Game 57: Ducks @ Oilers 2.13.11

OPINION:
So many positives about this game, where do I even begin? I'll just roll with it. The Ducks got Hiller back from his mysterious injury/sickness and it couldn't have been any better of a game for him to come back for. Instead of facing a team that would pelt him with 40+ shots, he got to ease back into the game with a team that gave him 14 shots. And since it was only 14 shots Hiller earned his 5th shutout of the season.

Another positive is the Ducks played a full 60 minute effort, even against the Oilers. In past games they've been guilty of playing themselves down to the opponent and not taking the weaker teams seriously. And they got burned in doing so. Not this time. This time they went in to play hockey whether the Oilers wanted to play or not. And they got the result they wanted. Bobby Ryan had 2 goals on the night and was looking for his 3rd hat trick of the season. (Is it just me, or are Bobby and Perry in an unsaid competition on who can score the most hat tricks this year? No complaints from me, the more hat tricks the better, I say).

The Ducks sailed through this game and won 4-0 and ironically come home from the road trip a perfect 4-0. I said early in the season that if they could figure out how to win on the road, they would be fine. And ladies and gentlemen, I believe they have figured out how to win on the road. I'm looking forward to the final stretch.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Shot-wise it might have been one of the easiest shutouts of my career," said Hiller, who now has 11 for his career. "But not getting a whole lot of shots, does sometimes make it tougher to stay focused. They did have a couple of chances. There were a couple of odd-man rushes, and things like that, so it wasn't an easy night, but it wasn't a whole lot of work."

"When you score early like that, it really set the tone for us," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

"I thought we got guilty of being too cute at times, but then got a big goal and the game started to go in our direction and we were fortunate we caught a tired hockey club tonight," Carlyle said.

GAME NOTES:

• The Ducks outscored their opponents 16-7 on the road trip, which included shutouts at Colorado (Feb. 5) and at Edmonton (Feb. 13)...Anaheim is now tied for the division lead with Dallas (the Stars have one game in hand).


• The Ducks have won six straight games on the road, the longest current streak in the NHL and equaling the third-longest streak in the NHL this season. The streak is the club's longest road win streak since a six-game stretch from Mar. 19 – Apr. 4, 2009 (club record is seven games).


• The Ducks road trip sweep (Colorado/Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton) marked the third time in club history the team has won every game on a road trip of four games or more


• Selanne's goal was the 100th game-winner of his career...he becomes the sixth player in NHL history to achieve the milestone, joining Gordie Howe (121), Phil Esposito (118), Jaromir Jagr (112), Brett Hull (110) and Brendan Shanahan (109).


• The Ducks allowed only 12 shots tonight at Edmonton - the fewest shots allowed in a shutout in club history...the previous low was 14 (Bryzgalov, Oct. 28, 2006 at Chicago, 3-0 win).


• Anaheim has won four straight games overall…the team is 8-2-0 in the last 10 contests, 11-3-0 in the last 14, 14-4-0 in the last 18 and 19-8-1 over the last 28 games.

Source for Quotes & Game Day Notes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' Saku Koivu (11), Teemu Selanne, center right, and Jason Blake, right, celebrate Selanne's goal against Edmonton Oilers' goaltender Devan Dubnyk (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, in Edmonton.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 30: Ducks @ Oilers 12.7.10

OPINION:
Another game, another 2-goal lead blown, but only the 2nd shootout of the Ducks season. It took 10 heart wrenching rounds and none other than the phenomenal rookie Cam Fowler to seal off the victory! I have a love/hate relationship with the shootout. I love it, because it's thrilling and brings the game to a whole other level of intensity. I hate it, because it's really a toss up for who gets the extra point and I'd really rather the winner of the game get 2 points and the loser go home empty handed. I think players of all teams get all too content to "just make it to overtime" if there is a tie in a game, because then they at least got a point. And yes, even when the Ducks escape with a point from overtime or shootout losses, I still believe the loser should actually go home with 0.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"I wanted to shoot," Fowler said. "I didn't want to risk putting a move on because Khabibulin had already made some really nice saves on guys that have way better moves than me. I thought my best chance was to go in and pick a spot. Luckily it found the back of the net."

"Any coach will take a win, it doesn't matter how you get it," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We're not going to critique a win from our standpoint. After being shut out two games in a row, it was nice to get a couple. We actually missed some other opportunities."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

EDMONTON, AB - DECEMBER 7: Teemu Selanne #8 and Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate a marathon shoot-out win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on December 7, 2010 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Game 77: Ducks @ Oilers 3.31.09

Ducks Win 5-3!!!!!

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GAME DAY QUOTES:
"We're in a group of five teams that are competing and battling for two positions and we're just giving ourselves a chance to live another day and that's all you can do," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

"We were not in the playoff picture for a while," [Scott Niedermayer] said. "We're just kind of focusing on playing well right now. We're just putting everything else aside, forgetting about the standings and things like that. Forget about who's doing what and just plugging away, and that's what we have to keep doing."

"We had what we thought was some reliable information," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "On a visual, it didn't even look close to me. I was so sure that I made the call and it was obviously a terrible mistake. You have to be sure and I thought I had enough information so it's a terrible feeling. It sabotaged what was looking like was going to be a heck of a comeback."

"You'd better be 100 percent sure," [Carlyle] said. "The curve is really something you can't call any more because it's 3/4-inch and it's a big curve. Teemu is right on the edge. We make sure, and it's part of our trainers' responsibility that he plays with a legal stick."

Source for Quotes: http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=1142&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20082009&service=page

Game 39: Ducks @ Oilers

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PERIOD 1: 0 - 0

PERIOD 2: 1 - 1

PERIOD 3: 2 - 1

Very nice game tonight.. they started off slow (as usual) but returned to game form throughout the game. Two things to note that stick out in my head. 1. The Bobby Ryan pass to Weight for the game winning goal. Total beauty! Those two work very very nicely together, and I'm lovin' it. and 2. The hit Stoll laid on Scotty. BOO TO YOU!! Jerk. That had potential to be dangerous, and watching the replay made me cringe and it made my stomach turn. I'm sure it wasn't intended to be that bad, but man, that looked like it hurt. Of course, a sigh of relief also happened when Scotty popped right back up and skated away without even looking at Stoll. I was hoping Parros would jump out and knock him down, but you know.. instead we got that Weight goal, which is better anyways. :P

Game 27: Ducks @ Oilers

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PERIOD 1: 1 - 1

PERIOD 2: 1 - 3

PERIOD 3: 1 - 5

Hmm if the Ducks don't want to show up to play, then I wont bother to write the review. I'm dissapointed. I don't know what their problem is (well I know it's inconsistancy, but I don't know WHY). *Sigh* And WHY do we lose to all the sucky teams? Oilers will be 2 and 0, Phoenix is 4 and 0. WHAT? I don't know...