Anaheim Ducks Weekly Round Up

Anaheim Ducks Weekly Roundup: week of 12/15-12/21

Ducks 7 game win streak as Leafs achieve their own 7th straight win, 6-2 loss

This game was just hard to watch, the Ducks had just won 3 games on their Canadian road trip and had lost some juice when playing a hot opponent.  Ducks were down 2-0 by the early 2nd period and had brief hope when Sami Vatanen scored a short handed goal 13:13 in the 2nd.  Anaheim did not get another goal until after David Booth and Nazem Kadri posted ginos and put the Ducks down 4-1, Ryan Kesler scored a goal 3 minutes after Kadri.  4-2 does not seem insurmountable with around 11 minutes left but Phil Kessel put the game away with 2 goals to end the contest.  It was hard to see the Ducks put away like this, they don't always blow people out of the water but they do come out with victories most of the time, but this was unmatched from the get go, Maple Leafs were the hotter of the two hot teams and weren't letting The NHL's best team beat them in their own barn.  Ilya Bryzgalov had a short debut but was not enough to wake up his team and lead them to victory.

Ducks get back on track with a 2-1 victory over Montreal

Hampus Lindholm started off the scoring for the Ducks with a slapper inside the point off of a pass from Getzy who got the puck from the corner.  This game was back and forth with momentum and possession switching hands frequently and 5 and a half minutes into the 3rd period, the Canadiens final answered with a power play goal off the stick of David Desharnais, a tic tac toe like play assisted by Andrei Markov and Alexander Galchenyuk.  Matt Beleskey responded 3 minutes after David Desharnias with a goal of his own which he scored off of passes from Rickard and Devante Smith-Pelly.  Max Pacioretty left the game in the 3rd and did not return for the Canadiens after receiving a hit that landed him headfirst into the boards by Clayton Stoner.  Stoner was not given a penalty for his hit but it did result in Brandon Prust coming after him and fighting him to the ground.  Stoner came in from the side to hit Pacioretty who was an idiot and watched his pass for too long, unaware of Max, The hit looked ugly but not illegal.  Freddy Andersen added 24 saves to the Ducks effort and the Ducks won their 16th 1 goal regulation victory, they have five 1 goal OT losses and none during regulation.  Saku was honored tonight by the Canadiens who captained the team for over a decade until signing as a free agent with The Ducks in 2009 and spending 5 seasons in Anaheim.  Congratulations Saku on such a great career and being a leader to two great NHL franchises.

Ducks embarrassed in Ottawa: 6-2 loss

One good thing you can say about this game is that the 5 game Canada trip is finally over.  Ilya Bryzgalov made a start of The Ducks for the first time in 7 years and its was just awful, Frederick Andersen had started 20 straight games and during a road trip with many miles traveled, it was only right to give him the night off.  Tonight I wish Andersen could have come in because this game was never close, The Ducks were down 4-0 by the second and The final two goals were sandwiched between 2 Ryan Getzlaf goals.  Getzlaf and Lovejoy had 2 points each in the contest but other than that it was all Senators.  Bobby Ryan scored 2 goals against the Ducks, his former team.  Ducks close out their trip 3-2 with their 2 losses being blow outs, They remain at the top of the NHL standings with 49 points but they are playing pretty average and other teams are.  These guys aren't too far removed from a 7 game win streak so I look forward to them getting refreshed over the holiday break and getting after it.

Footnotes

Corey Perry continues to be held out of the lineup with a lower body injury and was ruled out of Monday's game against San Jose.  Corey Perry was near the top of the goal scoring race before missing time due to contracting mumps and time due to this injury.

Ilya Bryzgalov returned to The Ducks in relief of a 6-2 loss to the Maple leafs and a start and loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, also a 6-2 score.  Can John Gibson please come back?

Clayton Stoner has received no discipline for his hit on Max Pacioretty, the hit was not considered  penalty in their 2-1 victory over Montreal.