Wings Fly away with a Win

Giggy said at the end of the Wings/Ducks game that they were playing to lose rather than to win. Hmm? I give them more credit than that. Let's be honest Giggy has not been doing all that great lately and as each loss approaches his record he is apt to get a little more nervous.

The truth is that something is missing. I'm not talking about the players either we know the story with that. Half our team seems to have been pulled up from the Chops.

Perhaps our defiency is synergy, cohesion, or unfamiliararity with having a mixup in just about every line. I also think it would be fair to say that our top defensive players have really let up some. In the last few games I have seen numberous blunders by Scotty and especialy Pronger. The Dude cannot move those feet (or paddles).

We need a win. Selanne where are you? Hopefully he will be on the next flight out because we really need a booster on this long stretch of away games. We need the points.

As it is right now - we better find something within or it is quite possible the Ducks will not be in the playoffs. There are some teams in the league right now that are looking much better on the ice, in and out of the conference. The Wings looked like a top notch offensive team. Leathal on the shot. Passing is seemless. And what about San Jose. Need I say more...

Come on Ducks lets get back the will. On the flip side what is out of the Ducks control is this.

1. Pronger keeps on getting called on stupid panalties he just doesn't deserve.

2. We seem to have a defeatest attitude in the offesive zone.If it doesn’t go in we pout. If the rebound does not gain possession we collapse. If a shot goes wide we retreat to defense.

3. We need to shoot more. We need to take better shots too.

Lets go ducks!

Ducks Battle Back!

I noticed far less Kings fans at last nights game. Let start by reviewing the game on the bright side of things.

Positively our second and third period was good. Our defense worked well with each other and we really didn't take too many stupid penalties. Bobby Ryan really performed especially on a smooth move over the blue line past Kings defenders in the third period. I even heard some Oooh and Ahhs out of some Kings fans - they were inpressed.

Solid Defense by no other but Scotty and special meantion to tough quick play by our little Ebbett. I think most fans didn't miss Perry and neither did the box. Moan really seem to fill Perry's shoes we should see how long that will go though.

The questions that plague this club now are that of the salery cap. We need some stretching room. And we all can say that room is not going to be from Bobby Ryan. He is here to stay.

With the news now that May is leaving. Well, quite frankly he is a place holder, with all due respect, he is a veteran, a leader, and a very grinding player. I don't think the Ducks relied on him much although he did have a role. Granted he did play a key role in the playoffs but we need to move forward. Such is professional sports.

I think there is new life in the Ducks bench. However, there are some key problems that I see in the coming future if we don’t fill the void. Lets start with the major, Selanne. He is a offensive special team machine and shoots the puck and scores a hell of a lot. Let’s be honest, it is his last year. So what then? We need to fill the offensive void. Selanne is out right now resting from a cut from his own skate above his knee. They say three weeks. I have a personal insider who has said he will be back in only two. I believe him. We need him. I think now we have even more confidence without him and I am sure Selanne being how competitive he is, he’s itching to get back.

Ducks take it to Columbus

The ducks really played well against Columbus tonight, shots on goal were quality, smart, very little overpassing, and Getz really had some great shots on goal. Getz almost had a hat trick which was exciting to see.

As far as Getz's playing he needs to continue to take those shots and minimize the cheezie little passes he sometimes makes to players who just can't pick up on them. He is a great playmaker but I think his focus should be less on making the play.

This game showed that. He looked for the shot and thought first before he made a waisteful pass.

Another game note was Perros's feed to Bobby Ryan. Coach Randy said before the game that he is expecting more from Ryan than he did in the beginning when Getz and Perry were Rookies. That is why he is putting him in on offensive opportunities like special teams on the Power Play.

So in the end, great game! Great coaching on the fact that they wore out Columbus durinbg the first. This allowed us to pull through stong toward the end of the game because you could tell they got tired quick.

Also, the defense did great by keeping Nash at bay.

Fantastic Game.

Ducks and Columbus

Outstanding performance by our 2nd line and our checking line...Parros aside from kickin' ___ is playing well and we were waiting for the Gordie Howe hat trick tonite!!!

Getsy....was great!Kudos to Perry for doin' major grunt work tonite and setting the table for Getzy to have a great nite... with the set up that Perry fed to Getsy, my 80 year old mother could have rang the bell!

Passing was superb...we owned the Blue Jays who limoped out of town
outplayed,, outhit, and outgunned...the score didn't tell the story....little worried about Jiggy...last goal was a cheap one that he would surely want to have back!

Good start to capitalize on.

Guest Blog Contributor
CP

Ducks Practice Double Time at Anaheim Ice

The ducks now having two straight loses must now focus on winning at home when they play Columbus at home.

It seems that coach Randy Carlyle is getting back to basics focusing on pentaly kill and power play special teams.Currently, Anaheim is tied for eighth in the NHL on the power play (21.6 percent) and tied for 14th on the penalty kill (81.5 percent).

Teemu has been doing well on these special teams but scoring contributions need to be widespread to increase the amount of goals per game. You can't continue to win games when your under three goals. SOG numbers don't lie and goalies are not perfect the same goes for defense.

I must say it is nice that the players were able to visit Choc hospital recently and support the local community. It is a testament to the Hockey club and overall the NHL does a great job promoting there clubs to get involved with those they play for. Perhaps if Avery was doing a bit more of community involvement he wouldn't have time dating worthless models and actresses in the Hollywood scene. He gives double meaning to the word "player".

Well I am sure we will do well this Sunday. Watch for our productivity on special teams to see if the extra practice helped us. To me I am much more supportive of a hard day of practice than a day off the ice to as Carlyle has put it in the past to "refocus". Refocus by busting your ass doing drills all day "punishment always works".

I have attached a great video of Kunitz fighting Avery and I really think Kunitz kicked his ass. Kunitz has a habit of going for the kill super quick. He is all about getting that first punch in before the opponent has a chance to tie you up.

Scott "The Bird Blog" Author goes Avery on Brooke Burke

This is my version of Sloppy Seconds with Brooke Burke. Message to Avery, "Brooke Burke is way hotter than Elisha." Just kidding I only got her picture.

Ducks unable to squeeze out a Win against Blackhawks

I really think this game really was not a bad one from the Ducks. We played well. We were more physical, we didn't take that many bad penalties, and we had some good scoring chances.

We came out a little soft in the first period but our second period proved much better. We kept on hitting and we had some chances. Coach Randy stated that he thought the Ducks could have shot more often with the recent games as of late. Missed opportunities I would agree with. We do need to shoot more instead of threading the needle which we get to preocupied with. We try to dish it to Selane or down low behind the net to a centering pass that never finds a stick until it passes the blue line.

I am confident as stated in my previous blog that we are still in really good shape. I think with the resilience of the Ducks Players and our ability to step up when we have a key defensive player like Beauchemin says a lot about our team.

Festerling said, "I try to pick up as much as I can, and be there for him when he needs me "You still get nervous, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable, more confident, I guess. I kind of know what to expect."You get to know how good some of these players really are. I take it as a personal challenge, to do the best I can against some of the best players in the league. I think they're putting some trust in me, putting me against those guys, so – do the best I can."

It's a tough deal being the new guy when you know you don't have the NHL experience every new rook says it's still a much faster game. Kudos to the newbies.

Some of my favorite points of the game was the Kunitz hits throughout the game. I love it. Lets continue to soften these players up so they get rid of the puck quick and we can keep them playing defense.

I also thought we played a really good 2nd period with a good amount of chances offensively. We also seem to be exhausting the team against the boards and it seemed like we were really making some ground on them we just couldn't convert it to goals. That is what it's all about though. All the cycleing down low and great hits still don't bring you up in the standings. Coach Randy is correct we have to start making good passes and shoot more with good scoring opportunities.