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."
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)
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."
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)
---------------------------------------------------------------- “We can’t look at it as a game that we’re going to get frustrated and hang our heads,” Ducks forward Todd Marchant said. “I think anytime you play a game and you don’t win, you try to learn from your mistakes first of all and second of all, you try to look at some positive from that game that you can carry into your next one.”
“I think in last night’s game we worked hard and held them under 30 shots in their building, which is a positive,” Marchant said. “But we didn’t stick to the structure that we had been doing recently. Our execution wasn’t where we needed to be. As a result, they come away with a 2-0 win.”
“You can’t be a solid hockey club without a good home record,” said Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, whose group was 80-25-18 the past three seasons in Orange County. “We’ve had a good home record in this building. It’s not a given. You have to work at it. Hopefully our home ice issues are behind us. We’ve got good hockey clubs coming in. We have to be mentally prepared and focused to play the game.”
Said Marchant, “We’ve got to make Honda Center a tough place to play. You got to use that to your advantage. We’ve done a better job of it lately and have to continue to do that.”
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This blog contains game day posts with all the details you need to know about the game, it features post game quotes from the players so you can get their point of view from the game, and in the off-season it contains news stories on a need-to-know basis. I might make comments here and there in some posts that should be considered MY opinion and/or point of view and should not be taken as FACT. I am not affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks team, I am just a fan of the game and a fan of the Ducks.
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