Wow, what a few hours can do to a team

I'm just SPEECHLESS...that's right...no expletives!

Steve Montador is with Boston. Ducks get F - Petteri Nokelainen.

Samuel Pahlsson (OMG...I can't believe they traded Pahlsson! I'm soooo...wow....just speechless!) to Chicago. Ducks get D - James Wisniewski and undisclosed pick (whatever that means).

Kent Huskins and Travis Moen to rival San Jose (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?). Ducks get F - Nick Bonino, G - Timo Pielmeier and a Conditional Pick.

Prospect Eric Cole to Atlanta. Ducks get F - Erik Christensen.

WOW! eltoro reminds me...I/we/fans/Ducks asked for this shake up. We all wanted a change and something to offer a spark. I just didn't think it would look like this! I'm stunned, totally surprised. I can't lie, I'm terrible with knowledge on a good majority of non Ducks...but I really don't recognize any NEW names here. One thing I can say is this...this roster just got ALOT younger! But as for analysis. I HAVE NO IDEA!!!

I'm not going to recognize ANYONE at Friday's game!

More importantly I'm beyond sad to see these 2 3 4 5 guys go. It's been one hell of an emotional day week. Seeing Chris Kunitz leave and now Steve Montador, Sammy Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Kent Huskins. I wish them luck, they're all finding themselves on very talented teams with a huge opportunity to win another Stanley Cup. I put my figurative money on Boston about a month ago...I think I'll be keeping it there since they didn't do too shabby here on deadline day themselves.

But more importantly...to the old, new, young, veteran, revamped and refurbished...GO DUCKS!!!

Eye didn't think it would be like that!

There was so much to yesterday's game that I kinda don't know where to begin.

Lets just say this. The Ducks really know how to gets one's emotions going. It was so great to see them playing so solid during the first 20 minutes. They looked good. I felt good about the game.

But wait! This is the 08-09 team we're talking about. They're bound to come back out onto the ice and feel like they have everything under control and take themselves a little break. And they did. And it was ugly. That Mike Ribeiro...he's got the Ducks number. It seems like every time they play Dallas, that guy just kills the Ducks. He definitely didn't help them win today, that's for sure.

Somehow though, the Ducks managed to pull through. Corey Perry tied it up with an interesting wrap around when he beat his ultimate foe, Marty Turco, and then practically celebrated the goal in his face, priceless! More impressive was Andrew Ebbett playing solid defense causing Dallas to turn over the puck. Ebbett sends the puck to Teemu Selanne right in Turco's kitchen and the Ducks find themselves in that 4-3 position.

Then the clock took forever!!

An extremely positive note was JS Giguere. He was solid Jiggy style there in the last 5 minutes or so when the Ducks were playing scrambled egg defense. He made some HUGE stops once Turco was pulled and even provoked a bit of a fight between Travis Moen and Steve Ott at the end of regulation. There is ALOT of interesting stuff going on right now regarding this fight.



You're going to have to do some decision making on your own. Here's what's going on...

He was pretty aggressive with Scott Niedermayer there at the end of the game. One thing to take note of is that is NO ONE is allowed to mess with Scotty, plain and simple. I don't care who's on the ice when that happens, someone is going to step in and take care of it. Well in this case, Jiggy saw it, and Jiggy tried to be the one to stop it. He was rough with Ott and Jiggy was given a 2 minute roughing penalty for it (big woop, game was over). Scotty turned around to take care of his own business and that's when Moen stepped in. Now here's the tricky part. Ott isn't allowed to fight because he's got a broken hand, wrist, finger, whatever...therefore he's wearing a cast and not allowed to fight with the cast on. So basically Ott gets pummeled by Moen. In his own self defense, Ott apparently tried to gouge Moens eye. Accident or not, the league considers something like that to be "intent to harm" and it's going to cause Ott to be suspended. His hearing is on Monday. I'm hoping he gets a few games because the Ducks have to play them again on Friday, and it would be nice to have him out of the lineup.

Speaking of Dallas...Kuni and his Penguins are in town tomorrow, and it will be a GREAT thing for his former team if Pittsburgh wins. Keeping Dallas down right now is VERY helpful to the trying-so-desperately-to-make-the-playoffs Ducks.

The Rumor mills are churning like crazy. Of course alot (most ALL) of the talk is surrounding Chris Pronger. I would lead you to such sites, but I don't want to. haha, I'm a firm believer of, I'll believe it when I see it (apparently I'm like a 4 year old child today too).

Did anyone see the bashing that Detroit got from Nashville? I mean, that doesn't help the Ducks out too much...but I'm just glad that their 8-0 beating looks way worse than the Ducks' 6-0 loss to the Bruins, and the 8-4 loss to Atlanta and the first 4 games of the season...yea this could just go on and on.

Anyway, one game left on this road trip so...

GO DUCKS!!!

CRASH!...Again!

My pretend hopes were up. As in...I pretended to have high hopes for last night, yet my realistic hopes were lingering in the background.

First of all...let's start with something fun. OBD was my "date" last night(yes, OBD is a nickname, I LOVE nicknames). She's a co-worker of mine, and I'd like to point out that I use the word "date" to describe ANYONE who attends a game with me. Besides, I prefer my dates to be male and in their late 20's early 30's...not that it matters, sometimes a girls night out is needed. Also joining us last night wereRamon's sisters Adriana and Maribel. They are crack ups in their own right! By the way, the sisters and I have been to quiet a few games together...the Ducks have lost every one of them (the only exception to this rule was a Ducks @ Phoenix game we attended last spring...however, we sat nowhere near one another).

Anyway, it was OBD's first ever Hockey game (in 5 years she'll be just as big a fan as I am...that's how long it took me to get into hockey). She's not very sports inclined, whereas I have always been a sports fan all my life. Her lack of sports knowledge went something like this...

"I think the last sporting event I went to was a Laker show."
"Do the blockers (that was her term for the goalie) wear skates too?"
"I'm impressed that the puck slides on the ice just like on that table hockey game."
"Fighting is VALID? Why aren't the refs stopping it?!"
"I would be so frustrated with that little puck!"

She had some excellent points as well. For instance...there is NEVER "Too many men!" and being one man short (or on the PK) is unacceptable, however the man advantage is just fine. Funny how she TOTALLY got that concept immediately! She also asked that if teams are allowed to pull the goalie...can't they just have 2 on the ice at the same time? I like her thinking!

Anyway, she was alot of fun, and I hope she enjoyed herself. Hey...in just 5 short years she'll be mega fan, and it will all be thanks to me! :) Oh and OBD, those are MY type of Canadians!!!

So some numbers for tonight.

Bobby Freaking Ryan (I can't help but to give the guy a name like that...usually it's not "freaking", but it does start with an f) has 11 goals in the month of January, and one more opportunity to add another. 11! That's insane. Not to mention, it ties the rookie 1 month record held by Ovechkin.

The Ducks are now 0-11 when trailing after the first. I knew that wasn't going to be a good sign when it happened. I was really hoping the Ducks were going to turn that one around last night.

A shorty by Travis Moen is fine by me...I believe that's 2 for him on the season (the first coming in Montreal)...someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Ryan Getzlaf had no points last night, which as I've mentioned before, means the Ducks don't win. Remember, he has at least 1 point in every Ducks victory.

Bounces...tonight...they weren't there. Man...if they could have had just ONE of those goals from that Phoenix game...just one (maybe two)!

I was VERY surprised to see JS Giguere on the bench. But not upset to see Jonas Hiller out there.

Yes Ramon, Andrew Ebbett being a healthy scratch makes it very difficult for him to score goals as indicated in my predictions.

It was a pleasure seeing Teemu Selanne last night (and a relief as I sported my Selanne jersey last night for the first time in a long time...). He seemed sharp (ouch) and looked pretty good. He was smothered naturally, but for the most part, he seems to be fine. I'm sure the highlight of the night for him was the 3rd period when he didn't have to deal with that Brendan Morrison. UGH...that guy.

High hopes for Saturday? Sure...but I'm keeping my realistic ones in check as well.

GO DUCKS!

Impressive...

Glad the Ducks finally played a game they deserved to win.

Okay, so we see another 4-3 score on the big board, but for the most part, I'd say that is a very big misrepresentation of what actually happened.

The Ducks definitely controlled much of the game. Some sloppy play in the third, which they are known to do, but for the most part, things seemed to be clicking.

Bobby Ryan is clearly not a fluke, as he seems to just get better and better with each game. Literally FLYING to the net for the Ducks' first goal of the game (from what I will admit was a nice feed from Brendan Morrison), was a momentum changer. A CRAZY goal was scored off the helmet of Bobby Holik (that being his second goal of the year by the way)to get the Devils on the board early, but I'd definitely say it was all Ducks from that point on.

The highlight of the evening was what turned out to be the GWG by Chris Kunitz. The top line had a great 1-2-3 play that really showed what was missing from having Corey Perry out the past 4 games.

Now I have to give myself a little pat on the back...
My Earl Sleek BoC inspired prediction went VERY well if you ask me.

Corey Perry had himself a big night with 2 assists...okay, so I said goal and assist, but I'll take it!

Bobby Ryan had a goal...not on the PP like predicted, but a goal none the less...I'll take it!

Ryan Getzlaf didn't get into a stupid uneccesary fight! I'll take it!

George Parros ALMOST fought there in the 3rd...but since I don't like fights anyway...I'll take it!

My "why the heck not" prediction was most impressive...Travis Moen gets an assist on a Sammy Pahlsson goal...how beautiful was that?! I'll take it!

Finally, Jiggy lets 2+1 by. He really only let 2 get by...one kind of questionable, the other...kinda by Travis Moen.

Ducks win...I'LL TAKE IT! :)

I'll have another one for Wednesday cause...why not, it's fun!

GO DUCKS!!!!!

MISSING: It's obvious...right?

Updated @7:45am

I don't think I understand how things are so out of control for the Ducks right now.

Let's start positive tonight for a change:
Scott Niedermayer as the all star of the game was an understatement. He was in tip-top Scotty form. Handling the puck effortlessly and taking it in deep to provide plays. His open net goal in the third was beautiful and was a result of his hard work. He got the puck to the net on the original play. Unfortunately for Scotty, he wasn't able to get back quick enough to cancel a Brett Festerling turn over that caused the Ducks to give up another golden opportunity for Daniel Sedin, who was rewarded with an unassisted goal (the Ducks have been giving those out like candy lately).

I think another huge positive for the Ducks tonight was the hard work from Andrew Ebbett. Even after a crazy travel experience, it was clear he came to play and he worked hard. He's happy to be playing with the Ducks and simply happy for the opportunity. The OC Register reported that he arrived at about 8pm Sunday evening:

“Oh yeah, I was smiling yesterday, too,” he said. “You couldn’t get mad about it. There was nothing you could do about it. It’s winter, Christmas travels, and I got to come up here, so I’m not complaining.”Andrew Ebbett, OC Register

I'm happy to see him get the opportunity, just wish it was under different circumstances.

So in addition to stellar Scotty, Bobby Ryan was compelling to watch. He really held his own out there against a very strong looking Vancouver. I think his most important factor was his efforts to get the puck to the net. It's nice to see the fresh faces working so hard to make a name for themselves. If Ryan keeps this up...the Ducks will undoubtedly benefit.

ADDED: I can't believe that I forgot to mention Sammy Pahlsson. How do you not love Sammy Pahlsson? I think he got robbed on that goal. I could barely tell what was going on in the crease to decide if it was intentional or not. But the best part about it...he ended up getting a great goal anyway. Finally. He was slightly overdue for something!! But I just wanted to make sure that he got his credit for playing hard last night.

One last note because my praise of Chris Kunitz will hopefully be never ending. While looking around various stats I came across hits. Okay, so maybe not the most important stat, or the biggest headline getter, but for the Ducks it has always been a big/HUGE part of their game and I think it's currently lacking. Thanks Kunitz, you are leading the team with 79, followed by Travis Moen with 70 (the leading hit man in the league is Milan Lucic from Boston with 133). Let's pick it up a bit boys. It can't hurt right? Well, maybe it will hurt the opposition and that's what the Ducks are looking for right now. Kunitz is 22nd in the league in hits.

So the ugly news for the night:
TOO MANY things that are missing right now. Here are a few:

The power play is STILL MISSING. Okay, so the Ducks were 2 for 5 tonight. One was a 5-3 opportunity. I don't think it's enough. Not when they are taking nearly twice as many penalties (more on that later). A bright note however, Ryan showed that his efforts in studying Teemu Selanne worked to his advantage. His goal tonight was solid as was that first power play opportunity. In fact, the first 10 minuets of the game were outstanding. I was very ready to see a great game by the Ducks and then...

MISSING: Self Control. It has been lost by the Ducks lately. They have been playing frustrated and it shows. More so on Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry than anyone else (plus we all know that when one gets picked on, the other is likely to jump to his side). They are top tier players and the rest of the NHL knows this. They are getting shut down and frustrated and taking it out in the wrong way. For one thing, Getzlaf fighting is unnecessary. The LAST thing the Ducks need is their top scorer in the box. DUH! IT'S OBVIOUS RIGHT?! What about the fact that the guy averages 19:17 TOI (just behind Scotty (26:43) and Chris Pronger (26:31) of course) and only played 16:24. Okay, so not a huge difference, but that could mean 3 or 4 EXTRA shifts that he's on the ice instead of in the box! It could mean sending this particular game into overtime!

REWARD IF FOUND: LESS PENALTIES TAKEN!!!!! Gee, wouldn't it be fantastic if the Ducks weren't constantly playing SHORTHANDED?! You've got 2 SH goals this year so far...think that's going to be a positive way to win games? HA! The Ducks took 9, yes NINE, penalties tonight. The Canucks were only able to score on two of those...but hey, those two less goals mean the DUCKS WIN THE GAME! Come on now...IT'S OBVIOUS RIGHT?!

MISSING: SOLID PASSING. I don't really know why this has been a problem lately, but it seems to be getting clearer and more sloppy as the season progresses. The OBVIOUS examples of this would be the 4 unassisted goals the Ducks have given up in the last week or so.

REWARD IF FOUND: SCORING OPPORTUNITIES. How many times tonight did it seem that if the Ducks were just able to make a clean pass, they would have found an open net? Case in point, Getzlaf makes a clean pass to Ryan...GOAL. Scotty sends the puck to the net, clean pass from Perry, open net for Niedermayer...GOAL.

Something to note, the Ducks are currently on pace for only 94 points this season. Yes, ONLY 94 points. They are better than that.

The frustration is setting in people, at home too, and I won't be happy if I kick my TV in.

GO DUCKS! GO GET FOCUSED! FOCUS! (inspired by OBD, and she won't even know it!)


I don't know what the fans are doing...and I don't care. Just keep it up! At this point, all four Ducks are in the starting line upand gaining ground on those behind them. There is less than 2 weeks left for voting, and from what I understand at some point they are going to stop showing the results (probably so the NHL can justify picking who they'd like to see playing...right?). All this means is that Ducks fans will probably have to vote a little harder. Just keep it up...because it's damn impressive and I LOVE IT!

Giving Thanks!

I'm sick. It sucks. I hate being sick. I hate missing work. I hate feeling...yuckie. Don't get sick. It blows.

I was lucky to go to the game Monday night BEFORE getting sick. I just couldn't focus enough to write about it until now.

I left the game very happy (I didn't get hit until about 1am). One reason was the fabulous seats provided by UJ (see, this loving hockey thing is really paying off) and of course MOST IMPORTANTLY was how great the guys played. It was fantastic to see them practically dominate the game. True, Colorado was missing many key players, but it may have just been the motivational booster that the Ducks needed in order to see that they CAN play a full 60 minutes!!! Fantastic.

Travis Moen was making me laugh all night. Did anyone notice how he was doing some fancy spin-o-rama moves (insert clip of your own here, cause I can't find one)? He had at least 3 that I saw and I loved the effort. How fantastic would it have been if one of those moves actually provided a goal for the evening? Too bad.

It was very exciting to see that Chris Pronger's hit on Mike Green was considered the hit of the week by the The Hockey Show on the NHL Network Online. I'm thrilled to see that guy get recognized for something positive for a change!

There is recently posted news of JS Giguere headed home to Montreal for family reasons. I don't care to speculate, but I do wish him the best as I'm sure everyone does.

I do know what everyone can do now that they are done reading though...VOTE!!!!!!!!!! Come on...let's get those Ducks represented properly!! Get them into the starting line-up!!!

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving Holiday! It's my favorite of the year and I sure hope I'm feeling better to enjoy it!

GO DUCKS!!!

What a Lucky Duck!

Hi all! I’m very excited to be joining the Girl with a Puck team. For me, this couldn't have come at a better time in my life and I’m very excited to contribute to such a successful and respected blog community.

A little about myself, I’m 25 (soon to be 26, but I’ll be holding on to that 5 for as long as possible) and I have lived in Southern California all my life. I became a HUGE Ducks fan a few years ago thanks to my wonderful friends Ramon and Krystal. I love everything about the game, the hits, the goals, the great saves…honestly, I can’t get enough. I go to the games as often as possible and it’s never enough. If I’m not there, I’m yelling faithfully at the TV at home. If I can’t watch, I tivo.

I don’t have a favorite player, I’m not allowed. I’ve been banned by my friends in naming one. After a whole season of contemplation, I finally settled on Dustin Penner at the end of 06/07 season and well…we all know what happened after that. I then decided to go with the first player that I really admired on the team with Scott Niedermayer…and then he contemplated retirement for several months. So needless to say, I don’t chose anymore, and to be quite honest, I wouldn’t be able to make up my mind anyway. There are so many great players on the roster, how COULD you chose just one. I am however a female, and I wont deny my…hmmm…“interest” with one player in particular…but I’m going to be keeping that to myself (I’m sure it will show eventually anyway).

I’m sure there will be many more opportunities to reveal a little about myself, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.

I can’t wait to get going and hopefully make some new friends in the process! In the meantime…

GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!

Why wait…lets just get started.

This past week has been great for the Ducks. Even though I don't think the Ducks are playing at 100%, they are beginning to look like the team that is so great on paper. The Ducks are finally getting goals from the guys we’re expecting to get them from. The stat sheet is starting to turn itself around and guys like Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are at the top, instead of the bottom. Great to have you back guys. In addition, after watching the replay (since I’m sure many of us were deprived of seeing it LIVE) of Teemu Selanne’s goal with just under 4 minuets to play at Columbus…that guy is clearly still able to put the puck in the net in the most UNBELIEVABLE ways! (that one was for you Ramon). Who doesn’t want to see more of those?!?!?

The guys managed to average 4 goals per game during this road trip with a huge chunk coming in Montreal. That was a pleasure to see so many guys getting one on the scoreboard. For sure, the SH goal by Travis Moen was a huge boost in team moral and after that, Mr. Momentum was on their side.

I was listening to Home Ice (XM 204) just yesterday and they were talking about how after a goaltender plays the way JS Giguere played during this road trip, it’s time for the team to take him to dinner, a NICE dinner. AGREED! In the 3 games Jiggy was in net, he stopped 113 of 121 shots. While that is fantastic to see that he is playing so well, it’s disturbing to note that too many shots are being given up by a team who has two of the BEST defensemen in the league! The Ducks are averaging 32.7 shots against per game. EW. With Jiggy playing at .915 SV%...the Ducks will be giving up about 3 goals per game. Definitely makes it hard to win that way.

No matter what, the road trip did just what the team needed and that was gain some confidence and put a few points in the win column. More importantly, I think it’s really shown the rest of the league that these guys are going to continue to be a force. Just imagine what they will bring to the table when they play GREAT hockey…for 60 minutes!

Tonight’s battle with Detroit will be interesting. It would be wonderful to win 5 straight, and it can't be done if the Ducks don't play at 100% tonight. Completely possible right? 60 minuets. Other teams do it…the Ducks can too. Besides, who doesn’t want to beat the current defending Stanley Cup Champions…especially when it’s Detroit. The Ducks know what it’s like to be the target…lets see how they play when that bulls eye is on the other guys back!

GO DUCKS!!!