Game 24: Ducks vs. Canadiens 11.30.11

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 24: Ducks vs. Blackhawks 11.27.09 (1 PM START TIME)

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

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






OPINION:
Before the game started I was beside myself with how to feel. Were we going to finally get a 3rd win in a row? The Blackhawks are a dangerous team, this game decides where the Ducks stand. The Blackhawks are beatable. Or are they? Anyways, the Ducks did much to help out my frame of mind. The Hawks came in with an 8 game win streak and the Ducks snapped it. With a shutout, no less. The Ducks are way more powerful than their standings position implies. They are starting to get their game going, and really going. They finally have consistent goal tending, other lines than the RPG line are scoring. It's coming together, it just took a while and a little bit of patience.

On another note, Corey Perry extended his point streak to 17 games today which also tied him with none other than Teemu Selanne (who had 2 goals today) for the club record. He's in good company. And making a huge statement of how much he deserves to be on Team Canada for the Olympics.

POST GAME QUOTES:
“It feels really good,” said Giguere in a postgame TV interview, forced to pause after he couldn’t be heard over the roar of the remaining crowd. “Right now we’re playing well defensively, scoring some big goals and everybody’s contributing. It was a huge team effort today.”

"You get lucky once in a while," said Boynton, who has 34 goals in 526 career games. "Bobby is great player and made a good play. Lucky for me, the goalie didn’t see it."

"You could tell the guys were really focused today," Giguere said later in the relative quiet of the locker room. "We knew that we had to play a good game to be able to have success against them. It was one of our better games."

Added Boynton, "Everybody was playing well and Jiggy played amazing. When your goalie plays like that, it makes the game real easy.We hadn’t played a full game yet and we are a quarter of the way into the season. Today, it was nice to get a full game in. To beat a team like that, it’s a good feeling and a good confidence boost."

Source for Quotes:ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' Teemu Selanne, center, of Finland, celebrates his goal with teammate Corey Perry, left, as Chicago Blackhawks' John Madden skates off during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. PHOTO CREDIT: Yahoo Sports

Game 24: Ducks vs. Blackhawks 11.28.08 (1 PM START TIME)

Ducks Win 1-0!

------------------------------------------------------
GAME DAY QUOTES:
"It’s different for us," Getzlaf said of the afternoon start time. "It’s kind of out of our normal routine and out of the ordinary for us, coming to a one o’clock game, but that’s part of what it is to be a professional."

"During the game, you don’t think too much about [a shutout]," Hiller said. "You just try to makes the next save. Sometimes you look up to see how much time is left. At the end it doesn’t really matter if its four-to-zero or one-to-zero. You just try to stop the next puck. For sure I’m happy about the shutout."

"It went through a couple of legs," Getzlaf said. "I was able to get a skate on it and keep it in play. Their guy came through a little bit and the goalie slid across. It was a big mess in there so I just swung at it, lifted it up and put it in."

"We played pretty well defensively," Hiller said. "They didn’t have too many opportunities. They had some on the power play but we did well on the penalty kill. If you play defense first, you always have a chance to win."

"I think the games immediately after Thanksgiving seem to be a little bit different," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. I don’t think either team executed to the level that their coaches would be happy with. There is more room for improvement, but as a coach, I’ve said it a million times, you’re not going to critique the win. We got a goal and they didn’t. We’ll take it."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com