Game 33: Ducks vs. Wild 12.12.10

OPINION:
This was by far the most exciting game I have been to as a regular season game in years. I don't know how often you get to see a penalty shot, AND a hat trick in ONE game, but that was the greatest thing ever. Even more so because Perry actually scored on his penalty shot, and it was Perry who got the hat trick. And let's not forget, Getzlaf was on his way to his own hat trick as well. That would have seriously been awesome. And then you get Bobby Ryan scoring with Koivu's stick. No, not Saku! It was Mikko's stick! In an awkward moment where Koivu grabbed Bobby's stick out of his hands, Bobby found Koivu's on the ice and seconds after, he scored with it into a wide open net. Even stranger was Koivu's stick is for lefty and Bobby is a righty! It was a big night for the Ducks who wont be returning to their home building until New Years Eve, to take on the Flyers. It was a great send off for the fans who now have no where to go for two weeks. Or maybe that's just me.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"It was just a matter of finding that groove and going with it," Perry said about the win. "Everything was going our way tonight. Hopefully, we can continue to play that way."

"It’s been a long time coming and it is pretty special," Perry said. "When you have a lot of two-goal games, that hat trick feels nice. There were a lot of guys in here that helped with that tonight. It’s something I won’t forget. That is for sure."

"It’s been awhile since we’ve had one where we had a three-goal lead and we didn’t make it interesting in the hockey game," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. Minnesota played last night in L.A. and won a big hockey game. They exhausted a lot of energy in that and then they were short-staffed. They didn’t have Madden or Cullen. We had a lot of energy tonight."

"There was some kind of tangle up in the corner. I looked down and saw my own stick," Ryan said. "I knew I wasn’t holding it. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. The puck came out and I just picked up the first thing that was there. It was (Koivu’s) and the puck came right to me. The only ref I talked to at center ice was also talking to Havlat. He said he had no idea and never had seen anything like it. As far as he was aware, there was no rule against it. I will take them any way they come right now."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) watches hats fly onto the ice after he scores his first career hat trick against the Minnesota Wild in an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010. Ducks won the game 6-2.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)