Game 39: Ducks @ Kings 12.26.10

OPINION:
I showed up for this game. In enemy territory. The Ducks, on the other hand, did not. After a scoreless 1st period, the Ducks got lost in the 2nd period. The Kings got on the board first, but the Ducks (Belesky) answered right away with a tying goal. After that, they went to sleep and the Kings scored 3 more unanswered goals. With only tallying 3 shots on goal in the entire 3rd period, the Kings sailed to the victory. And when you're a Ducks fan in Kings territory when they win, you get quacked at. They think it's insulting, or something. I think it makes them look like morons. What can you do?

POST GAME QUOTES:
“We made too many critical mistakes with the puck," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "We didn’t execute anywhere near our abilities and it seemed like we couldn’t get anything going.”

“It was a tough game," Hiller said. "The ice was bouncy, the pucks were bouncing. It was tough to control rebounds. The pucks were all over the place and it wasn’t easy to play tonight. We gave them way too many chances in our slot. I probably should have stopped some and no one would talk about it but it wasn’t good enough tonight.”

"It’s always deflating to see them get three goals in a row," Carlyle said. "We fumbled the puck and we should have had someone in position to recover it. They made a shot that nine times out of 10 our goalie would have stopped but he didn’t tonight."

GAME NOTES:
See "Game Log" in the link provided below.

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

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Los Angeles Kings left wing Kyle Clifford, left, and Anaheim Ducks right wing George Parros fight during the second period of their NHL hockey game, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010, in Los Angeles.(Photo by Yahoo Sports)

Game 39: Ducks vs. Wild 12.29.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
Pretty good game from the boys tonight. I think Perry missed the presence of Getzlaf, but that 2nd line of Koivu-Ryan-Sexton kept up with the challenge of overcoming the injury bug. Bobby Ryan notched 2 goals and an assist, Sexton had a great goal that helped get rid of the possible momentum Minnesota could have had when he got one seconds after Minnesota tied up the game. It was a huge goal. Marchant helped put the nail in the MN coffin when he got the empty netter with 9 seconds left in the game. There were issues, they had a few brain farts along the way but overall it was a decent effort to snag 2 points. It still leaves the Ducks in 13th, tied with St. Louis in points, but since St. Louis has more overall wins they get 12th for the night.

Just as a side note, Boynton gained a lot of respect from me when he took on Boogard in a scrap. You knew he was certain to lose and just hoped he didn't get hurt too bad, but he took the big booger on. It was a mismatch of the century as Boogard towered over him, but he didn't care. I think it gave the Ducks some energy. He's a champ for taking on a big challenge like that. He didn't get hurt either.

There's 1 game left for the year of 2009, on New Years Eve. They'll be taking on the Stars in Dallas. I'd like to enter 2010 on a good note, wouldn't you? I hope it's not too much to ask.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"We came out hard tonight," Ryan said. "The guys were prepared. When a guy like Getzy goes down, it really impacts everybody around the room. We said before that some guys need to step up."

"They had just scored a goal and we had just had a PK a minute before," Saku Koivu said. "The same guys were out there for the last five or six minutes. You start to feel a little bit of fatigue, but you try to forget what the score is and how much time is left. You just go out there and do whatever it takes to kill a penalty."

"Chipping a puck in, going after it and making their defense uncomfortable going back to get it, all those little things contributed to getting 17 shots in the first," Ryan said.

"We know going onto the road we’re going into some tough buildings," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "The first one is the most important one in Dallas. No matter who we have in our lineup and who is available to us, we have to be prepared to compete."

Added Ryan, "We’ve been in desperation mode for 10 to 15 games here. All the other teams are winning too. Everybody is getting points with us. This is a very critical part of the season. We are going to have to win some road games in January. We have a tough road ahead, but it’s a pretty good group right now."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan, left, is congratulated by Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu (11) after Ryan scored a goal against the Minnesota Wild in the second period of a NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 39: Ducks vs. Flyers 1.2.09

Ducks Lose 5-4 in Shootout.

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GAME DAY QUOTES:
"I think this was the most intense game that we’ve played in awhile," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "It was a good hockey game. From our side, we’re taking a positive spin on it because we worked hard."

"Our unit has been working on getting shots to the net and getting two, three guys to the net for rebounds," said Ebbett, who was called up Dec. 20 when Teemu Selanne went down with an injury. "It just happened to come up about my waist high. I got my stick on it and tipped it in. It was pretty exciting and a good feeling to get that over with. Now, I don’t have to worry about that first one anymore."

"It’s a good stepping stone," Giguere said. "We need to start building on some positive stuff. The last two, three games we’ve seen a lot of good things. Tonight there were a lot of emotions and the penalty killing did its job. For sure, there are things you’d like to get back, but at the end of the day we gave it our best. But we need more coming up."

Added Carlyle, "For sure, you score four goals you should win the hockey game. But we lost a point. We didn’t lose the hockey game. We’ll just move on. If we can bottle this intensity, this emotion, this energy and continue to play at this level, then we’ll make some great strides."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com