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Ducks at the Quarter Pole by Karen Francis Hockeytalk.biz November 18 -- We are now one fourth of the way through the NHL regular season. It is time to review the first quarter, in addition to the past week for the Ducks. We will also look ahead for what is in store for the Ducks in the next seven days. A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST QUARTER The Ducks had a slow start to the season, going 4-7-2 in October. Part of this had to do to roster changes. Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne pondered official retirement. Dustin Penner was signed by the Edmonton Oilers as a restricted free agent. Mathieu Schneider, who was signed to potentially take Niedermayer’s place was out with a broken bone in his ankle. Todd Bertuzzi was in and out of the line up with various injuries. Andy McDonald had a rotating door for linemates, none of whom seemed to click. The Ducks started off in London, England, a mere eight time zones away from home after only a short off-season that followed winning the Stanley Cup in June. All of these little things added up to be big things. Once the calendar turned to November, things started looking up for the Ducks. Niedermayer and Selanne are still unofficially retired, although Niedermayer has been working out and skating again. Schneider recovered from his injuries and gave the team a boost with his presence and game winning shootout goal in his first game back on November 1. Andy McDonald has finally found good linemates in Drew Miller and Todd Marchant and they are starting to create some offense for the team. The Ducks have learned how to come from behind to earn points and solved their shootout woes. All this has added up to a 6-1-1 November, a vast improvement over October. LAST WEEK'S GAMES
The Ducks defeated the Kings 4-3 in a shootout at home on Tuesday. The Ducks had a two goal lead that was erased in the third period by the Kings. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped everything in the shootout. Andy McDonald had the winning shootout goal. The Ducks visited the Staples Center on Thursday and handily defeated the Kings 6-3 in regulation. The Ducks took over in the third period and dominated the Kings. It was the first time they were over the .500 mark for the season and their first three game winning streak. After the game the Ducks said goodbye to Ilya Bryzgalov, who was put on waivers. More on that later. On Saturday, the Ducks visited San Jose with a new back up goalie in Jonas Hiller. Once again the Ducks went into a shootout with the Sharks. Once again Giguere stopped everything and Corey Perry (above) had the winning shootout goal. The Ducks win again, 2-1, have a four game winning streak, and have won the past four shootouts to earn the extra point.THE POINTS DO MATTER The Ducks are currently 10-8-3 on the season with 23 points. They are second in the Pacific Division, just two points away from the Sharks who are in first place. The Ducks are in 5th place in the Western Conference, but only 3 points separate them from the 9th place St. Louis Blues. If the Ducks had not earned the extra point in the shootouts, they would be out of playoff contention at this point. That is how much the points matter. Since the shootout has been introduced, the Ducks have been 7 for 19 attempts over two seasons. This year the Ducks are 4 for 6, winning the last four shootouts. Giguere has stopped the past 10 shootout attempts by opposing teams and as he is successful, the rest of the team’s confidence grows as well. ROSTER MOVES
Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller was recalled from Portland to back up Giguere. Ryan Carter was also called up from Portland earlier in the week and was inserted into the line up on Thursday and Saturday in place of Mark Mowers. Carter’s recall gives the Ducks an extra forward to rotate in the line up and also gives them insurance in case of any injuries that occur. A minor league trade was accomplished on Thursday between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Ducks. The Blue Jackets got defenseman Aaron Rome and forward Clay Wilson in exchange for forward Geoff Platt. They also reacquired the rights to defenseman Bruno St. Jacques. INJURY UPDATE Forward Todd Bertuzzi remains on the injured reserve list. He suffered a concussion from a mid-ice hit by Derek Boogaard in a game against the Minnesota Wild on October 14. Recovery has been slow for Bertuzzi and he has suffered a few setbacks with a recurrence of symptoms. Bertuzzi is making positive progress at last and skated with the Ducks on Wednesday in non-contact drills. Each day he checks his progress – if he feels good the next morning, he adds a bit more to the routine. If he feels bad the next day, he scales things back. The next big milestone will be getting clearance for contact drills. There is no timetable for his return, but skating with his teammates was a big step. Defenseman Mathieu Schneider is day to day with a sore hip flexor. He first noticed the injury on Tuesday during the game against the Kings. Although Schneider is skating again with the team, he wants to make sure he is at 100% before rejoining the line up. Schneider has missed two games and Joe DiPenta has been inserted into the line up in his place. Schneider has only played 6 games with the Ducks but has 2 goals and 6 assists. He also had the game winning shootout goal in his first career shootout attempt in his first game with the Ducks on November 1. THE WEEK AHEAD The Ducks have three days off before playing the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night in Dallas. This will be the third meeting of the season with the Stars and the past two efforts by the Ducks have been stinkers. The last meeting on November 5 was a decisive 5-0 shut out. The Ducks need to show up this time and hopefully they will be able to take the momentum of their four game winning streak into Dallas. The Ducks come home for Thanksgiving dinner and then play the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday in a 1:00 contest. This will be the first time that Giguere and Bryzgalov will face each other at opposite ends of the rink and it will not be a practice. It should be a battle of the goaltenders and a good game. The Ducks will finish off their ten game Pacific Division series with another game against the Kings at home on Sunday.
2008 Western Hockey Network |
ANAHEIM DUCKS Also by Karen Francis: October Month of Tricks, Treats, for NHL By Josh Brewster: Opportunity Knocks Again for Jason King
Cup Night Photos ANAHEIM DUCKS SIGN CENTER RYAN GETZLAF TO FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION (5yrs. 26M per Canadian Press) NOV 20, 2007 -- ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed center Ryan Getzlaf to a five-year contract extension. The contract begins next season and runs through 2012-13. Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed. “We are extremely pleased to be able to sign Ryan to a long-term deal,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke. “He’s demonstrated great character and work ethic to complement his talent, a rare combination at such a young age.” Getzlaf, 22 (5/10/85), has recorded 7-14=21 points in 19 games with the Ducks this season. Currently on a five-game point streak (3-5=8), Getzlaf leads the team in points scored and has earned 4-7=11 points in the last seven games. Appearing in his second NHL season in 2006-07, Getzlaf notched 25-33=58 points in 82 games. One of eight Ducks to play in every regular season game, he ranked fifth on the Ducks in goals and tied for second in power play goals (11). He established single-season career highs for goals, assists, points and power play goals. Getzlaf led the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions in postseason scoring with 7-10=17 points, setting a Ducks record for most points in a single playoff season. Among NHL postseason leaders, he finished tied for second in game-winning goals (3) and short-handed goals (1), fifth in scoring, tied for sixth in assists, and tied for fifth in power play points. He also finished tied for second on the team in goal scoring. Originally selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Getzlaf made his NHL debut with the Ducks during the 2005-06 regular season. He has appeared in 158 career NHL games, scoring 46-72=118 points with a +26 rating. Getzlaf has also played in 37 career playoff games, recording 10-14=24 points. He is the only active NHL player 22-or-younger with at least 20 playoff points. DUCKS ACQUIRE SUTHERBY FOR '09 PICK NOV 19, 2007 -- ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired center Brian Sutherby from the Washington Capitals in exchange for the club’s second round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Sutherby, 25 (3/1/82), has appeared in five contests this season for Washington, earning 1-0=1 point with seven penalty minutes (PIM). The Edmonton, Alberta native has played in 259 career NHL contests over six seasons with Washington, collecting 26-35=61 points with 281 PIM. Sutherby played in a career-high 76 games with the Capitals in 2005-06, while also establishing career-highs in goals, assists and points (14-16=30). The 6-3, 215-pound center also appeared in five Stanley Cup Playoff contests with Washington in 2002-03, going scoreless with 10 PIM.
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The
Ducks had three games this past week, all within the Pacific Division. The
Ducks played a home and home series with the Kings on Tuesday and Thursday
and an away game with the Sharks on Saturday. 
