Game 81: Ducks @ Blues 4.9.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 80: Ducks vs. Stars 4.8.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 78: Ducks @ Kings 4.3.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





POST GAME QUOTES:

"I had a chance to put the game away," Koivu said, "and luckily I came through."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 03: Saku Koivu #11 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates his goal to tie the score 1-1 in front of Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings during the third period at the Staples Center on April 3, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Game 76: Ducks @ Avalanche 3.31.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





POST GAME QUOTES:

"Six hundred was bigger for me, but 601 is huge, too, because Jari was my idol. I feel very honored," said Selanne.

"The good thing for us is we're not even worried about who we're playing right now," Blake said. "We're just worried about ourselves. If we keep playing the way we're playing, and the goaltending has been great, it's giving us a chance every night."

"Obviously, that was a huge game for them, but at the same time, it was a game that for us, by winning, we still have a chance," said Koivu, who had a goal and three assists in the game. "There's still a couple teams between us and them, so it's going to be a battle to the end and we just have to keep pushing it and see what happens."

"Obviously, that was a big break for us and it took a little momentum from their side," Koivu said of the disallowed goal.

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Colorado Avalanche left winger TJ Galiardi(notes), left, has his shot stopped by Anaheim Ducks goalie Curtis McElhinney(notes) in the third period of the Ducks' 5-2 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.(Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com)

Game 74: Ducks @ Oilers 3.26.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 73: Ducks @ Canucks 3.24.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 72: Ducks @ Flames 3.23.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net

Game 64: Ducks @ Coyotes 3.6.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
Okay, scratch my thoughts from the last game. Maybe this IS an Olympic hangover. What the hell, Ducks? 7 glorious opportunities with a man advantage and you can't get anything past the Russian man named Bryzgalov (who I wish was still on our side). All it takes is a couple more losses and I'll be holding a funeral for playoff hopes. I knew the horrible start to the season would bite the Ducks in their collective rear ends, and it's a pigs hair away from happening. Montreal wont make things any easier...

POST GAME QUOTES:
"The failure to execute when we had scoring chances was the disturbing part for us," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, whose team was 0 for 7 on the power play. "It seems like right now we're not getting anywhere near the performance level that's required. I think everybody can do more."

"I thought we'd done a pretty good job on the penalty kill and then we make a mistake and it's in the back of our net," Carlyle said.

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 06: Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov #30 of the Phoenix Coyotes makes a pad save on the shot from the Anaheim Ducks during the thrid period of the NHL game at Jobing.com Arena on March 6, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Ducks 4-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Game 62: Ducks @ Oilers 2.14.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
No, your eyes do not deceive you, the Ducks... the same Ducks that could only score just 1 goal last night, scored a total of 7 goals. SEVEN. 2 of them belonging to who other than Ryan Getzlaf, who was a game time decision to play! If he went into the game hoping to make a statement to Yzerman about if he's capable of playing for Team Canada in the olympics, he got his wish. He made a huge statement with 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. I think he's more than capable of taking on Team Canada, and I personally never had a shadow of a doubt that he would be playing in the olympic games. If you know Getzlaf, you know he's a beast. He's the guy who gets a puck straight to the noggin, goes to the locker room to get stitched up, and is back playing the next shift. Unless something in his lower body is broken, he plays. There's no stopping him, and a sprained ankle definitely wouldn't stop him. The Ducks took no mercy on the leagues cellar dwellers and pummeled 7 goals to the net. It's always exciting to watch your team get 7 goals in a game no matter who their playing, whether it should be that way or not. 7 goals is 7 goals. The Ducks go into the Olympic break on a HUGE win, sitting 3 points out of the 8th spot. There will be 20 games remaining in the final stretch for their push for the playoffs.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"I haven't had to make many decisions like this. Obviously this one I have to pull back and make sure I'm doing what's right for (the Ducks) and myself as well," Getzlaf added. "If my ankle's fine in the morning, it won't be a hard decision for me."

"He's a very skilled player," said Carlyle. "There's a reason he was selected to Team Canada. He went out and proved he's quite capable of playing to a high level, and he's to be commended. To think he would play in this game after reviewing the injury...it's just amazing. It was all up to him."

"(Carter and I), we haven't talked yet," chuckled Getzlaf when asked if he's received a text from the Flyer."His situation, it's a tough one and so is mine. We're good friends and I'm sure it'll be perfectly fine no matter how it turns out."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Edmonton Oilers goalie Jeff Deslauriers fails to prevent a score on a shot by Anaheim Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, not shown, during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 61: Ducks @ Flames 2.13.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
For reasons beyond my control, the Ducks just can't figure out road games. I can't explain it, obviously they can't or road games wouldn't be so difficult for them. Tonight it probably didn't help with Getzlaf being out with his sprained ankle. They looked slow, tired, confused, lost, and helpless. The only goal they got this game happened to be a goal nobody even saw happen at first. It took a call to Toronto to confirm that Scott Niedermayer's wicked shot and the deflection from Bodie resulted in a wicked fast goal that had the puck go in and out of the net before you could blink. The good news is they face Edmonton tomorrow, which is a great opportunity for them to go into the Olympic break on a win. The Oilers want to do their best to be SpOilers though, so we'll wait and see.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Anytime you're not in the goalie's face and screening him and getting those second and third opportunities, then he's having an easy night," Carlyle said. "You're not going to score on many NHL goalies from the blue line if he can see the puck all the time."

"Nobody on our team played to their best level - me included," Hiller said. "I could have stopped at least one of the goals that they scored."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' Mike Brown, back, collides with Calgary Flames' Curtis Glencross during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 58: Ducks @ Kings 2.4.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
Gotta hand it to those Kings. They are, begrudgingly, a good team. I also have to hand it to the Ducks who did their best to hang in there. They went into the 3rd down by 2 goals, the Kings scored almost right away in the 3rd to make their deficit to 3 goals, and they came back and tied it up. That was about all they could manage though because the Kings didn't panic at that and grabbed 2 more goals. It wasn't the best of games for Jonas Hiller, but he had a pretty good game in spite of being in back to back and facing the Red Wings the night before. It baffles me that all 3 games played in L.A. are the 2nd in back to back games while L.A. has the fresh legs for them. I hate the schedule makers for that. The Ducks face them AGAIN on Monday, only this time it'll be at home in Anaheim and after 3 days of rest. For the love of hockey I just want them to win. L.A. is 3-0 against us this season and it makes me sick to my stomach.

POST GAME QUOTES:
“We can’t win hockey games giving up six goals. It’s as simple as that,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “We worked hard, but we just seemed like we ran out of gas at the end. That’s the sign of a tired group. We came off a 13-day road trip and played last night against Detroit and then came in here.”

“We just seemed to have moments where we didn’t play the way we needed to and we made mistakes with the puck,” Anaheim captain Scott Niedermayer said. “The Kings probably felt that they did, too, but not as many as us—and that was the difference.”

Source for Quotes: Yahoo! Sports

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Jason Blake #33 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates after scoring a goal against Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings during the period of the NHL hockey game on February 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Game 56: Ducks @ Panthers 2.1.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
Hard to have an opinion on a game that you couldn't see happening. Thanks to Versus and their "exclusive window" on Monday nights, the Ducks/Panthers game wasn't allowed to be televised. This doesn't include Canadian teams, so while there were 4 games last night-- the Penguins game on Versus (as the NHL continues to shove the Pens and Crosby down everyone's throat), and two games that contained Canadian teams, and then the Ducks/Panthers game, the Ducks and Panthers fans were the only ones who got screwed on the Versus exclusive window deal.

We got the lovely radio. I have nothing against our radio broadcasters, they're good. I just have beef with the radio. Hockey has to be one of the hardest games to follow through a radio. So from what it SOUNDED like, the Ducks put forth a solid game. They played the full 60 minutes. The Getzlaf goal was a thing of beauty. Teemu's goal that came with 1/2 a second left in the 2nd period was indeed over the line with half a second left, and Hiller stood on his head to earn his 2nd shutout of the season.


POST GAME QUOTES:
"I felt good out there," Hiller said. "I had good legs and I felt comfortable. I think we did a real good job with penalty kill. They had a lot of chances."

"I thought we played more of the type of hockey that's going to be required in the last two games, both here and Tampa," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have to play tight, have to grind the type of hockey that is required to have success, if we can get a little more offense."

"He did what he had to do," Carlyle said of Hiller. "He wasn't called upon to make a lot of big stops, but the defense buckled down for him in the third period."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

SUNRISE, FL - FEBRUARY 1: Goaltender Jonas Hiller #1 of the Anaheim Ducks drops his stick but makes a save with his blocker against the Florida Panthers on February 1, 2010 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. The Ducks defeated the Panthers 3-0. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Game 55: Ducks @ Lightning 12.29.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
For a game that was "pull your hair out, strand by strand" boring, it sure did get a little interesting at the end. Tampa Bay is a team that should be beaten with ease, but knowing the Ducks, they can never make their nights that easy. They had to bring Tampa to OT and a shootout, just to spice things up. They're never one to shy away from the dramatics. And who other than Wisniewski to save the day, again?! He's the new Anaheim shootout Guru. He was also the only one to have a goal for the Ducks in regulation too. Who would have known it? I'm glad he's being so clutch recently because I like him and he's been starting to get some flack for not producing. Well, he's producing now-- and in key moments.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Miracles happen," injured Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne said while Wisniewski talked with reporters.

"Thanks Teemu," Wisniewski responded. "I would say something else, but you have 595 goals."

"We might have to stick with him," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "The guy won the last one for us, so if it's not broken, don't try and fix it."

"Both teams were playing pretty solid in the defensive zone," Hiller said. "It's fun to play that way. As a goalie, you'd rather have a 1-1 game than like a 7-7 game."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski (34) fires the game-winner past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Antero Nittymaki during a shoot out in an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 in Tampa, Fla.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 54: Ducks @ Capitals 1.27.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
Well they hung in there better than I expected them to. It was really close, they kept it at a 1 goal game, which is astonishing because it's Ovechkin's team. AND THEN... the 3rd period happened. And then things started to look like I had expected them to look. There's a clear cut reason why the Caps are 1st in the East... they're good. And there is a reason why the Ducks are on the outside looking in, in the West. They're just not cutting it. They get so close to a playoff spot only to piss it away (excuse the poor language, it just fits better). Will they make the playoffs? I think they could pull it off. I do. I'll stand behind my team and believe they can pull it off. They did last year. They've made the playoffs every year since the lockout. They can make it in. But if they have any hopes of doing so they need to get their road games in serious check. They wont do it if they keep failing on the road! That's just a pure fact. They need to win the games that are winnable, and they need to win games that are tough calls. They need to WIN. And they need to do it soon, and a lot.


POST GAME QUOTES:
"It's a little frustrating, because after that first goal in the period, it seemed like we just went flat. It felt like everybody just kind of quit," Giguere said. "We were still in it. It was an unfortunate bounce off Steve's skate, but these things are going to happen. It would have been important for us to come back and re-establish ourselves after that goal. But for some reason we didn't seem to have the energy anymore to fight it off."

"They're very comfortable playing the game the way they played it tonight," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "That's their game. And they played it to a T."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan (9) is tripped up by Washington Capitals center Boyd Gordon (15) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, in Washington.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

Game 53: Ducks @ Thrashers 1.26.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






OPINION:
They are not doing themselves any favors when they play down to the bad teams! But that's what they did tonight, a thing they tend to like to do. I don't understand it, I'm sure you don't understand it, but they do it. Then they have to face the capitals tomorrow?! Ovie's team? Lord help them. All I can hope for in that one is for Hiller or Giguere (you never know with RC) to not get lit up like a Christmas tree... Christmas is over!


POST GAME QUOTES:
"I definitely knew where I wanted to go before I got it," Getzlaf said. "I got a good shot that unfortunately hit the outside of the post instead of the inside."

"Our first power play we had seven or eight shots," Bobby Ryan said. "We lost momentum. Everybody was trying to do too much."

"He played well enough to keep us in the game," Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf said. "It's frustrating. Maybe we over-handled the puck a little bit."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

ATLANTA - JANUARY 26: Goaltender Johan Hedberg #1 of the Atlanta Thrashers saves a shot on goal in front of Saku Koivu #11 of the Anaheim Ducks at Philips Arena on January 26, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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 51: Ducks @ Sharks 1.21.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net






POST GAME QUOTES:
"The big difference in the game was that our power play has to be a little bit better than that," center Ryan Getzlaf said. "We have to be able to make it when we have that man advantage. That was pretty much the difference in the game tonight. We had our chances and it's not for a lack of effort or execution. It's a matter of getting them into the net and past them."

"We were much closer in the game and the difference was that we made a mistake and they score a power play goal off a faceoff," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have all but eight seconds of it killed and we reacted poorly on the one draw by them."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 21: Scott Niedermayer #27 of the Anaheim Ducks tries to control the puck with a sliding Jason Demers #60 of the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion on January 21, 2010 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Game 48: Ducks @ Kings 1.14.10

Graphic Credit: BuckyHermit @ duckscentral.net





OPINION:
Didn't go into this game expecting a win due to the hard solid effort they gave for the Bruins game just last night, but I also didn't expect they'd get shutout either. What a blow. They were playing pretty well given their circumstances for the 1st period. Then things started to unravel for them. The cherry on top was the Kings 4th "goal" at the very end of the 2nd period that put them up 4-0. The "goal" went under review and was called a goal. The problem is there is no video evidence that shows the puck conclusively going over the goal line. The other problem is that while the ref directly behind the net called it no goal, the LINESMAN farthest away called it a goal. I don't even know, I can't explain crap like that. Just know, it was pure crap. It wouldn't matter anyway in the end, I'm just saying, it was a terrible call.

To make matters worse, Koivu left the game with what was announced as a lower body injury. Two Finns down in two nights. Brutal. No time limit is given for him right now, although they did say Teemu's time frame is 2 to 6 weeks and his surgery today was successful. At least SOMETHING was successful today for the Ducks...


POST GAME QUOTES:
“We’ve played pretty well as of late. We didn’t play well tonight," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.

"The goals that they got, the first two, anyway, were deflections," Carlyle said. "They just threw the puck at the net. I think there were a couple of deflections on the second one. Then we get bit by a goal, I don’t know if we could tell if the puck went in the net, but obviously someone out on the ice did.”

"I think the frustration level certainly set in," Ryan said. "I think we’ve said before, that our team is a team that gets frustrated and loses all composure there, and I think you saw the result of it in the (third period).”

“We had lost Teemu earlier in the year with his hand injury, so you know what, I don’t think you can pinpoint it on saying that, well, we didn’t play well tonight or we didn’t win the game tonight because we didn’t have Teemu Selanne," said Ducks forward Todd Marchant. "There’s nothing against Teemu, he’s a great player for us, a great leader. But we just didn’t have our game tonight and, you know, bottom line is they wanted it more than we did in a lot of situations. And we just didn’t work hard enough and compete hard enough in certain areas and it showed. You can tell they were hungry for this game and they wanted it more than we did. It’s our job now to focus on the next game on Sunday and be ready to come back and bounce back and play a better game at home.”

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14: Bobby Ryan #9 of the Anaheim Ducks waits for a faceoff with teammates as his team trails 3-0 against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Staples Center on January 14, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)