Game 56: Ducks @ Flames 2.11.11

OPINION:
These are the kinds of games that show a fan that their team is serious about wanting to win. The Ducks battled back from being behind twice in this game. They fought for every goal. They didn't give up when they went down. The climbed right back into it. These games are the games I love to see. It doesn't only boost the teams confidence to be able to come from behind and battle back to win, it boost the fans confidence in knowing that they can do it. I don't think I was the only one doing a happy dance in the living room when Teemu Selanne scored the tying goal that would send the Ducks to overtime, and I don't think I'm the only one who let out the loudest possible yelp when Cam Fowler (Get in on the #Fowler4Calder hash tag on twitter if you have one, this kid is worth it!) scored the winning goal with just seconds left in overtime. Amazing win by an amazing group of guys. This game has me saying: These Ducks are for real now. They aint playin' around no more. In it to win it.

POST GAME QUOTES:
"Luckily it went in," the 19-year-old Fowler said. "I didn't get as much on it as I would have liked and it looked like it fooled him a little bit. They always say that backhanders are the hardest to stop."

"Cam Fowler is an amazing hockey player," said Selanne, who assisted on the winner. "It's unbelievable that young guys like that can come into the league and dominate in pretty much every area. If this guy doesn't win the Norris Trophy one day, it's going to be a crime."

"When we watch guys like Fowler and all the young guys play like that, we feel younger too," Selanne said.

"This was huge for us," Fowler said. "If we drop this one, Calgary jumps ahead of us in the standings and now we bump up to fourth. You can just see the degree of difficulty that's involved in a conference like this. Every game is huge and all the points matter and we're lucky to come out of here with two."

"Curtis has been real strong with us," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "He's had more of an opportunity with us than he had with the Flames because of the situation he's in."

GAME NOTES:
Calgary LW Alex Tanguay (neck) missed his second game ... Selanne's three assists gives him 690 in his career, moving him past Maurice Richard and into 53rd on the NHL's all-time list ... Calgary D Cory Sarich played in career game No. 800 ... Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin was in the lineup for the first time since Wednesday's trade with Toronto. Beauchemin spent four seasons with the Ducks before signing with Toronto as a free agent in July 2009. ... The Flames play in Vancouver against the Northwest Division-leading Canucks on Saturday night.

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

PHOTO OF THE GAME:

Anaheim Ducks' Teemu Selanne, right, from Finland, and Saku Koivu, from Finland, celebrate the team's win over the Calgary Flames during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, on Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. The Ducks won 5-4.(Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

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 56: Ducks @ Flames 2.7.09

Ducks WIN 2-1!!

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GAME DAY QUOTES:
"I had my stick on the one side and I just moved it at the last second when he went to make the pass," Perry said. "It's nice to see it go in. They're a tough team to play against at home. It was a good feeling coming in with the lead after two."

"He played very well in the last game in Nashville (4-2 loss) and really couldn't be faulted," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "Your goaltenders don't have to win you games, but they have to give you a chance and he's been known for giving our hockey club a chance for a long time. Hopefully this game and the Nashville game, he can use it as a springboard to getting back to where he needs to be."

"I've been feeling good on the ice the last couple games," Giguere said. "I thought we played a pretty good road game."

"He's [Iginla] a battler," Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer said. "He's a tough player to play against. We just try to do our best."

Source for Quotes: ducks.nhl.com