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!