Game 26: Ducks vs. Kings 11.29.10

OPINION:
Well, as a Ducks fan nothing makes me happier than watching the Ducks shutout the Kings. Their bandwagon made its way into Honda Center and nobody would be the wiser because the Ducks gave them absolutely nothing to cheer about. They say silence is golden, and when it comes to keeping Kings fans quiet, it really is. Hiller was absolutely on fire, and completely robbed Kopitar at the end for what I consider the game winning save. The entire 2nd line was beastly and a force to be reckoned with, and Cam Fowler (Still can't believe we got him in the 12th round when he was projected to go as fast as 3rd!) had his best game in a Ducks uni, in my opinion. Absolute great game.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We didn’t play too well the last few games at home, and we wanted to show we could play better," Hiller said. "Everybody played quite well tonight. If we play like that every night, we’ll always have a good chance."

"He (Hiller) played outstanding and made some great, timely saves," Blake said. "In the first period, they came out with more energy and established their game plan. He bailed us out."

"I just stepped on the ice and the puck came to me," Blake said. "We had some great opportunities in the second period and the third. I was just fortunate that it went in."

"That’s the type of game our hockey club has to play night in and night out," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "It was a good one for us. We had an effort from every member of our group. That is what is important. The true display was at the end of the game, when people that were on the ice were sacrificing their bodies to block shots and get into shooting lanes to protect that shutout for Jonas Hiller."

"We found a way and didn’t back off," Hiller said. "We can be happy with this win and it’s something we can build on."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 29: Teemu Selanne #8 and Jason Blake #33 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate Blake's third period goal against the Los Angeles Kings at the Honda Center on November 29, 2010 in Anaheim, California. The Ducks defeated the Kings 2-0. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Game 25: Ducks @ Coyotes 11.26.10

OPINION:
The first half of the game looked like it would be more of the same...the other team getting the right bounces, and pulling a fast one on the Ducks. The second half of the game, after the Ducks went down 3-1, Bobby Ryan said "not so fast". With his 2nd career hat trick, Bobby Ryan helped propel the Ducks into the lead. McMillan with his first career NHL goal also wanted to pitch in to the rally. So did Corey Perry.

I love these kind of "come from behind" type wins, but it also leaves me shaking my head wondering "where was this team last game?" I guess they felt as fed up as the fans did with the losing and decided to do something about it. The thing I think they finally figured out is that it was time to get back to basics to get the win. No fancy passes, no dipsy-doodles-- just crash the net, shoot the puck, and goals will come.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"I'm just happy to join the club," Ryan said. (About his goal being the 11th hat trick scored in Jobing.com arena this season)

"I would say our penalty killing bailed us out," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said, "and then our big guys that get paid all the money scored some goals for us."

"It came right to me," [Ryan] said. "They weren't sure who the first guy was supposed to be back and gave me a little room, so I just tried to do what I know how to do and that's shoot. I'll take the lucky ones, that's for sure." (on his break away goal)

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 27: Bobby Ryan #9 of the Anaheim Ducks warms up before the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on November 27, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Game 24: Ducks vs. Blackhawks 11.25.10 (1 PM START TIME)

OPINION:
While the Ducks started off the game with a bang by revealing their new 3rd jerseys, they ended with a thud by losing 4 - 1. In an almost traditional match up with the Blackhawks after Thanksgiving, where they traditionally win (4-0-1), it seems they had too much turkey for dinner the night before. The Hawks, however, seemed to have skipped on the turkey because they came out to the game guns a-blazing. The team got Hiller pulled after leaving him out to dry and the whole game it looked as if they were just going through the motions rather than trying to win the game. Frustrating loss for the fans who spent their Friday afternoon off from work watching the team put out a lousy effort. Tryptophan 1, 3rd Jerseys - 0.

Selanne sat out his second game with a groin strain. This was the Ducks 6th loss in a row, after winning 6 in a row. Back at square 1.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"It didn’t look like they had to work too hard to get their chances," said Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who gave up all four Blackhawks goals. "We gave away too much. It’s just not possible against such a good team."

"I thought I made the save and I couldn’t find the puck so I just didn’t want to move," Hiller said. "It is really hard to get scored on a power play and take a short-hander. I still don’t know how it went in. We were unable to react after that."

Getzlaf called the [short-handed] goal, "huge," adding that it was "not only a goal, but our power play unit was terrible tonight. We were. Our line, not Saku’s line, our line was terrible tonight. Our power play is designed to give us momentum, whether we score or not it’s got to give us momentum and we killed it tonight. That was the difference in the hockey game."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Saku Koivu #11, Cam Fowler #4 and Dan Sexton #42 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate Sexton's first period goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Honda Center on November 26, 2010 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Game 23: Ducks vs. Oilers 11.22.10

OPINION:
Horrible.
That's all I have to say.
Pathetic, even.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Getting 40 shots isn’t relevant if you’re just taking shots from the boards and the blue line," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. "We’re not doing a good enough job of getting pucks and people there."

"We had our fair opportunities, but again I don’t think we got into that dirty area to create that second and third opportunity," said coach Randy Carlyle. "In the second period, we didn’t execute with the puck to get through the neutral ice. We gave them momentum. We got back in the hockey game and tied it up 2-2. I thought we’d be able to find a way and reach back in the third period."

"The effort is there, but we have to bear down," Getzlaf said. "We’re playing on a little homestand where we have to take advantage of it. We’re going into a break. We have to learn from the mistakes and go forward."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu (11), of Finland, celebrates after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period of a NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 22: Ducks vs. Blue Jackets 11.19.10

OPINION:
I'll be honest, since it took me so long to update this I've forgotten how I felt about this game. Completely. I'm stumped. The only thing I can think about is how embarrassing it was to lose to the Oilers. So, uhh, Go Ducks!

Oh yeah, Selanne got hurt this game. That's right. Well, he left the game with a sore groin, on the side of caution.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"When you get 50 shots, you need more than three goals," said Bobby Ryan. "That falls on us, not him being so good."

"When it rains, it pours," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. "When you’re scoring, all those things go in all the time. It’s just a situation where you have to keep after it, keep shooting pucks and they will go in. The third period we really needed a push. We got the start we wanted and we just couldn’t get another one past him."

"We didn’t play with the desperation that was necessary for 60 minutes," said coach Randy Carlyle. "It seemed like we got up 2-1 and sat back. They didn’t change what they were doing. They just played a grinding road game."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at the Honda Center on November 19, 2010 in Anaheim, California. The Blue Jackets defeated the Ducks 4-3. . (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Game 21: Ducks @ Wild 11.17.10

OPINION:
*Big Groan* It's amazing isn't it? The Ducks went from 6 game win streak hero's, to 3 game losing streak zero's. Except not exactly 0's. They did eek out a total of two points on this road trip in which they won 0 games. Thank you, overtime. It's a tough pill to swallow. This team is beyond brilliant when it's on its home turf. But as soon as they fly away to a place unfamiliar it's like they forget how to play.

Here's my opinion, and it's only that. It's all I can think of to try and answer the "why?". Carlyle. I'm not calling for heads to roll. I'm just pointing out a probable cause. He gets the match ups he wants when he's got the home ice advantage. As soon as they go on the road, he stops getting the match ups he wants and starts getting out-coached.

So there's my possible answer to the why? Unfortunately, I don't know how to solve that particular problem. I'm not the coach that's being out-coached on the road. That one is up to Carlyle.

POST GAME QUOTES:
None Available.


PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks goalie Curtis McElhinney, center, does not see the puck as a shot by Minnesota Wild winger Antti Miettinen (20), of Finland, gets past him during overtime of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010, in St. Paul, Minn. Ducks winger Bobby Ryan (9) defends on the play. The Wild won 2-1 in overtime. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Game 20: Ducks @ Stars 11.16.10

OPINION:
Just like all good "undefeated in regulation" streaks, it had to come to an end sooner or later. Would have preferred "later" but oh well. Time to make a new streak. If the Ducks had buried their chances, the outcome would be different. I counted 4 solid opportunities in the 1st period alone (Selanne, Marchant (breakaway), Carter, and Bobby) all should have had a goal in the 1st. But should, woulda, coulda doesn't win games. Unfortunately.

And I'm not usually one to pick on the refs. It takes special games to get me fired up against the refs. One of those is tonight. I'm not going to go into too much of a rant about it, because we've all heard it before and I hate being the stereotypical Ducks fan whining about the ref, but damn! THREE times the Stars could have been called for too many men, alone. The missed tripping call at the end of the game could have helped too. They were really letting the Stars get away with bloody hell out there in terms of penalties.

On to the next one.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We had our fair share of chances," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "It wasn't like we were devoid of chances, we came up empty. Even more-so, we had lots of good chances on our power play, too. ... We're just not really sharp offensively. We got to think 'shoot more,' be a little more selfish."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Dallas Stars right wing Krys Barch, right, lands a punch to the head of Anaheim Ducks right wing George Parros, left, in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010, in Dallas. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports )

Game 19: Ducks @ Blackhawks 11.14.10

OPINION:
Well, there goes the win streak, BUT the Ducks remain undefeated in 7 games in regulation. That's something. Like always, I'll take the point, but I really wanted both points. I'm sure you feel the same way. Hiller had some amazing saves that made him look absolutely brilliant and I'm going to say he's why the Ducks got the point. Why the Ducks didn't get both points is because the Ducks played a little too much passing in the overtime period, which they went into with the man advantage (4-on-3). They passed too much, toying with their advantage, and didn't shoot enough. That advantage dwindled and the Hawks took their advantage of surviving that penalty kill. It is what it is. The Ducks now go to Dallas, looking to start a new streak, and keep the unbeaten in regulation streak alive.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We didn't play the way we really wanted to play," Perry said. "We haven't played that way in a while. Got a point out of it, got to take the positive out of that game. They took it to us in the second and third."

"You never want to give up opportunities on the power play," said Hiller, who needed stitches to close a cut above his left eye after he was struck by a puck during practice Saturday. "I think they have enough great players out there, they make a difference."

"We didn't have very much energy tonight, we looked tired," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We've played an awful lot of hockey, and we didn't look like we had the crispness, but we still found a way to get a point."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' Corey Perry (10) gets a pat on the head from Jason Blake(33) after Perry's goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Noiv. 14, 2010, in Chicago. Lubomir Visnovsky is at left rear. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 18: Ducks vs. Stars 11.12.10

OPINION:
Don't look now, but that's a 6 GAME WIN STREAK we're looking at. Always a team for the dramatics, it came down to the wire (Selanne said they like to keep it interesting). Bobby Ryan sealed the win with an empty netter, but in the very last minutes Dallas came on very strong and it could have easily been tied and gone to overtime. Thank goodness Bobby found the empty net!

The Ducks are now 7-1-1 at home and go on a 3 game road swing visiting Chicago (the defending Stanley Cup Champions), a little how do you do? in Dallas, and then up to Minnesota, before returning home a week from now to play Columbus. I'd just like to thank the schedule makers for making that retarded. It'd make more sense to hit Minnesota after Chicago and then go to Texas, but I'm just sayin'. They had to throw that loop in there. Pfft. I'm not a fan of the Ducks on the road, and their record out on the open highway can tell you why. I don't even want to post it. I'll take the win streak continuing, thank you very much. At least for this road trip, they'll go with confidence and momentum.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"It was a huge night," Ryan said. "Tonight we didn’t give them a whole lot of momentum swings, which we’ve done in the past few games. The guys played hard in front of Hillsy [Jonas Hiller, who had 27 saves]. He earned the win tonight for us."

"When Getzy buried that goal, it was huge," Ryan said, then alluded to the line of him, Ryan and Corey Perry. "The three of us fought the puck a little bit early in the game, so it was nice to get rewarded for sticking with it. We’ve figured each other out and we’re rolling right now. It’s evident. It just needs to stick."

"I just tried to stay on my feet as long as possible," Hiller said (about facing the penalty shot). "He was coming in pretty slow. I thought he was going to deke. He made a good move and I was able to move my leg out. I felt pretty comfortable."

"Any time you can get out and have the number of shots that we had in the first period, we were trying to take advantage," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "We knew they played a tough game last night. These are opportunities that you get that you have to take advantage of."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan celebrates his empty net goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, Nov. 12, 2010. The Ducks won 4-2. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports )

Game 17: Ducks vs. Islanders 11.10.10

OPINION:
Who said all wins have to be pretty? It wasn't pretty, but it's a 5 game win streak the Ducks are holding right now. When two weeks ago they couldn't string together 2 wins in a row. It's pretty nice! I don't know about you, but I think tonight's game was a total snooze fest. Both teams played horrible, but one of them had to win. I'm stoked that went in the Ducks favor because that would have been a hard loss to stomach. It just adds to the Ducks win streak, and adds to the Islander's baffling now 8 game losing streak. I'll take the win streak, thank you very much.

They don't always have to be pretty, but as long as the Ducks are in the win column, who the hell cares how they got there?
And Congrats goes out to Curtis McElhinney posting his first career NHL shutout! He is definitely McGlovin!

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We knew it was going to be tough," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. " We were playing a young, energized Islander team. Having played last night in San Jose, we knew it would be a tough struggle. These are the type of games that you almost have to win. In our situation, we couldn’t accept anything other than a win. That was our focus."

"It’s never easy to play back-to-backs, especially when the other team had a couple of days off," Koivu said. "They were fresh and were coming hard at us in the first period. You were able to tell that we didn’t have the jump that we usually have. When you have a tough schedule, with a lot of games and travel, you’re going to have nights where you’re not going to feel your best. Good teams find ways to win these games. We did tonight."

"It feels great," McElhinney said. "The last couple of games I’ve played it was five goals each night. This was a nice turn of events. To come back after a big game in San Jose last night and be able to keep the winning streak alive felt good."

"We didn’t play our best," Koivu said, "but when you get two points that is what matters. We have to keep working on things that we can improve."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Saku Koivu #11 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his goal for a 1-0 lead over the New York Islanders during the third period at the Honda Center on November 10, 2010 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) )