And the award goes to...

After the last two games, I need some good news to raise the morale here.

As badly as the Ducks have placed themselves in the standings with too many losses against teams they shouldn't have lost to, some of our individual Ducks have actually done quite well during the month of January.

Captain Scott Niedermayer took honors as one of the league's Three Stars for the month of January as he led all defensemen with 17 points in 14 games. He also landed third in scoring for the month.

First in scoring for the league belongs to Ryan Getzlaf with 19 points.

My boy Bobby Ryan earned himself the Rookie of the Month title which, incidentally is the first time a Ducks rookie has claimed that award in the league. He also tied for top goal scorer with Calgary's Mike Cammallari.

On the team effort, the Ducks power play has the top efficiency percentage for January, beating out both the Sharks and the Red Wings.

And somehow, our boys are still struggling for playoff standing??

In other Bobby Ryan news, I've heard that my boy is the subject of an excellent article in this month's issue of Sports Illustrated. I'll be picking that up the next time I'm at the newsstand. He's also on the cover of the current Ducks Digest, which I'll be getting when I attend the home game against the Flames on the 11th (woo!). There's also this little tidbit from the NHL Live radio show. Check it out.

If you haven't noticed, I'm all about this kid.

Ducks at Nashville, vs Predators

I'm watching this game while lying sick in bed. Not cool, but I'm hoping a win will be the medicine I need. Heaven knows the Ducks need a win!

The big news tonight is that J.S. Giguere is back in the net. Giggy hasn't played since the All Star break, hopefully the time off has given him a chance to breathe deeply, relax, and refocus his concentration. As wonderful as Jonas Hiller is, it's Giggy who has gotten this team into past championships.

We Ducks fan should just consider ourselves extremely lucky to have two excellent goaltenders on our team.

More news, the Ducks have acquired some new meat. I was about to say fresh meat considering how much play these guys have gotten recently on their former teams, but that somehow didn't sound right. Put Nathan McIver and David McIntyre on a plane, send it out and bring it back, and who should disembark but the Devils' Sheldon Brookbank and the Canucks' Mike Brown. I hope somebody's got a miracle up their sleeves...

Anyway.

As the first period unfolds, I'm elated to see Giguere playing with speed and agility. He made a number of excellent saves, but unfortunately, he couldn't keep the Predators from scoring first.

It seems our Ducks have made a tradition of letting the opposition score first, having done so in the last eight consecutive games. I'm not liking that one bit. At least this time, they answered with a beautiful goal by Corey Perry, who deftly maneuvered the puck past various Predator defenders to wrap it cleanly past netminder Pekka Rinne.

Going in to the first intermission, it's tied 1 to 1.

The Predators quickly regain their lead early in the second, and solidify it with another goal roughly ten minutes later. Trailing 1 to 3, my hopes are sinking for that Duck win. Ryan Carter honorably tries to rally the troops, earning himself and Kevin Klein fighting majors.

It almost worked. Bobby Ryan misses a goal by mere inches, bouncing a puck off the inside of a pipe as he got checked in front of the Predator goal crease. But a minute before the end of the second, Teemu Selanne manages a pass from behind the net to Perry, who happens to be right at the crease, and he pushes it in. Second goal for Perry, and the score tightens to 2-3 going into the second intermission.

Early in the third, Bobby is denied yet another goal. This one, a perfect pass from Brendan Morrison, and is somehow caught by Rinne from point blank range. My boy is visibly frustrated, as are Duckss fan all around, I'm sure. Just when you think the Ducks have turned over a new leaf with back to back wins, they follow that up with what is looking to be a back to back loss.

And to rub salt into a gaping wound, Ryan Getzlaf gets a high-sticking penalty with less than three minutes left in the game. Once he's out of the box, there would only be 45 seconds to get that equalizer. Hopes rise for a split second when a Pred is also sent to the box for a holding penalty, but those are quickly dashed when Carlyle sends Giggy to the bench and the Preds score an empty net goal.

I turned off the television at this point, a 4-2 loss was enough to make me ill.

Ducks at Minnesota, vs Wild

I'm writing this entry after the fact...

After the fact that I heard the Ducks take the shameful 0-3 shutout loss over the radio at work.

After the fact that I went home and watched my recorded broadcast, with the Wild grabbing that first goal of the game in the first, another goal in the second, and a third empty net goal in the third.

Jonas Hiller was in net and did as good a job as he could, given his team wasn't giving him any strong defensive backing. The offense wasn't much more effective. Against a team like the Wild... check that. Against a goaltender like Niklas Backstrom, you need to have a really good offensive to get pucks into the net. I felt like our Ducks just couldn't get a cohesive play together. Things seemed disjointed, sloppy, and lethargic.

And how many times did Ryan Getzlaf's skates flip out from under him? I swear, he fell more often than I do when I'm attempting to travel on ice, and I SUCK on skates.

I am happy to say that Bobby Ryan was back on the ice for this game. After watching him get checked and pummeled to the point where he wasn't even on the bench for most of the final period, I was just hoping to see my boy back in the lineup. But otherwise, not much else to be proud of in this game!

Honestly, I don't feel much like recapping the loss. So, let's just move on to the next game which, unfortunately, wasn't a win either.

Ducks vs Buffalo Sabres

I had the weirdest dream the other night. It involved Chris Pronger, an Asian girl who I totally recognized in the dream but whose name I didn't (and still don't) have the faintest idea, and a few random coworkers of mine. Yeah. Whatever.

If you wanted to sum up this game in one word, it would be aggressive.

Although our Ducks didn't really step up to that term until the second period, there was already a lot of energy, a lot of action, through the first. Hiller started in net again, facing off with Patrick Lalime in the opposite net.

The Ducks were lucky it wasn't Drew Miller's brother Ryan Miller that they'd be trying to get pucks past... I understand that boy's got some skills.

The Sabres scored the first goal of the game, at the end of a horribly unfortunate play that left my boy Bobby Ryan writhing in pain on the ice behind the Ducks' net. He had just collided with the goalscorer, ramming his right knee hard into the boards. He had to be helped off the ice and luckily, much to the cheers of the home crowd, was able to rejoin his mates after the television commercial break.

Whew! I'm willing to bet that it's only a matter of time before Bobby gets seriously injured. He's a passionate player who plays with a lot of heart. He charges head-first as he chases loose pucks... and when he hits or gets hit, it isn't a light tap. As he becomes more notorious as a Ducks' scorer, other teams won't hesitate to attempt to take him out.

As if to realize my fears, Bobby sustained a couple more injuries in this game... with opponents and with his own teammates (he collided hard with Bret Hedican at one point).

The Ducks amped up their game in the second period. More time was spent in the Sabres' zone, more shots on Lalime. And again, Bobby went down as the wind was knocked out of him. He struggled to make his way back to the bench, blocking a shot on goal by Brett Festerling as he did. That play ended with a fight between Corey Perry and a Sabre.

Once Bobby got his breath back, he led a charge down the ice 3 on 2 towards the Sabres goal. Lalime managed to cover the puck, but Bobby nearly crashed into him. And that started a second scrum... and another man in each penalty box.

The Ducks power play came on hard and strong during this game, I was proud to see our boys fighting so well. A few minutes after halfway through the game, it paid off. Pronger's one-timer found the net, thanks to Todd Marchant's effective goalie screen, and the game was tied, 1-1.

Bobby had his incident with Hedican shortly after that goal, sending both players reeling across the blue line. Just not a good night for my boy!

And then, another fight. Craig Rivet starts pushing Chris Kunitz, Kunitz pushes back. And Rivet tries to control himself (he'd already paid five for fighting with Perry), yet his smirk triggers Steve Montador to throw the gloves down and attack.

As Montador and Rivet go at it, another scuffle starts up at the bottom of the Sabre net. The overhead shot of the rink reveals gloves and sticks strewn all over the ice.

It's really quite exciting.

I think our boys think so too, there are a bunch of smiles on the guys sitting on the bench.

Another fight instigated by Sabre's Weber, as he challenges Ryan Getzlaf. Getz doesn't bite, and Weber is sent to the penalty box. Another Ducks power play. No goal, but Ducks end the period with 20 shots versus Sabres' 6... and another tussle.

The tie is broken during the first half of the third period with a beautifully executed pass from Teemu Selanne to Andrew Ebbett who bumped the puck into the goal crease right as Chris Kunitz arrived on-scene. Kunitz sent the puck cleanly between Lalime's legs and brought the Ducks into their first lead of the game, 2 to 1.

The puck again spends most of its time in the Buffalo zone. The Ducks capitalize on a power play, with Montador slapping from the blue line, and the puck doing a little dance between the Sabre netminder's legs. Perry spots the puck dawdling in front of the goal line and he's in the perfect position to tap it in.

Even before the announcer can finish declaring the Duck goal, George Parros goes fist to fist with a Sabre. He's still in the penalty box when Drew Miller gets penalized for hooking, creating a much-needed Sabre power play. They only manage to make two shots on goal. There's a turnover that has Kunitz charging down the ice towards Lalime. His shot doesn't go in, but it's a thrill to watch our Ducks take so much control over a very frustrated and tired Buffalo team.

Apparently not tired enough to not score. Rivet lands a goal off an ill-placed Hiller rebound, narrowing the Ducks' lead, 3-2.

Bobby has been conspicuously missing from the Ducks' bench for at least the past couple of minutes... his injuries appear to be catching up to him. I'm just hoping we'll see him at the next game.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Pronger gets an interference penalty. Big chance for the Sabres to tie it up. Despite the 6 on 4 mismatch (Buffalo gets yet another man on the ice after Lalime is pulled from the net), the Ducks manage to hold on.

A great game results in an even greater win for the Ducks, 3-2.

Ducks at Colorado, vs Avalanche

I would have been home to watch this game as it happened, but Saturday afternoon found me exploring the Southwestern-flavored countryside of Scottsdale, Arizona. That was the tail end of a road trip to see Avenged Sevenfold.

Anyway! I had a nice Ducks game waiting for me in my VCR once I got home.

Jonas Hiller started in net again. If you're making saves and you're hot in between the pipes, the coach will keep starting you. Hiller is now ranked third in goals against average.

This game is a record breaker for Teemu Selanne, his 617th game with the Ducks. That's the most games played by any player for the Ducks in the history of the franchise. Congrats, Teemu!

A lot of speed skating and quick goals on net in this game. The Avalanche are super-quick on the ice. Just as I started to wonder about the partnering of Bobby Ryan with Ryan Carter and George Parros, a play ends with Bobby getting pushed, and then pushing back, and then a potential fight breaking out and risking our star Duck... and then you see Parros come charging in. I guess, if you've got Big George on your line, guys will think twice about messing with you.

The first Avalanche goal comes during a power play. The Ducks answer quickly back with a beautifully executed goal by Parros. Ryan Getzlaf faked a shot, sending Avalanche defenders flying in the wrong direction, then passed back to Brendan Mikkelson who slapped the shot toward the net where it was knocked in by Parros.

Lots of excitement in the first period, including an unfortunate four-minute penalty by Corey Perry. There was also an amazing breakaway play by Chris Kunitz, who single-handedly rushed the goal, faked Avalanche netminder Peter Budaj and tried to stuff the puck into the right side of the crease, only to be blocked by a Budaj's leg pad.

Towards the end of the first period, Ducks take the lead with a goal scored by Getzlaf, assisted by Kunitz and Perry. I'd like to say it was a doozy of a shot, but actually, I think it was more of a mistake on Budaj's part. He probably should have been able to make that save.

It's okay though, we'll take it! Getzlaf goes on to make one goal and two assists in this game.

The second period showcases a lot of back and forth with the puck, but a short-handed goal comes out of a high-sticking Avalanche penalty. The Avalanche ties it up, 2 to 2. They quickly follow it up with another goal, pulling them into the lead, 3 to 2.

There were some big mistakes in the second period for the Ducks, both of which resulted in the Avalanche goals. But finally, another power play for the Ducks, and they regain the tie with a pretty backhanded pass from my boy Bobby straight to Scott Niedermayer who, all in one fast motion, slaps it into the goal. That extends Bobby's point streak to seven games straight, a rookie record.

The next play results in a huge tussle in front of Hiller at the crease. Amazingly, the puck didn't go in. Kudos to Hiller for some fantastic saves there! As the smoke clears, Brett Hedican is left bent over in pain, blood shooting from his face onto the ice. The replay reveals an Avalanche elbow connecting with Hedican's nose.

Ugh. No penalty there. Is it just me or wasn't Corey Perry suspended for four games because of an elbow-to-the-face offense?

Speaking of injuries, there seems to be a lot of them for the Ducks with this game. Pronger and Bobby each take a high stick to the face, Hedican takes an elbow to the face, and Getzlaf takes a puck to the face. Geezus.

The tie is broken in the first half of the third period, an awkward yet successful goal by Selanne, assisted by Andrew Ebbett, his second point of the season (both earned in this game). The cameras caught Selanne sitting on the bench after his goal, accompanied by the veteran's two rookie linemates, giving each of them appreciative shoulder pats.

It just gives you the feeling that Selanne, the veteran star, remembers being an up and coming rookie, and is doing his part to encourage the new boys.

The last few minutes of the third period were nothing but a nail-biter. Players and pucks strewn all about the Ducks' zone, everyone fighting furiously to bring/deny the equalizer. I'm absolutely amazed that Hiller didn't give up any goals in scramble after scramble. Unbelievable! Playing a very offensive defense, the Ducks manage to deny the Avalanche, pulling a win 4-3 and their ranking up to fifth in the Western Conference.

Go Ducks!