Game 81: Ducks @ Blues 4.9.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 52: Ducks @ Blues 1.23.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
The TV shared a piece of info before the game started. The Ducks are bad on the road. Ducks fans know this. But they were 2-7-0 on the road in the last 9 road games. I thought about it, and those 2 wins were when Selanne was in the lineup. So you'll understand why things looked dreary when the Ducks went down 3-0 in the 3rd period. I'll admit it, I wanted badly to change the channel and turn the game off. But out of all honesty I had a thought before hitting the clicker... "what if the Ducks had a comeback and I missed it because I couldn't stick with them through the full 60 minutes" .. that thought is what prevented me from changing the channel, and right after that thought, Niedermayer scored off a sweet pass from Perry. Alright so it was 3-1... still a grim outlook with 13 minutes left... From my experience, that's more than enough time to get 2 more, but could the Ducks pull it off? The answer is obviously yes if you caught a look at the final score before reading this. They could and they did. Bobby Ryan was the man of the hour getting in 2 goals. His 2nd coming with literally just seconds left on the clock with the extra man advantage as Hiller was on the bench. The shootout went to a staggering 7 rounds and who other than James Wisniewski to steal the win? Yep. Wiz was the 7th shooter for the Ducks. Perry scored, Getzlaf scored -- Ryan, Sexton, Beleskey, and Artyukhin couldn't convert -- and then came Wiz to win the game. Impressive comeback win doesn't seem to adequately explain it. St. Louis should be checking their wallets and their purses, because they just got robbed.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"He's (Wisniewski) a confident guy and those situations don't rattle him," Carlyle said. "He made a hell of a move."

"I said, 'Give a defenseman a try,"' Wisniewski recalled. "We never get an opportunity. When I saw it go in, it was a pretty good feeling."

"It was a surprise pick to me," said Ryan, who leads U.S.-born players with 24 goals. "We play breakaway games every day (in practice) and he's always one of the guys that scores."

"This was monumental," Ryan said. "It was like a playoff game. This shows that we're a very resilient team, able to bounce back in the face of almost everything."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' James Wisniewski celebrates after teammate Bobby Ryan scored to tie the game 3-3 during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in St. Louis. Wisniewski ended up scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout to defeat the Blues 4-3.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 44: Ducks vs. Blues 1.7.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
Of course there is a short handed goal involved where the team didn't win right after I point out how the team that gets one usually wins. Of course that would happen. Luckily, it's because the Ducks made it that way. The Ducks went down 1-0 early on a short handed goal, but they didn't let it get to them. It was a hard fought game and a nail biter until the Ducks grabbed their first lead in the 3rd and kept it. This was a huge win too, because coming into the night the Ducks were tied with St. Louis in points but still fell below them in the standings because St. Louis has played less games. But tonight the Ducks sit in 12th, 2 points ahead of St. Louis. It's frustrating for them to win games and not move up in the standings, but if they find some sort of consistency they'll start moving up and up. There's still hope, after all.


POST GAME QUOTES:
"The room is confident right now," Ryan said. "This group is one that has everything. All the tools are put in place for us. We’re going to and continue to roll with it. It’s going to be a couple of tough buildings on the road coming up here."

"For me, it was huge," Ryan said.. "I had some shots earlier in the game. For me to get that one, it was a huge morale boost. It gives you a second wind, it really does. Brewer had his stick out there. I thought let’s get it through his legs and hope for the best. I never saw the puck go in. I knew where I was shooting and luckily hit it."

"It’s really helping playing with them," Beleskey said of his pairing with Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. "They control the play down low almost every shift, so if I get to the net, there is a good chance there is going to be a rebound or something lying around.""It was one of those tough games to grind out," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "At times, it wasn’t a pretty hockey game, but we found a way to win. That is the most encouraging thing for us because we found a way to lose these hockey games before. This time we found a way to win it."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10), left, congratulates left wing Matt Beleskey on Beleskey's game winning goal against the St. Louis Blues in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 7: Ducks vs. Blues 10.17.09

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

PERIOD 1: 0 - 1
PERIOD 2: 0 - 3
PERIOD 3: 0 - 5





POST GAME QUOTES:
"Tonight was a tough one," said Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer. "We had those power plays early on that we didn’t capitalize on and from there, they took over the game. We didn’t really have an answer. We weren’t mentally strong enough to push through things we had to tonight."

"We did have a decent start in the hockey game," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "We had things going our way, drew some penalties and were skating. It seemed our frustrations from our lack of offensive production on the power play took us out of the hockey game."

"It’s probably a combination of it not going well and then guys maybe try to do too much," Niedermayer said. "We just need to go out there with energy, work hard and good things will happen. There is enough skill and talent that we can put on it, but you have to be willing to work and commit to doing the little things."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 17: T.J. Oshie #74 of the St. Louis Blues is hit by George Parros #16 of the Anaheim Ducks in the first period at Honda Center on October 17, 2009 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)