Anaheim Ducks Round Up

Anaheim Ducks Weekly: 10/20-10/26

10/22/14: 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres

Well, this was another no brainer because the Ducks played the Sabres.  This is professional hockey and any team can be beat by anyone else on any given night, but it's hard to be intimidated by the Sabres these days.  Corey Perry lit the lamp 3 times for his second hat trick of the season, his last an empty netter and Freddy Andersen put up another solid outing only giving up 1 goal and saving 23 shots.  Since Perry's last goal was an empty netter it shows that the game was close until he put it away in the final minute.  The Ducks extended their win streak to 6 and Corey Perry stays red hot with his 6,7, and 8th goals in just 7 games.

10/24/14: 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead real quick off of a slick fake shot pass from Vatanen to Perry and an hard slapper from the point off of Vatanen's stick both which were scored during power plays.  The Ducks power play is on fire so far this season after being 22nd in the league last year, a good sign that an already contending team is getting better.  Devante Smith-Pelly added a beautiful tap in off a Perry re direct and Getzy sealed the deal with an empty netter of a pass from Cogliano.  This game marked a return to the NHL for Netminder John Gibson who was lit up for 6 goals in the season opener, in the first game Gibson did not have much help in front of him, this game would prove to be different as the Blue Jackets only put 17 shots on net.  Gibson did not have much work but he looked solid in net which is a good sign for a team with two young goalies who should lean on and support each other throughout this season.  The Blue Jackets are a high flying team that should make the playoffs this year so this dominant performance and 7th straight win was no gimme.  The Ducks looked like a team that can't be stopped, but winning streaks don't last forever in a 82 game season.

10/26/14: 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks

This game was just not going to go The Ducks' way from the get go, the boys fell behind 2-0 after one off of goals from Brent Burns (100th of his career) and little Joe Pavelski who was a 40 goal scorer last season.  The Sharks were on a 4 game losing streak and the Ducks were on a 7 game wining streak, both of those were bound to come to an end at some point.  165 penalty minutes were dished out on this night, big contributors were Perry and Tim Jackman for the Ducks who got 17 and 21 respectively, but all players got involved including goaltender Freddy Andersen, big dogs Joe Thornton, and Ryan Getzlaf and Ben Lovejoy who broke some bones in his hand.  As much as I would have loved a win more, The Ducks stuck together and stood up for one another, seeing how Ice Hockey is an extremely violent sport, getting physical and roughing someone up in defense of a teammate is a huge component.  The huge piece of shit John Scott who revels in cheap shots made sure to jump over the boards and attack Tim Jackman once Jackman got released from the penalty box.  As I said, I love sticking up for your teammates but bro, you can give the guy a rough up a tad bit later than immediately after he gets out of the box.  I hate the Sharks so it was awful to see the Ducks lose to them in such manner, more of a fight with some hockey sprinkled in, The Cali teams are 3 of the best teams in the NHL who all hate each other, plus being blown out will cause frustrations to boil over.  Bright spots in this brawl were Andersen posting 33 saves and Beleskey doing his best to put his team back into the game when he scored with under 10 minutes left.  This was not Anaheim's night and it will not get easier as they must travel over 3,000 miles in the next week and go up against such contenders as the Chicago Blackhawks, St.Louis Blues,  and Dallas Stars.

Extra Notes:  Ben Lovejoy broke his hand in a brawl on Sunday night and will be out for 6-8 weeks, and Josh Manson has been called up from Norfolk.  Josh has 1 assist in 7 games this season and is a -1 in the plus/minus category. 

Freddy Andersen lost just his 6th game in a 2 season span and continues to impress even when he doesn't get the W.

Corey Perry scored his 9th goal of the season against Columbus which is good for a first place tie with Rick Nash for the league lead, he is now scoring at a goal per game clip.

John Scott was given a 2 game suspension for his altercation with Tim Jackman when he left the bench to fight him. (video of fight below)