Game 3: Ducks vs. Sharks 10.14.11 HOME OPENER

OPINION:
So here's the deal. Every year since the Sharks decided to be a relevant team their fans have loaded up busloads and driven down to Anaheim to "invade" our building. They do a damn good job with invasions, I tip my hat to them for pulling it off without fail every year. This year, they had prime opportunity to invade and take over our home opener. Let's be honest hear, Sharks fans salivated at the thought of taking complete control over the Ducks home opener (they're a little obsessed sometimes, I dig it, I like diehard fans, I can accept it). The best moments of these invasions is when the Ducks have their own fun and keep the Sharks fans quiet the whole game by shutting the Sharks out. This happened last season and a favorite of mine, Joffrey Lupul (Now with the Maple Leafs) later took to twitter to tweet"That's a long way to drive to not see any goals #drivesafe." and he was pretty proud of himself when I had told him that was the best tweet ever. It holds true. Drive safe Sharks fans, because tonight, you drowned in the Ducks pond.

The game itself was amazing. The atmosphere inside was intense (we hate being invaded). The Ducks got off to a slow start, as it took them about half a period to even register a shot on goal, but once they got their wheels moving they pretty much dominated the rest of the game and controlled the pace. The penalty kill was superb, and the Sharks had no answers for Jonas Hiller who is in fact back, earning his 12th career shutout. The lone goal came from rookie Maxime Macenauer and it was the first of his NHL career.

First home win is in the books and we now look to Sunday night against the St. Louis Blues. It'll also be "MVPerry Night" where fans in attendance receive a Corey Perry MVP Puck and Poster. It'll be a night to honor Corey Perry for being the recipient of the Rocket Richard trophy and being the league's MVP. Be there. Celebrate #MVPerry.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"I felt comfortable out there," Hiller said of his 12th career shutout. "It was a really good game the whole team played. It’s definitely fun, with the crowd and everybody. It gets me excited."

"I want to make a statement every night, no matter what happened last year," Hiller said. "It’s always nice to get these kinds of games and feel good out there. Goaltending is a lot about confidence and it’s easier to play well if you start the season with these kinds of games. I’m definitely happy with the way it went. I also worked really hard to be where I’m at right now."

"I like playing with those two guys (Macenauer & McMillan)," Parros said. "They are small, fast and can chase down pucks. We are clicking, so hopefully we can keep it going."

"That was probably one of the best periods I’ve seen from this team so far," said Hiller, who helped the Ducks improve to 2-1-0 on the season, while the Sharks dropped to 1-1-0.

"You don’t have a chance in the NHL without solid goaltending," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "Jonas tonight provided a little bit more than solid. His ailments are something of the past. Now, we just have to maintain keeping him fresh and give him an opportunity to be able to play night in and night out."

Injury Note:
Winger Jason Blake suffered a laceration of his forearm near the left wrist and received a suture, according to Carlyle. There is no word yet on the severity of the injury.

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

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks center Maxime Macenauer (24) celebrates scoring with his teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against San Jose Sharks, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, in Anaheim, Calif.(Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports)

Game 3: Ducks @ Blues 10.11.10

OPINION:
My opinion is likely along the same lines as your opinion. I'm just going to point out the obvious and move on with life:
A. We need defense, badly. An 18 year old is outshining everyone else. Cam Fowler, you're doing great bud. I wish the rest of the team was on board with you.

B. We also appear to need offense. On paper, you wouldn't think that at all. On ice, we've got 2 goals. 2 goals from Saku Koivu. The top line that has 3 players combining for just above $15 million in payroll, yeah that top line isn't doing a thing. Thank you Saku for at least trying.

C. Somehow we've got a great penalty kill. That was 100% today, and if you saw the game, you know that's no small feat. But it managed to be at 100%. Even with that awesomeness, there were still 5 goals not in our favor. Hiller got pulled after 4. He has a sound 4.0 GAA. And a 4.0 only looks good if it's your GPA. I'm not saying all of them are Hiller's fault, but he does need to be better.

D. Maybe it's time for a new coach. I'll give RC a few more games before I jump on that bandwagon. But I usually end up on it at some point during the season, he just never gets the boot. This year might be his year...to go.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Obviously, the sun is going to come up tomorrow - we hope," [Carlyle] said. "What you have to do is take a self-analysis of what we can do better. There's lots of areas for us to improve in as a team."

"It's only three games," Perry said. "There's 79 more to go. But it's tough to start the season 0-3. "They had 50-some shots today, too, and that doesn't help. The puck's going the other way. We just need to get some of those on our stick and get the garbage goal we need to get us going."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

St. Louis Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak, of Slovakia, makes a save on a shot by Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, in St. Louis.Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports

Game 3: Ducks at Bruins 10.8.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

PERIOD 1: 0 - 1
PERIOD 2: 3 - 1
PERIOD 3: 6 - 1




POST GAME QUOTES:
"That's why he's out there killing penalties," Carlyle said after Perry's short-handed goal with 53 seconds remaining left clinched the Ducks' 6-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

"Both goals changed the momentum and gave us life and energy," said Selanne, who leads active NHL players with 581 goals and had never gone three games into the season without a point when healthy. "It's very disappointing what happened in Minnesota the other night. We know how important the power play is, it can turn the whole game around."

"We were embarrassed at home on opening night, and then let the 3-0 lead slip away our next game," Carlyle said. "So we had a lot to prove."

Source for Quotes: nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Bobby Ryan #9 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his goal with teammates Ryan Getzlaf #15, Corey Perry #10 and Scott Niedermayer #27 in the third period against the Boston Bruins on October 8, 2009 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Ducks defeated the Bruins 6-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

NOTE: This game marked Ryan Getzlaf's 300th career NHL game. Congrats Ryan!

Game 3: Ducks at Kings 10.14.08

© Arnold Cheng Graphics

Ducks lose. Again. 6 - 3.

This game determines who is really in "last" place in the Pacific. For the love of all things Hockey, it better be the Kings.

That worked out real great. Ummmm.... hey Ducks? Did you forget the season started? It's not pre-season anymore.... hello? Anyone out there?? No? Okay then.... I hope you feel like playing tomorrow... you have a game...


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PRE-GAME QUOTES:
DUCKS:
"Teams have success in this league by playing as a team, everybody knows what each other's doing, and you're playing the system. When you're playing that well, you have good results. Right now, we're really not doing that as five guys on the ice." Scott Niedermayer

"We need to go in there and step it up a notch," goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "We need to not be going in there and being afraid to lose."

Kings:
"I really liked the way we played, especially in the second half of the game," he said. "The third period was tremendous. We started to see something I hadn't seen yet, (they're) starting to work hard for teammates." Murray

"It felt like I hadn't played a game in four or five months, but felt better as the game went on," said O'Sullivan, fourth on the team in scoring last season with 22 goals and 31 assists. "I'm glad to get that first game out of the way and live past the fact that I missed training camp. There's definitely some positives and I have a lot to improve upon, but it's definitely something I can develop."

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POST GAME QUOTES:
DUCKS:
"We know we're not playing well," said Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer. "We know the mistakes we're making and we know we can't do that. That's the bottom line. We just have to be ready to commit to our game plan and basically outwork the other team. Right now we're not doing that."

“We’re not anywhere near accomplishing the things we’ve set out to do," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "We’re not getting anything done in the work ethic side of the game. We’re swinging away and we're not working in the tough areas to get enough done.”

"It's a game of penalty kill and power plays, so you can't win by being in the box," Giguere said. "And I'm guilty of it tonight. I took a bad one and it kind of got their game going."

"It's not rust. There's no viable excuses. We're just not working as a team," said goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has allowed 13 goals on 87 shots in three starts. "We need to work together and rely on each other and be confident that the guy beside you is going to do his job. Right now we're just lacking that confidence."

"We can't win taking so many penalties. We've got to be careful," Giguere said. "It seems that too many times we get undisciplined. Then we get frustrated, start giving up goals and it just down downhill for there. So we've got to be a lot smarter, in that sense."

Source for Quotes: nhl.com, ducks.nhl.com