just as the period, and the Ducks' second power play of the game, winds down, Dany Sexton gets his 7th of the season. My boy Bobby Ryan receives a pass from the blue line that he can't quite direct into the net. The puck bounces through the crease to the right side, where Dany is Johnny-on-the-Spot to chip it in.

Another fight erupts right off the center ice faceoff. It's Kyle Chipchurra and Bitz, getting in a good fight for their money. The energy level is sky high going into the first intermission, Ducks up, 1-0.

Our boys started off the 2nd looking good, but then James Wisniewski took an awkward slide hard into the boards. His face twisted in pain while he was down on the ice and the Bruins scored.

Call me a homer, but c'mon. That play should have been whistled dead. We had a man down for at least three seconds, with a zebra standing right there, and no whistle. Wiz had to be helped off the ice. Yours truly doesn't know which to be more concerned about... the no-call or the loss on our blue line.

Our Ducks begin a downward tailspin as the Bruins score again, mere minutes later. Angry, frustrated, the physical factor amps up about 200% as guys take shots at each other after the whistle.

Thank God, Wiz is back out on the ice. Unfortunately, Bobby and Ryan Getzlaf aren't. They're sitting in the sin bin (but so are two Bruins) after that post-whistle altercation. Wiz is the good luck charm, as Matt Beleskey pots his fourth goal. It's from Petteri Nokelainen who's centering in place of Getzy. The change in momentum sees our boys spending time in the offensive zone. The Bruins score again before the end of the second, and this game is officially a rollercoaster.

The score is 2-3 as we start the third, and we've got Getz in the box for slashing. But once he's out, he's straight down the slot, taking a beautiful pass from Wiz streaking up the right wing. Getzy converts the puck at lightning speed, and the next thing you know, it's behind Rask.

It's Getzy's 100th career goal. Sometimes, an angry Getzy is a goal-scoring Getzy.

Ducks tie it up 3-3!

The boys are energized and keep the pressure on the Bruins, who are also fighting hard. Bobby dodges and weaves with the puck to get a good shot on Rask, and nobody notices Steve Eminger sneaking up the right wing. He's rewarded big-time, as Bobby's bid rebounds up and over the netminder, dancing just in front of the goal line before Eminger pushes it in.

And then, more bad luck for our Ducks. Teemu takes a slapper from Ryan Whitney, which redirects off Bruins' Miro Satan, bounces off the ice, smack to the left of his face. He's writhing on the ice, later getting up and is able to leave the ice on his own, but there is an awful lot of blood. Again, the Duck energy deflates.

C'mon boys, hang in there, we have to get this!

There are some very precarious moments in front of the Duck crease, but Hiller holds strong! This game seriously has me nauseous at this point. No more blogging, all I can do is watch with my hands over my face! The Bruins were never able to net that equalizer and our Ducks are rewarded with two hard-earned points.

Our Ducks fought so hard, and the Bruins did too... excellent playoff-hockey-style game by both teams. This game is an excellent example of why I love hockey!

Ducks at Nashville, vs Predators

Weren't we just here last week?

Yes, but hopefully, our hometown heroes will see a much better result than last Saturday. A huge factor in those results will be the status of Teemu Selanne.

Before the game starts, it's officially announced: The Flash is back!! Honestly, yours truly was a bit concerned about how Teemu Selanne would fit back into the lineup after he returned to the ice. I'm loving our top two lines as they have been these past couple of games and I don't want to see things change. At least, not too much.

Knowing my boy Bobby Ryan is good playing on either line (that boy is good playing with nearly anyone), I still wanted to see Matt Beleskey with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and I still wanted Saku Koivu with Dan Sexton. Why mess with good chemistry when we FINALLY have it?

As the first shifts hit the ice, I was happy to see that coach Carlyle and myself seemed to be of like mind for once.

Teemu was placed on the third line, with Petteri Nokelainen and Mike Brown. Odd linemates perhaps, but it didn't stop Teemu. He would pot the first goal of the game during the first period (during which yours truly had only radio feed so...). It was a tip-in coming to Teemu from Nokie in front of the crease, but you could definintely see that the down time hasn't done anything to the Finnish Flash and his ability to find those sweet spots on the ice. I think the time he spent conditioning only made him faster.

Starting into the second, our boys are moving well, spending lots of time with the puck. They have a number of scoring opportunities, and it eventually pays off. Matt Beleskey's third goal of the season (and third in as many games), is a perfect end to tic-tac-toe passing between Perry to Getzlaf on the wings and to Beleskey skating undefended down the slot.

Rinne is the only thing standing between him and the net, and it isn't enough. Ducks go up 2-0 and I'm definitely LOVING this kid! He's on a streak of game-winning goals and I'm hoping he can keep it up on that Perry/Getzlaf line.

Or maybe someone else on that line? I'm typing the previous paragraph and suddenly, Getzy scores from the top of the left circle. A seeing-eye slapper that's effectively screened by Beleskey.

Woooo!! Ducks up 3-0!!

The goals have made our boys confident and aggressive in their forechecking. The Predators are back on their heels and getting a little sloppy. Hiller is also feeding off that extra confidence, making some spectacular glove-handed saves and not giving up any rebounds.

Our boys continue to look sharp as the second period ends. Passes are connecting and feet are moving. Unfortunately, our Ducks take their first penalty before the horn sounds.

In the beginning moments of the third, and our Ducks' first penalty kill, Hornqvist nails a puck past Hiller. Preds are on the board, and energized by their goal. They're aggressive and taking advantage of the fact that our Ducks are having trouble getting into the Preds' zone. Even the power play falls flat.

They come back stronger in the last half, playing aggressively in the neutral zone in order to protect their lead. Unfortunately, a bad turnover leads to another goal for the Preds. They've closed the gap to one with three minutes left in regulation. It greatly unnerves me whenever our boys have to defend a lead with five minutes or so left. There's always that chance of a crazy comeback by the opponent, of the highlight-reel goal with 20 seconds left on the clock, of our boys getting squashed on the doorstep of victory.

But not tonight! Ducks would snap a 5-game streak of road losses and win this one, 3-2. Let's do it again tomorrow, boys! And Carlyle, please don't play Hiller on a back-to-back, ok??

Ducks vs St. Louis Blues

Remember the last time our Ducks hosted the Blues? If you don't, you're lucky. It was a horrible 0-5 shutout.

Needless to say, some payback is in order.

Jonas Hiller gets the start in net, after an awesome win Tuesday night against the hated Detroit Red Wings. Yours truly is excited to see if our boys can pull it together again for two straight wins at home.

On the other side of the ice is Chris Mason, who is in net for the Blues for the second night of a back-to-back. Incidentally, the Blues have a new coach after having sent Andy Murray packing. Not sure whether this bodes well for our Ducks or not, it might still make things interesting. The Blues are doing just as badly as our hometown heroes, and they go into tonight's contest tied for the 12th spot in the Western Conference.

Even though the Blues played (and lost to) the San Jose Sharks last night, I'm impressed by the energy and forechecking pressure of the Blues' forwards. No wonder the Blues are so good on the road. Our boys are matching them step for step and it's an energetic burst through the first period.



The Blues get on the scoreboard first, a short-hander off the faceoff during a Ducks' power play no less. Hiller had no chance blocking that one, as it caromed and changed direction off the shaft of Corey Perry's stick. I'm hoping our boys can overcome the drop in momentum.

Our boys keep the shots on goal coming, however, and both the first and second lines have their chances. Kudos to defenseman Steve Eminger. I'm not always impressed by Eminger, favoring Nick Boynton more times than not between the two, but Eminger does a great job stepping up during this game... at least during the first period. He's sacrificing the body to block shots and making good decisions along the blue line.


My new favorite 1st line consists of Ryan Getzlaf centering Perry and rookie Matt Beleskey

Guys start to mix things up after the whistle and the game gets even more physical than it already had been. Unfortunately, Perry unwisely decides to take himself and Blues' David Backes out of the game for five minutes.


Maybe Pears thought a fight would be a good way to get his team riled up over their one-goal deficit?

Going into the second period, Ducks continue to come on strong. Impressive yet again are the puck-handling skills of Petteri Nokelainen. Nokie has been awesome in the last couple of games, getting good scoring chances because he's been able to play his gritty game while deftly maneuvering the puck around defenders. Keep it up, Nokie!

Ducks draw back to back penalties and earn a valuable 5-on-3 opportunity. Our boys set up a number of one-timers, but can't get anything through to the net before the penalties expire. However, shortly thereafter, Nokie provides the perfect screen for a James Wisniewski slapshot from the top of the left circle.


Wiz's equalizer is his second goal of the season

As we hit the halfway mark of the game, Ducks continue to apply pressure to what seems to be a tiring Blues team. Big hits and battles along the boards come up favoring our boys, and Ducks are leading in shots on goal. On the other end of the ice, Hiller is holding his own with some sharp saves as well.

At this point, yours truly is the recipient of gracious Duck friends once again and can enjoy the rest of the game from the 200 section. The majority of the second period is fairly quiet, with man-advantage opportunities for both teams turning up empty. The score going into the second intermission is 1-1.



Only one minute into the third, Hiller is the recipient of another unlucky bounce. A puck fired absently towards the Duck net ricochetes off of Ryan Whitney and bounces into the net past Hiller.

I think every Duck fan at the Ponda matched Hiller's skyward look of disbelief. The goal, combined with a double minor penalty against captain Scott Niedermayer, have the Ducks reeling back on their heels.

Following a potentially dangerous Blues breakaway (Brett Festerling came up big sliding in and poking the puck away from the charging Blues forward) Saku Koivu jumps on a puck that squirts from a battle against the boards and passes it to my boy Bobby Ryan as he's streaking through the neutral zone.

From where I'm sitting, I see the puck head straight to number 9 with speed. "Go Bobby go!" The next thing I know, the puck is in the back of the net and Bobby is celebrating with a jump against the glass. The replay reveals a perfectly beautiful highlight reel snapshot fired between the legs of the Blues defender, targeted into the top far corner of the net.


Bobby's incredible play earns him the first star of the game

The last half of the period is met with renewed energy from our boys. Tied up, big saves still coming from Hiller, hits still raining from both benches, it's looking like we might be in for some overtime. Our Ducks are applying a lot of pressure in the final five minutes, credit to Mason for keeping his mates in this one.

With less than three minutes left in regulation, Getzy forces a turnover in the Blues zone. Perry plucks the puck away and circles it towards the net, firing on Mason. A rebound results, but Beleskey is there as he crashes the net to chip the puck over Mason.


Beleskey brings the Ponda to life with his game winner and second goal of his NHL career

Time is suddenly on the Ducks' side as our boys take the lead for the first time tonight. Todd Marchant escapes the defensive zone with the puck and is able to evade a Blues defender for the empty net insurance goal.


Marchant: "I've been taking tips from Robbie Niedermayer..."

This one goes down in the books as another Ducks win at home, 4-2. Time to take the winning to the road, boys!

Ducks vs Detroit Red Wings

"Hey Pavel, you better tell him! You're gonna get it too!"--Corey Perry

The above is one of my favorite quotes ever caught on tape, during a game against the Detroit Red Wings in which Perry was mic'ed up. And indeed, it held true in tonight's contest between our hometown heroes and those nasty Wings as Pavel Datsyuk was made a non-factor.

Just for clarification, I don't hate the Red Wings. They've got plenty of talented players who do good things for the sport. Rather, it's the throngs of obnoxious Red Wing FANS that show up at the Ponda whenever this team is in town.


Wayyy too many red jerseys for my taste...

Who I am happy to see back on the ice is Ryan Getzlaf. Getzy does a lot of everything, but I'm sure there's also a huge psychological effect on the rest of the team just having their big offensive leader back. You could feel the momentum swing as the game started up.


Sight for sore eyes: Getzy's back!

The Red Wings came out of the gates, guns ablazing. Ducks defense allowed too much space between themselves and the Wings' offense, and I was not happy with the lack of pressure on the puck. What happened to our forechecking skills?

Early on, Getzy took a dumb penalty in the neutral zone. Slashing, I believe it was. During the ensuing penalty kill, Saku Koivu capitalized on a Bertuzzi turnover and he raced down the ice with Rafalski on his heels. Excellent stick handling and puck protection by Saku led to a shot on Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard. Veteran wisdom kept Saku on the inside of Rafalski, just long enough to whack at the rebound off Howard, and send it into the net.


A beautiful short-hander gives Saku his 9th for the season, 200th for his NHL career, and a turning point for his team

After that goal and the remainder of Getzlaf's penalty was killed off, our boys came with a vengeance. The big line, now consisting of Getzy, Corey Perry, and rookie Matt Belesky (who I've already been impressed with), got one, two, three shots on goal... and one goes in.

It was a perfect setup, with Brett Festerling quickly passing the puck along the blue line to Sheldon Brookbank, who one-times it toward the net. The puck narrowly missed the post and then rebounded off the boards straight back out to Belesky, who pushed it between Howard's foot and the goalpost short-side.


Ironic that Matt's first NHL goal would follow almost exactly two minutes after Saku's 200th

Yours truly is extremely happy to see this young man get his due with a goal. Take every advantage that you're on a line with Getz and Pears, Matt... plenty to learn from these boys.

From then on, our hometown heroes continued to play well. There was great puck possession, dominance in the faceoff circle, and successful battles fought in the corners. Ducks stayed physical and the hits kept coming. In short, our boys looked like a new team. Controlled, confident, dangerous.


Let's round out a good period with a tussle between Troy Bodie (who's already sporting a shiner courtesy of Blackhawks' Dustin Byfuglien) and Doug Janik

And the best part about going into the first intermission 2-0 on these Wings?? The fact that the otherwise obnoxious Wing fans at the Ponda have had the wind taken out of their sails.


Another phenomenal game for Jonas Hiller, who would get a nice W to show for it

There were no goals scored by either team during the second period, our boys came less aggressively, but still held strong defensively. Yours truly got to move closer to the ice courtesy of some awesome Duck friends who let me know there were a few open seats near them. The game is seriously faster when you're closer to the ice. You can appreciate the speed and the angles that our boys have to deal with, and how physical the game really is, especially against two gritty teams. It's harder to watch the game as a whole, but it's an incredible experience in its own way.

Kudos to Todd Marchant for putting in a most valiant effort tonight. He was out there, forcing turnovers, stealing pucks, and heading a strong PK unit. Every time something favorable happened with the puck, Marchant was in the middle of it.


Hiller: "Hey dude, thanks for getting my stick back to me."
Eminger: "No problem, bro." (or something like that, I'm sure)

You knew the Wings would give everything they had going into the third. Anaheim had some great scoring chances, but Howard locked down hard. The Detroit offensive was seriously lacking (not helped by the holes in their roster... but then, a lot of teams have holes right now), however they managed to get one past Hiller behind a nice big screen of Holmstrom's Butt.

But Getzy would help Perry put an end to his point drought nearly two and a half minutes later when he deftly stole the puck away from Rafalski on the doorstep and passed it between Lidstrom's feet to Perry, who popped it in behind Howard. Oh yes, Perry missed Getzy!

With the two-goal lead and about five minutes left in regulation, our boys continued to do a good job defensively, and made it their business to effectively clear the zone. Why they have such a hard time doing this in some/most games is beyond me.

Another fight before the end of the game, my boy Bobby Ryan would take a hit to the face by Wings' Lebda. He took offense but could not get Lebda to fight. Bertuzzi, however, was all over it. Bobby was quickly taken down to the ice as Bertuzzi's jersey came off faster than a virgin's dress on prom night, affording my boy absolutely no grip for leverage.


Bobby being escorted after his tussle

Adding sweet insult to injury, Kyle Chipchurra would seal the deal with an empty netter that was chipped across the length of the ice.


Ducks celebrate a glorious win 4-1, well-deserved


And Saku gets the first star of the game, also well-deserved

I'm hoping this is the team that shows up for Thursday's game against the Blues! Whaddya say, Ducks?

p.s.--My dear Ducks friend and Twitter pal Suz Broughton got to host Ducks TV this game. Check it out!

Rinks Tour - Learning from a Vet

The Anaheim Ducks held their third installment of the Rinks Speaking Series. Matt Belesky and my boy Bobby Ryan were joined by John Ahlers to talk about "learning from a vet."

At first, I thought the whole point of the topic would be best served by having veteran players present to speak. But Bobby and Matt are hardly veterans. I could only hazard to guess that the discussion had more to do with what rookies can learn from veterans, and that'll probably remain a mystery as yours truly got stuck in major SoCali rush hour traffic trying to get to the rink after work.

John Ahlers apparently got stuck in the same mass of cars, as I got a chance to talk to him a bit after the session. By the time I had arrived, much of the presentation was already over, and the question/answer session was underway.

The crowd was considerably bigger than it had been for past speaker series this season, and there was nowhere to sit or hide out for good pictures. I did what I could.


While the talk was underway, it was standing room only


Belesky, Ahlers, and Bobby taking questions from the crowd


Afterwards, the guys stayed behind to sign autographs and pose for pictures

Check the Ducks official website at http://ducks.nhl.com for more extensive coverage of this event!