Game 80: Ducks vs. Stars 4.8.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 75: Ducks vs. Stars 3.29.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





POST GAME QUOTES:

"It’s incredible," Bonino said of the goal. "I’m happy I did at home and happy we got a win."

"When I get on this ice with Perry, Selanne, Niedermayer and Visnovsky out there, you really can’t do any wrong," Bonino said. "The puck just bounced to me. I was in the right place at the right time."

"He said he stills remembers his first goal," Bonino said of Selanne. "I told him I’d probably remember this one as long as I’m playing and as long as I live too."

Said Selanne, "The first NHL goal is always so memorable. I’m very happy he got it. You can already see what kind of skills he has. He is so calm. What amazes me these days about rookies, they are so ready right away."

"It’s been like this for a long time, chance after chance," Selanne said. "I really wanted to score, more so for Jari. He wanted to come here and see it happen. I was honored that he came. I’m so happy. It’s a long way [from Kurri's home in Finland,] but we’re good buddies."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 29: Nick Bonino (R) #63 of the Anaheim Ducks receives high fives from the bench after scoring his first NHL goal in the second period against the Dallas Stars at the Honda Center on March 29, 2010 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Game 40: Ducks @ Stars 12.31.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
Okay it was too much to ask. The Ducks have just a bad bad history with New Years Eve games. It's like they don't want to enter the new year on a win. Whatever, boys. Often times teams that score 3 goals in a game can walk away with the win, but such is not the case this year for Anaheim. I haven't looked at Hiller's GAA lately or recently, because I am afraid of what I will see. From memory it seems to me he's pretty consistent at letting in at least 4. He should try to work on that. Carlyle should stop the fight for the top spot as a goalie so both Giguere and Hiller can get over the stress and pressure and just play their games.

They just didn't have fight in them for this game. They had a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period and that's when things went to hell. A bad garbage goal got in past Hiller on what would normally be a save, then directly after that bad goal there was another humdinger that went past Hiller through the pie-hole. That was just a terrible goal any way you want to slice it. That took the fight out of the Ducks and we have a loss. Dallas started with a short handed goal, notched a hat trick at some point, and stole the show.

Happy New Year?

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We're this far into the season and we keep repeating the same answers in situations like this," Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer said. "A lot of it is done to ourselves. Simple mistakes that we talk about pretty much every day about how to play, how we want to defend and those types of things. We keep straying from it."

"It was probably our worst period of the year," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We gave up 19 shots and they had more scoring chances than shots because they had some chances and the pucks went wide.

Source for Quotes: ocregister.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks center Kyle Chipchura (28) tosses his gloves to fight Dallas Stars center Steve Ott (29) in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, in Dallas. Dallas won 5-3.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 30: Ducks vs. Stars 12.8.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

PERIOD 1: 0 - 2
PERIOD 2: 1 - 3
PERIOD 3: 3 - 3
OVERTIME: 4 - 3







OPINION:
Oy another 3 point game! But wow how this one showed up. Towards the end of the 3rd, when the score was still 3-2 in Dallas' favor, I was sitting in my seat and thinking to myself. My thoughts were along the lines of "come on this can happen, the Ducks CAN tie this game to send it to OT. They have had it happen to THEM so many times this season, if anyone knows how it can happen it's them! They CAN do this".

No less than a minute after those hopeful thoughts crossed my mind Sexton scored the game-tying goal. Sexton, who I favored since training camp not only because he reminded me of Andy Mac, but also because he hails from Apple Valley, MN. It's not my hometown, but it's close to my hometown of Eagan, MN. The closest a player on the Ducks has come to my hometown. I favor my MN boys. I also hold a soft spot for Carter for the same reason. I digress... anywho.. Sexton had his first NHL goal tonight, it was the goal that put the Ducks in the 3-2 position. He also had his 2nd NHL goal tonight, which was the saving grace for the Ducks.

Once they tied the game for overtime I was satisfied. Overtime could have been a win or loss, but they managed to get there after being down 3 to ZIP. But Koivu grabbed the 2nd point and then I became overly satisfied. And just so I don't feel like I'm leaving Lupul out, he deserves a nod too, since he grabbed the 1st Ducks goal when he stepped out of the penalty box. A great pass from Getzlaf sent Lupul on the breakaway where he not only managed to put the puck in the net, but he also got Turco in there too.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"This is unbelievable,” Sexton said to a TV reporter immediately after the game, barely heard above the roar of the Honda Center crowd. "We never stopped fighting and never got down on ourselves. To get the result feels great. It was super exciting.”

“I felt like I was dreaming,” Sexton said.

"Take my coolest previous feeling and multiple it by 10, if not more," Sexton said. "That is what it was. I thought we were due to score, but once it actually happens, you’re in shock. To get another one after that, it just felt like a dream. It was unbelievable."

"It felt great," Koivu said. "For my line and myself, there have been some chances in the last couple of games, but the puck hasn’t gone in. We were down early in the game and battled back. Getting the winner in OT, there is a lot of stuff you can build on and hopefully bring into the next game."

"The first two games I played here we lost in a shootout," Sexton said of losses to Minnesota and Ottawa over the weekend. "To win the game in overtime here, it’s just great. Our team has been working hard. Like Coach said, we came out a little flat in the first period. But to be able to respond from the three-goal deficit, especially after losing the last two games in heartbreaking shootouts, it just says a lot about your team. It’s something we can really build on."

"There have been a number of games where we felt that we played well enough to win games," Koivu said. "For some reason, we’ve been able to lose those points and those games. Now, coming back from behind and a big goal in the end by Sexton, those are huge things. Hopefully, this is a turning point and we can get a streak going."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Nick Boynton, left, greets Dan Sexton after his fist NHL goal in the third period against the Dallas Stars in a hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime. (PHOTO CREDIT: Yahoo Sports)

Game 27: Ducks @ Stars 12.3.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

PERIOD 1: 1 - 0
PERIOD 2: 1 - 0
PERIOD 3: 1 - 3






OPINION:
Ducks got off to an early lead of 1-0 on a Koivu goal and.... not much else happened after. See, a lot of folks like their team to score first. Not I. Not this year anyway. The Ducks record is pretty much garbage when they score first, but that's not saying much since their record is garbage in any sense of anything. Anyway, they win more games than lose when the other team scores first, even if that winning isn't happening much. When the Ducks get off to a lead they go into an automatic defensive shell that they are not very good at. I don't see the point in defensive shells if you can't defend particularly well. But that's what the Ducks do.

On another note, I'm getting sick of the injury bug. It has plagued teams all over the league and it's had it's sights set on Anaheim for a while now. Lupul, Carter, Calder, and now you can add Teemu Selanne to the list. In tonight's game, where he was even questionable to play due to flu symptoms, Selanne got nailed by a slapshot in the hand and as a result, has a fracture and will be out 4 to 6 weeks. Gravy. He should have stayed in bed then we'd have only missed him for 1 game instead of 4-6 weeks worth of games, but that's the sport of hockey. Nobody could predict he'd get nailed by the puck. It's unfortunate. This season is unfortunate.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"They should feel like thieves right now to steal two points like that," Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski said.

"In the course of a career, you get all kinds of weird goals," Giguere said solemly. "That's one that ...it's a different goal for sure. I don't think it's anybody's fault. We're trying to do the right thing here, Wiz and I, and it just ..."

Source for Quotes:ocregister.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu (11) hugs right winger Evgeny Artyukhin (24) after a first-period goal in an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, in Dallas. (PHOTO CREDIT: Yahoo Sports)

Game 8: Ducks vs. Stars 10.21.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

PERIOD 1: 0 - 1
PERIOD 2: 1 - 3
PERIOD 3: 2 - 4




POST GAME QUOTES:
"Nobody wants to be in this situation where we’re not getting involved and not doing certain things," said Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf. "We didn’t start playing until the third period and that is not acceptable in this league. We’re not going to accept it as a group. We have to get ready to go ready to go tomorrow and get back on our horse."

"It was us executing at a higher level," Lupul said of the third period. "It’s up to everyone to take control of the puck, settle it down and give it to other people on the tape. In the third period, we started doing that. It seemed like everyone to make a difference, whereas the first two periods we were real tentative and our execution was very poor."

"It’s the mental part of the game that is tough," Getzlaf said. "You have 82 games and you have to learn to get up for all of them. It doesn’t have to be yelling at each other. Everybody gets ready in their own way, but either way, we have to be ready when that puck drops and we weren’t tonight."

"It starts right now, changing the focus to the next game and knowing that that first 20 minutes is going to be our focus and we’ll go from there," Lupul said. "We should all be ready off the start and that is what we’re looking for on Saturday."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 21: Ryan Getzlaf #15 falls over teamate Luca Sbisa #5 of the Anaheim Ducks during the game against the Dallas Stars at The Honda Center on October 21, 2009 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images)