First place in Pacific division tough to grasp
by Karen Francis
Hockeytalk.biz

March 10, 2008 -- ANAHEIM -- After an outstanding February, the Ducks slipped a bit on the road and were held scoreless for extended periods of time once again. Two losses on the road meant a slip down in the standings that the Ducks cannot afford. With the absence of Corey Perry, other players will have to pick up their game in these last 11 games.

GAMES

The Ducks finished off a seven game home stand by taking on the Ottawa Senators on Monday. This was a rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Ducks dominated in the 3-1 victory that extended their winning streak to six games. Martin Gerber, the former Ducks back up goalie, stopped 28 of 31 shots. Todd Bertuzzi scored in the first period, as did Corey Perry on the power play. The Senators got back into it :35 seconds after Perry’s goal with a goal from Christoph Schubert. While they put pressure on the Ducks, the Senators then melted down in the third period and gave the Ducks a 5 on 3 chance with a penalty to Mike Fisher and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on coach and GM Bryan Murray for arguing the call. Scott Niedermayer easily scored on the ensuing power play, sealing the deal for the Ducks. Shortly thereafter, Murray continued his tirade at the referees, who had had enough and booted him out of the game with a misconduct. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 24 saves to earn his 30th victory of the season and came up huge when needed. “They played a really good game, but I thought we didn’t give them a chance. We started with a very strong first and after that we never looked back. All together, I think we played really well tonight.” Niedermayer also commented after the game, “We were ready for their best. I think they got a little off their game. Sometimes it is tough when you feel the calls and penalties aren’t going your way. We just tried to stay focused on what we were doing."

Penalties and undisciplined play were the highlights when the Ducks played Chicago. Rookie Corey Crawford stopped all 19 shots in the 3-0 shutout. Dustin Byfuglien and Cam Barker scored on 2 of 10 power play opportunities that the Ducks gave the Blackhawks. Patrick Sharp was awarded the empty net goal at the end. The Ducks showed up in the penalty box, 69 minutes worth, but that was about it. Teemu Selanne commented, “I think it was good that we got a little slap in the face. We need to get back to the work we have to do. Things have been going very smoothly lately and this was a good wake-up call.” The Ducks remained in the game thanks to strong play from Jean-Sebastien Giguere. However, the penalties eventually cost them and exhausted the penalty killers. Selanne was right when he said, “We didn’t deserve to win. We didn’t even play close to how we can play. No excuse.”

The Ducks got their chance to rebound the next night against Colorado. The Ducks had better scoring chances and more shots on goal than in Chicago, but were still held scoreless by Jose Theodore who stopped all 27 shots. The Ducks also had far fewer penalties against the Avalanche. The only goal of the game came from Wojtek Wolski in the second period. Jonas Hiller stopped 28 other shots on goal. “Right now, I’m more (mad) about the goal they got instead of the saves I made,” said Hiller. “It slipped under my pads. I touched it, so it hurts even more. You know you’re there and it still goes through.” Hiller further observed, “You don’t feel good when you lose. It’s tough to win when you don’t score goals.” Randy Carlyle was happier with his team’s chances in the Colorado game but acknowledged they needed to “stay focused on the task at hand.” Carlyle felt the Ducks need to get back to their “grind game,” and the goals will come. So far it’s been 130:01 since the last one.

On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens came to town, their first visit in four years. The Ducks quickly broke their scoreless streak on a fluke goal from Todd Marchant just :21 seconds into the game. The puck took a weird bounce over rookie goaltender Carey Price. Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up a strange goal as well by being way out of position in the crease, allowing Alexei Kovalev an easy shot later in the first. The game looked like it was destined to overtime but the stalemate was finally broken in the third period with two quick goals. Chris Kunitz scored at 12:36 and Sami Pahlsson got a short handed backbreaker just :33 seconds later. Giguere stopped 20 of 21 shots and Price stopped 34 of 37. Carlyle commented after the game, “We stayed with it and we didn’t get frustrated, which is a huge sign. We stuck by our guns and said we’re going to push through and get the job done.”

INJURY UPDATE

Doug Weight returned to the lineup on Monday against Ottawa after missing eight games with a torn pectoral muscle. He centered a line with Teemu Selanne and Chris Kunitz and earned an assist in the game.

Todd Marchant also returned to the lineup on Monday after missing three games with a shoulder strain.

Ryan Carter remains on IR with a broken wrist.

Chris Pronger missed two games with a broken jaw. He was back in the lineup against Chicago wearing a football helmet device to protect the jaw. Part of the penalty trouble in Chicago stemmed from cheap shots against Pronger, including a jab to the jaw from Rene Bourque. “It’s pretty low, hitting a guy with a busted-up jaw. That’s pretty classless, I’d say,” stated George Parros, who earned 19 minutes of penalties in the game.

Corey Perry was the week’s biggest loss. He suffered a lacerated right quadriceps tendon in the third period of the Colorado game. Jose Theodore was turned around in his crease and his leg kicked up, catching Perry on the thigh with his skate. The skate sliced through the hockey sock and under armor and partially severed the tendon, which was surgically repaired at a local Denver hospital. Perry will be out for a minimum of six weeks to recover and will miss the rest of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. If the tendon had been completely severed he would have been out for at least six months.

ROSTER MOVES

Bobby Ryan was called up from Portland due to the injury to Corey Perry. Ryan played on the fourth line against Montreal as a way to ease him back into the lineup. He played 12:30 minutes and will likely see more playing time this week. Ryan said, “I stuck to the things that they were asking me to do and tried not to do too much. I think overall it was a good start.”

SPECIALTY TEAMS

The power play continues to remain dormant. The Ducks were 0 for 18 this week. The stats decreased to 16.3%, which puts them 22nd overall. Those numbers will not help them repeat the Stanley Cup.

In spite of a lousy power play, the penalty kill remains pretty constant. The stats increased slightly to 82.9%, good enough for 12th overall.

THE STANDINGS

The Ducks have 85 points with a 39-25-7 record. They have dropped to 3rd in the Pacific Division due to two road losses this week. The Ducks are four points away from division leading Dallas and three points away from the San Jose Sharks. The Stars have 10 games remaining, the Ducks 11 and the Sharks 13. The Ducks have dropped to 5th overall in the Western Conference.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Ducks have back-to-back games against Phoenix (on the road) and Vancouver (at home) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then they have two days off before the struggling St. Louis Blues come back to town on Saturday. After St. Louis, the final eight games will be against Pacific Division opponents.

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2008 Western Hockey Network