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 Nashville, vs Predators

The number of times I wanted to just turn the television off and go to sleep might indicate just how awful this game felt.

Might I add that the game ended before 8pm?

Not that our boys played particularly badly, although I still don't like that our defense is often nowhere in sight (where's our D? Pfft, our D just played the Winter Classic, that's where), but watching a team struggle again and again... it's tiring. Poor Scotty Niedermayer is a -11 right now. Ugh.

Our one Duck goal in this game came from hard-working Mike Brown. THE hardest-working player on the Ducks roster game in and game out, is Mike Brown hands down. I like seeing Evgeny Artyukhin back out on the ice, and especially the way he played tonight. He was in the crease, causing havoc with his huge frame, and it allows guys like Mikey to get pucks in the net.

Right from the very beginning, our lack of defense is glaring. Jonas Hiller stood on his head and, behind a solid D, we would have won this game. But our boys relied too heavily on Hiller, even from the first puck drop, and there's only so much a goalie can do. If you missed this game, at least watch the highlight reel saves... Hiller has a number of awesome ones worth seeing.

Ryan Whitney is now sporting a Frankenstein-like scar on his lower left cheek thanks to taking a puck to the face. I'm glad he wasn't badly hurt, but honestly, if a top 6 defenseman goes out on IR, maybe we could call up a rookie with potential. Another Dan Sexton, but on defense?

I'll try to stay positive and focus on the few bright spots in tonight's game. Saku Koivu, again doing the little things. Even he has had to bump up his defense. As a smaller player, Saku does a great job darting into passing lanes and getting his stick in people's way.

Matt Belesky, again doing a great job being physical. He was on that puck, fighting for it along the boards and in the corners. Still loving this kid.

And final kudos to Corey Perry, who I noticed a number of times showing off those awesome stick-handling skills. That boy can move a puck. He didn't have any goals this game, but his skill is still there. Perry misses Ryan Getzlaf, it's very obvious.

I think we all miss Getzy... and Teemu Selanne... and Joffrey Lupul.

Ducks vs Phoenix Coyotes

"ILYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Ah, the sounds of a hockey game. The fan in front of me was busy heckling Coyotes' goalie Ilya Bryzgalov before puck drop. Not that a little heckling ever hurt anyone, but Bryz has had quite a run with the Yotes this season. He's up in the top five in the league as far as goalies go, and as an ex-Duck, I couldn't be happier for him.

Well, maybe I could be if we still had him in a Ducks sweater.

No matter, I love our goalies plenty. It was going to be Jonas Hiller in net, and that's comforting considering Hiller's record against the Coyotes. But tonight, everyone was going to have to step up. Ducks need every two points they can scrape together, especially against fellow Pacific Division foes.


Hiller was caught smiling during the anthem. Perhaps he saw Kyle Chipchurra's helmet hit the ice

I'm happy to see our boys skating well in the first, with a number of shots on goal, however nothing getting past Bryz despite back-to-back power plays. The Coyotes are looking just a bit sharper than our Ducks, fighting just a bit harder for those pucks, but they too can't capitalize on their power plays.

There's a change to the Coyote big line. Matthew Lombardi and Scottie Upshall are still there, but the third forward position is now being filled by Shane Doan. As if there was any way of making that deadly line even deadlier!


Captain Scott Niedermayer and Chipchurra attempting to shut down Lombardi and Upshall

The first goal of the game goes to Anaheim, as Mike Brown is able to be Johnny-On-the-Spot for a Petteri Nokeleinen bid that's saved by Bryz's blocker. The rebound lands in the slot and Mikey is there to chip it over the goalie's leg pads.


Mikey with the first goal

Something that has bothered me about our hometown heroes' play, and still bothers me. Why do our Ducks take so much time clearing the puck? The penalty kill has picked up tremendously, but when we aren't on the PK, I notice guys continually shooting behind the home net. Why? WHY??

Going into the second, Hiller has come up phenomenally, keeping the game 1-0. But eventually, Doan slams one home and evens up the score.

Less than a minute later, Chimichanga receives a feed from Matt Belesky at the point, and he beats Bryz point-blank with a nice backhander.


The boys celebrate Chimi's first as a Duck

By the way, big props to Belesky, who is looking awesome in this game. He's got some big physical play with strong hits and forechecks. Keep it up, Matt!

Then, the Yotes' Ed Jovanovski gets a penalty for holding. Our boys achieve some sweet tape-to-tape passing, eventually getting the puck to Getzy on the left wing, who walks it in and fires, beating Bryz short-side.

Ducks take their 3-1 lead into the second intermission.



If anyone thought Dan Sexton's skills were just a flash in the pan, they haven't actually seen this boy skate. He has a way of finding open ice. And he does it with such speed that he's almost always able to get a shot off. His shots on goal numbers are amazing, and his pucks are like homing rockets... never missing by much.
Early in the third, Ducks make a crucial mistake. A turnover in the defensive zone ends up behind Hiller, and the Yotes close the gap to one goal.

Not that we've let up offensively, Bryz has just stepped up and made a number of awesome saves of his own. It's like a battle of the goalies!

But then, the Yotes start getting desperate and start taking penalties. Jovo in the box once, twice, three times...

And on that third time, it would be my boy Bobby Ryan who would net a goal with only 20 seconds left in regulation, a beautiful tip-in from in front of the crease.


Jovo, #55, should've been awarded one of the Ducks three stars, two of his penalties led to power play goals for our boys

It's a great game for Ducks fans, without a single point going to the losing Pacific Division team. Wish we'd see more of these!


Well-deserved, Hiller gets the first star of the game

Ducks vs Phoenix Coyotes

Not wanting to jinx anything, I went into Saturday's contest against the visiting Phoenix Coyotes hoping our Ducks would play just as well as they had been of late, to string together a second win. But I didn't say anything.

No mention of how good our second line was starting to look, as they've appeared to have finally found each other. No mention of how red hot Corey Perry has been. No mention when Jonas Hiller puts on his very best performance between the pipes. I did point out the irony that Ducks D-man James Wisniewski would be returning to the ice for the first time since the two-game suspension he received for his CLEAN hit on Yotes' captain Shane Doan.

As good as our boys are playing now, it still does sit badly in the minds of numerous Duck fans, that we started off this season in last place. I hope we can make up for a horrible October with a stellar November and December.

For the game against Phoenix, I was blessed with a ticket right behind the players benches. I will say it's definitely an experience to be had by any fan at least once. I was mere feet away from the players, which lent for some awesome photo opportunities; however, I couldn't see anything as far as the game went.

I do know that goals went to Teemu Selanne in the 1st, my boy Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry in the 2nd, and Mike Brown in the 3rd. Our Ducks went into the final 15 minutes of the game with a 4-0 shutout, but then they decided to give us fans a scare by allowing Phoenix to score three times in ten minutes!

Luckily, the Yotes weren't able to net an equalizer and the Ducks would take the win, and two much-needed points, 4-3. Hopefully the momentum from a couple of wins at home will carry over onto the road, where our boys will play four games before coming back home for an extended homestand through the end of November.

And now for those pictures!

Ducks vs Vancouver Canucks

Our hapless Ducks went into tonight's contest against the Vancouver Canucks with the loathsome record of 3-6-1, second worse in the Western Conference. Having sat through three gameless days with the bad taste of Monday's 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs lingering in their mouths, our Ducks sounded determined to turn things around.

As a fan, I can say, "Oh, I've heard that before..." and roll my eyes. But, as a TRUE Ducks fan, I can say, "Okay boys, we still believe in you, the season is still young, let's fight for this..." and then pray that we come out of tonight with a win.

The season is only young for so long, of course, and our Ducks do need to be playing better if they expect to get anywhere near playoff contention. While it's natural to feel angry and frustrated, I'd say these are the times that are the most important to show our support for our boys. After all, anyone can support a winning team. Only loyal fans stick with a losing team.

It was with a certain amount of anxiety that fans filed into the Ponda Friday night, Halloween Eve. Would our boys leave dressed as game winners? Or would they drop yet another game and fall officially into last place (the Minnesota Wild won their game that night so a loss would drop our Ducks to the bottom)?


Duck's starting lineup during the National Anthem, probably saying their own prayers under their breaths.

The night started off bleak, with the Canucks finding the net a mere 66 seconds after puck drop. They would score again for a 2-0 lead later in the first period.


Bobbyhead surveys the miserable scene from the 224B Suite Box

And then, miracle of miracles, our boys decide to show up. Jonas Hiller would pull his game together to stop every remaining Canuck shot on goal, Corey Perry decided to add to his point tally as lead scorer for the team, and our fourth line rallied to put some points on the scoreboard too.

Perry's first goal would come towards the end of the first, as Joffrey Lupul shot a tight pass to him at the top of the slot. Converging on the net, Perry wristed the puck past netminder Andrew Raycroft.

Our Ducks would blow the game wide open in the second, with big George Parros and Mike Brown scoring their first goals of the season. Georgie's goal came from a bid on net by Ryan Carter, thankfully back on the ice since his foot injury. George was right in front of Raycroft and, falling through the crease, pushed the rebounding puck twice, the second time past the goaltender.

Mikey's goal came off an odd-man rush. He, along with Carts who assisted, sped towards Raycroft and cleanly netted the puck with a neat backhander. A nice career-first shorthanded goal for Mikey, scored against his former team.


Mike Brown, I repeat, one of the best things we ever picked up from Vancouver

Perry would put in his second goal of the night before the period's end with a tip-in in front of his favorite spot in the crease. My boy Bobby Ryan would grab an assist on this one, and then put in his own goals in the next period. Captain Scott Niedermayer grabbed the second assist, his official 700th NHL point. We fans gave him a standing ovation.


The large number of Canuck fans before us sat begrudgingly as Duck fans jumped to their feet to celebrate another Duck goal

Bobby's first goal came off a beautiful cross-slot feed from Ryan Getzlaf during the power play. Bobby quickly converted with a slap shot that beat Cory Schneider, who took over for Raycroft at the start of the third. His second goal came less than three minutes later, with Perry lending the assist. Bobby caught a rebound off Schneider and was able to wrist it over the netminder's pads. See, good things happen when you hang around the crease!


Yours truly is personally VERY happy to see Bobby add to that goal tally, and judging by the huge grin on his face after, I don't think I'm the only happy one!

By this time, the Duck victory was safely in the bag, but just to be safe, the Ponda thought it might help out with a fluke goal that sealed the Canucks' fate, 2-7. Lupes would send the puck along the glass and into the Canuck zone and Schneider, expecting to move things along behind the net, left his crease to meet the puck. A strange bounce off a stantion angled the puck directly at an open net. Lupes would get credited with the goal, one of the strangest ones I've ever seen live.

But we'll take it!


Bobbyhead kickin' it on the suite couch. Scoring two goals and an assist in one game is tiring! (photo courtesy of @HillerNtheNet)

It was like our boys could do no wrong, at least for the 2nd and 3rd periods. The Duck faithful fans in attendance were strongly rewarded for their loyalty, and we were more than happy to be there. Now, if our boys could only use this newfound energy to springboard a winning streak?


Ducks celebrate a long-awaited win with second star of the night, Jonas Hiller


First star of the night, Bobby Ryan

Anaheim Ducks in a Roll

What's one of my favorite things... besides Ducks hockey? Sushi! So when my Ducks Twitter pal Emily invited me as her guest to the Ducks first annual "Get Your Anaheim Ducks in a Roll" event, I was giddy with anticipation for days.

The event itself turned out to be better than either of us could have imagined. Of course, I brought Baby Rebel (pictures at all allowed events are a must) and also, for the fun of it, I brought my "Bobbyhead" (credit goes to Adam Brady) for coining the name.

Note: the lighting inside RA Sushi was elegantly beautiful to the eye, harshly cruel to the camera.


RA Sushi at Tustin's District

Not knowing anything beforehand about this event, the guests were brought up to speed by none other than John Ahlers.



Ducks James Wisniewski, Scott Niedermayer, Saku Koivu, and Mike Brown were on hand to roll their own sushi creations, with help from the RA Sushi chefs, of course. Samples of each Duck roll could be tasted, along with sake testers. If you wanted to purchase a roll or sake drink, you could and a portion of the money would be donated to the Anaheim Ducks Foundation charity. Also, each roll purchase would count as a "vote" for that particular roll.

There were also judges on hand to rate our boys' creations on various measures such as presentation, best name, creativity, taste, etc. At the end of the night, the votes would be tallied and the winning roll announced. That roll will be part of the menu at RA Sushi until November 6th, with a portion of the proceeds still going to the Ducks charity.

What a unique idea! Let's see some pictures...


Bobby would enjoy a "Zamboni" sake drink too, if he was tall enough...


Duck sushi rolls: "The Big Wisniewski" roll, "When You're Finnish, You'll Want More SAKU!" roll, "Great Scott" roll, and "Lucky #13" roll


Mike Brown, watching and learning




Saku Koivu: "This is so much fun! But you know, it's a lot harder than it looks."


Scott Niedermayer, calm and focused as always


Me: "So this is what you guys are doing during the offseason, eh?"
Wiz: "Oh heck yeah!"


Saku: "What is that stuff?"
Wiz: "Beats me, but it tastes awesome so I'm putting it in my roll!" (improvised by the blogger)




Wiz and Scotty proudly showing off their culinary creations


Mikey putting the finishing touches on his roll: "Pine nuts! That's where it's at!"


Me: "Saku! Will you and Scotty be in a picture for me?" He so wonderfully obliged... and I got the sushi chef too


Bobby gave all the rolls two thumbs, and a hockey stick, up


Why is Saku holding a spoon and a bottle of Sriracha?



All of the rolls were excellent, however I did end up voting for Scotty's "Great Scott" roll. Saku's roll was a close second for me, while Mikey's was a little too unique for my taste buds. After all of the votes were tallied, Wiz's "The Great Wisniewski" roll won and will be featured at RA Sushi for the next month.


Scotty, Bobby, and Emily

To top off an already amazing night, yours truly won the raffle for the team-signed Ducks jersey.



If you get a chance to attend this incredible event next year, I highly recommend you go!