Wins, Losses, Blue Line Tosses

Lets quickly cover some of the basics.

A HUGE thank you to Sammy Pahlssons' Chicago Blackhawks for defeating the Nashville Predators last night in a 4-2 win. Awesome! Bryz and his Yotes weren't so wonderful and the Ducks will just have to thank them in their own special way later this week. On a similar note, Dallas did not do their part to eliminate Minnesota either. So again, the Ducks will have to offer some friendly advice on how to do that as well. I'd also like to say just how freaking happy I am that Dallas has been eliminated already! Nothing puts a smile on my face like knowing the team who eliminated the Ducks last year are already GONE!

Also, Edmonton lost to the Kings (yea, I know...even the Kings helped the Ducks out, what's wrong with you Phoenix?!) and they are completely eliminated from the playoffs. SUCKAS!

Alright, so on to other GOOD GREAT stuff!!

The potential return of Francois Beauchemin (Beaucheboy as he's so lovingly referred to by Ducks in a Row) to the line-up as soon as Friday!

I love Beaucheboy. I've always considered him the poor mans Scotty. You can't afford a Scott Niedermayer offensive/defenseman? Get yourself a Francois Beauchemin. He's an affordable puck handler with wonderful speed and an amazing ability to see the play forming ahead of him. Just like Scotty, he's not afriad to jump into the play and take an offensive stand now and again. He's going to be valuable to the Power Play and for all purposes, it will mean having an experienced blue line once again.

So who does he replace? I say he takes the spot of Brendan Mikkelson. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a bad D man, but I think Sheldon Brookbank has more of the power that the Ducks need. He's a big guy with guts (again, did you SEE that black eye?). Suddenly, the Ducks have gone from employing an insanely inexperienced blue line, to having potentially three very VERY threatening walls of defense.

The return of Beauchemin can only be a positive to this group. He brings experience that the Ducks need. He's obviously well rested (and hopefully not too out of shape) and can bring an extra boost to the Ducks roster during this push into the playoffs (IF IF IF they make it). I don't fear that he will ruin or disturb any chemistry, I only imagine he will improve upon it.

I've really missed Beauch this year, however we all know that if he had never been hurt in the first place, we might have missed any chance of seeing Bobby Effin Ryan. Well, now we get them BOTH!

GO DUCKS!!! Hello Beauchemin!

Battle of the Back-ups!

With Jonas Hiller representing the current Ducks and Ilya Bryzgalov representing the Ducks of yesteryear, it was a battle of Ducks backup goalies tonight...and glad to say current Ducks backup Hiller was FABULOUS!

Here are just a few highlights of the game:

Like I already said, Hiller really showed up tonight, registering his 3rd NHL career shutout (all coming this season). In addition, he was really put to the test on two occasions tonight. One when having to kill off a Coyotes 5 on 3 opportunity and again when the Ducks were summoned to kill a double minor high sticking penalty given by rookie defenseman Brendan Mikkelson. The Ducks had a hard time clearing the puck, not to mention were short-"sticked" because Brett Festerling had a broken stick during the PK, only to have Rob Niedermayer give his up to the defenseman. Hiller and the Ducks defense played wonderfully and obviously killed off both opportunities.

A great positive here is that the Ducks took only 3 penalties. Unfortunately they came at the Ducks a little rough. Chirs Pronger received a delay of game penalty with Steve Montador still in the box serving his hooking penalty, giving the 5 on 3 opportunity for about a minuet. And of course, Mikkelson's high sticking 4 minuets.

The Ducks were dominate. Controlling the puck for much of the game. It's just a shame the scoreboard didn't reflect that dominance a bit more. Damn that Bryz!

Of course seeing the Ducks score on two Power Play Opportunites was a plus. Prongers goal from the left circle was a bit rare for him as he usually doesn't play an offensive role that deep. I guess on the Power Play, anything goes. In addition Bobby Ryan had an awesome goal from the low right circle, Teemu Selanne style. When I watched the replay it seemed nearly impossible. Where the kid found enough room to feed the puck between Bryz and the post is beyond me. I guess it's a good thing he wears 54 and not me.

Overall, the Ducks played hard and physical. It wasn't just a game that they won, it was a game that they deserved to win.

Another positive...the Ducks take sole position of 2nd in the Pacific. Let's keep it up. We know who's looming on the horizon for the next 2 games...

GO DUCKS!