It's been a while...

I haven't updated the ol' blog in a while mainly because I'm waiting for this 7-game Homestand to end. All I will say is that so far Anaheim are 4-1-1. Tonight, they played against the Coyotes and went down in OT, ending a 3-game winning streak but have no fear, Perry has reached his point streak to 18-games and still counting!

I hope to have a full post update after the Ducks take on the Queens in their last home game which will be on Tuesday. Hope the boys come out on top.

Til then and always,

Go Ducks!

O! Captain, my Captain!

Dear Scotty:

What can I say about your amazing GWGs?? I miss seeing them in person...

Last night it was the Ducks V The Bolts. Tampa Bay have been riding well on the wave of amazing offensive players such a St. Louis, Stamkos, Tanguay, Lecavalier, and it was the same Tampa Bay team who entered the Pond. Anaheim were in need of a disparate win to give all of us in the Ducks nation hope that things can turn around. And it looked great for the 1st and half of the 2nd period where Ducks were in a 3 - 0 lead with goals from Selanne and Getzy in the 1st and Bobby Ryan 6 mins into the 2nd. All was looking great and the Ducks were control until 31 secs after Bobby scored, Bolts player, Jeff Halpern, wiped Hillers shut out by stuffing the puck through the netminders unprotected 5-hole which bounced off the inside of one leg, deflected off the other leg and crossed the goal line. I then thought "Oh man. Well hopefully that will be their only goal."

18 seconds later I would be shouting out loud in my apartment "Are you f--king kidding me?!" because Steven Stamkos would score an amazing goal after batting in his own rebound that was in mid-air when he fell down on the ice, chest up. It was unbelievable for two reasons, the goal itself and the fact that the Ducks let Tampa Bay score twice and once again, in only 18 seconds.
Anaheim would start the 3rd period out on a PK. Things were looking promising for that kill but with 20 secs left of that PK, St. Louis would slap the puck from the LW point and Ryan Malone who was moving in front of Hiller, would get a piece of that shot and put one in to tie up the score. And like that, what looked like a great game, soon started to look like the Ducks would let another win slip from their gloves. The boys would kill off two very important penalties in the remainder of the 3rd and the game would stay evened up til the final buzzer. That meant it was time for 4 on 4 OT. Both teams had a point but the Ducks needed that extra one for the full win. 4 on 4 would end up going 4 on 3 when Bolts player, Ryan Malone, got a penalty for cross checking sending Anaheim on a juicy OT Power Play.

40 seconds into that PP is when it all happened....

After the Bolts cleared the zone twice, I started to think, "This isn't looking good." But then Perry would pass the puck to Getzy who was at the LW point, Getzy would then move towards the RW switching places with Scotty and eventually handing it off to the Cap'n who then took his shot at a screened Mike Smith who was in net for the night. That shot would end up finding the back of the net, giving the Ducks their 3rd straight home and must needed win.
It would also send me jumping up and screaming as I threw my arms up high in celebrating the victory as if I were back at the Pond watching along with my fellow supporters. It felt great even though I ended up scaring my cats for a 2nd time that evening ( the 1st time was when Stamkos scored that amazing goal).

The feed of my Game Center Live was out right before they announced the 3-stars of the game and as I updated the stats on Twitter, I noticed that people who were at the game were tweeting about a fight that broke out in the stands over Scotty's signed souvenir stick. Giving them out is a new tradition for the Ducks this year. Teams like the Queens-um I mean, Kings and the Sharks do it already and I was happy that Anaheim finally decided to do it was well. As many already know, the stick in question was meant for a young girl but when Scotty tossed it over the glass, his aim wasn't so great, funny being that he has amazing accuracy shooting the puck, and it ended up be caught by another fan. When her friend/boyfriend/brother/I don't know... but when the guy next to her who obviously knew her took the stick, the guy behind him suddenly grabbed it in anger and then he put the dude in a head-lock and then all hell broke loose. The girl who caught the stick started punching the guy behind them who was punching the dude he had in the head-lock. When all was said and done, the little girl who Scotty gave the stick to, got it and everyone lived happily ever after. The video of the incident was put on YouTube quickly thereafter and I must admit, it's a shame that this all happened. What's even more surprising is that the guy who instigated the rough stuff was hardcore Ducks fan and pro-Skater, Mike V(Vallely). The little girl who Scotty tried to give the stick to happened to be one of his daughters and although it's good that he tried to make sure that the stick would go to her, I think he overreacted by doing what he did. And what's even more a shame is that the Ducks now have severed all ties with Mike V, who had his own blog on their official website, by which the link and blog have been removed. Even though Mike is really nice (I met him one time after a game at the Old No.7 Club), he's know new to getting into a scrap or two. If you look on YouTube, you'll find that he has gotten into a few of them in his life, but one would think he would've put all that behind him. Guess not. Here's the vid:

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Tomorrow night:
The Ducks will try to get another win when they host the San Jose Sharks. SJ ended up winning tonight's game at the Shark Tank against the Philadelphia Flyers, 6 - 3 and Heatley ended up getting another Hat Trick. Hopefully they'll be tired tomorrow. We shall see. It also has been announced that Koivu is hoping to return out on the ice for this game as well as Wiz, who got a bruised foot from when the puck hit him last night in the 1st period. Wiz didn't play the rest of the game. It was also announced that Lupul suffered a minor upper-body injury during last nights game as well. He also hopes that it's nothing big and will return. One thing is for sure, the hill gets steeper in the 2 game of the Ducks 7 game home stand. It would be great if they end up getting 2 points from this match as well.

Go Ducks!

Shanahan Retires+Ducks Recall...

Two words I could think of when hearing the news late yesterday afternoon that Brendan Shanahan has finally decided to hang up his skates after he stepped out of the Devils roster during the start of the pre-season this year:

"Thank You."

In his 21 seasons with the NHL, Shanahan leaves the league with 656 career goals and is the 2nd highest LW goal scorer the NHL has seen. He also is a 3-time Stanley Cup winner while he was in Detroit and ranks 11th on the league's career goals list and is the only player with 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. Many are now speculating that he can be the perfect fit for the NHL Players' Association which is currently in trouble after the firing of executive director Paul Kelly and the resignations of several union officials.

Whatever Shanahan chooses, it's no doubt that this definite Future-Hall of Famer will still have his feet in the NHL. So with that, once again: Thank You, Brendan Shanahan and good luck from here on out!

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In other (Ducks) news:

Anaheim has recalled Center MacGregor Sharp from the Bakersfield Condors after putting Ryan Carter and Saku Koivu on the IR list.

"Sharp, 24, has appeared in 15 games for Bakersfield this season, collecting 4-10=14 points with 10 penalty minutes (PIM). At the time of his recall, Sharp was tied for the team lead in assists and appearances, ranked second in shots (48) and tied for second in scoring and points-per-game (0.93)." - Via DUCKS.NHL.COM

Maybe this will be the spark to set the fire that the Ducks need because we all know, things need to turn around for the better.





We will see how he does tomorrow night in Anaheim...
Go Ducks!

0-3-1...

This isn't good...

The frustration continues. The Ducks come home after going 0-3-1 on their 4-game road trip. In Detroit, the Ducks actually stayed in the game with both them and the Red Wings scoring a total of 8 goals in the 3rd period alone. The Ducks would tied the game three times and the Red Wings regained the lead three times in that same period. Eventually Anaheim would lose the game 4 - 7. Zetterberg would get a hat trick but that 3rd goal was an Empty Net Goal. I don't really count those.

On Monday night, the team would be in Pittsburgh to play the latest Cup Champs again since losing to that same Penguins team in Anaheim on Nov. 3rd. The result would be yet another loss which made the road trip a complete disappointment. Jiggy also was in net that night, who is still looking for that 1st win of the season. Ducks: 2, Penguins: 5.

The team returned back to Anaheim early Tuesday morning and were at the Pond that same day
for a practice at noon in which Randy Carlyle juggled lines again in hopes of finding some working combination that will produce offense, something that the team is in desperate need of. Defense is another thing that the team needs and I don't know what it is. Hell! None of us know what it is? Why aren't this group of talented players able to pull a win?? Confidence is not there whatsoever. And you also have to think about the coaching system. Fans are calling for RC's head on a platter and maybe that's what is needed. Bob Murray has said many times over that he will in no way, send RC packing. He stands by his statement of changing the roster before ever changing things behind the bench. But with the Samuelis being back, they could go over BM's head and change things themselves. Even they're probably not too happy with how the season is going so far. Whatever is going on with the boys, it's hard to watch them play the game the way they are right now. Turnovers, bad defensive, passes being broken up by opposing teams, a dump + chase game that isn't working, power play efforts that are not producing. Overall, it's sloppy play and it isn't pretty. The coach has had one-on-one meetings with every player on the team to talk to them and to figure out what is going on with them. Hopefully things could be explained and problems worked out. They will have another practice before their first game in a 7-game home stand starting out on Thursday with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that has great offensive players such as St. Louis, Stamkos, Lecavalier, and Malone, just to name a few. It will be a true test to the already thinned out Anaheim Ducks defense.

So with that venting session now over, I don't know what to expect of this game but I will always have faith in my team and will be there in good times and bad.

As always:

Let's Go Ducks!

Tied for the bottom. Wow.

Frustrating. Completely frustrating.

Ducks went into Columbus tonight hoping for a win. And although they dominated the Blue Jackets on paper, Anaheim flies into Detroit tonight with 1 point after losing in the shoot out. But hey, let's look at the bright side, they are now tied for last place along with the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference.

Totally frustrating.

Ducks started the game out in fine fashion drawing blood first in the 1st period when Bobby Ryan score an amazing goal from the LW circle giving Getzy and Perry the assists extending their white-hot point streak. That goal was scored right after the Ducks failed to produce on the PP. All was looking promising. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't that be freakin' amazing if the Ducks demolish the BJs just like the Red Wings did?!" It would be amazing if that thought would come true but alas, it didn't Rick Nash would put one in the back of the net on a hard shot after getting a 1 on 0 breakaway from the top of the LW circle. A shot too fast for Jiggys glove. All eyes would be on J.S. tonight who started since pulling his groin against the same Blue Jackets back in Anaheim. Everyone would be watching him to see if he could put his money where his mouth is since his controversial comments and win his first game of the season. J.S. was too aggressive against Nash by coming out too far of his crease.

Tied game going into the 2nd period.

Anaheim would come into period 2 on the PK after Getzlaf got knicked with a Holding Penalty late in the 1st. A penalty that came right after the play was stopped from Rick Nash crashing into Jiggy then throwing an elbow to his head knocking the netminder down. No penalty on Nash. Instead, Getzy gets one. Yeah, I know.
The Ducks would kill off the PK coming into the 2nd and the puck would find Getzy who came right out of the box. After entering the BJs zone he passed it to a streaking Todd Marchant who was streaking into the slot and put one in behind Columbus goal tender, Garon. Ducks up now 2 - 1.

I was happy and things were looking good. The last goal of the night would be the tying goal from Blue Jackets left-winger, Kristian Huselius. Who got the goal after controlling an amazing pass from teammate, Antoine Vermette who tricked Jiggy out of position yet again and gave Huselius the empty side of the net. The game then would go back and forth for both teams. Columbus would give the Ducks 5, yes, 5 Power Play opportunies in which Anaheim would come out 0 - 5 for the night giving our boys a 3 - 31 so far on the PP. Unacceptable. Anaheim would apply the offensive pressure towards the end of the 3rd period as well as getting a late PP that was washed out after Ryan Whitney got knicked for a very suspect looking boarding call. Actually, if I could, I would've give the BJs player who sold that call an Oscar because of his fine acting ability to get that call against Whits.

Nothing would come from the 3rd period. Heck! the Ducks would be the only team to get any SOG numbers in OT, 2 in case you were wondering. So Anaheim and Columbus would find themselves going into the good ol' Shoot Out. And I knew which players would be on that list for the Ducks: Getzy, Perry, Selanne. Surprise. I think everyone knew that. The Blue Jackets would shoot first and they would score on said first attempt. Getzlaf then stepped in, he skated, he beat Garon annnnnnnnd... goal post. The second attempt from Columbus would not be able to score. Then Perry stepped on the ice. I know. Wide, VERY wide right before shooting. He didn't fail on going wide right but he failed on scoring in his attempt. Rick Nash would go for the winning attempt and he would come out successful after going one footed when he lost his balance, freezing Jiggy down in the crease and getting a lucky goal after shooting the puck high into the net. Funny thing to see but "wow" funny.

So, the Ducks get 1 point and are now 6-8-3 with a 0.441 W% going into Detroit. They will face the Wings tomorrow at 16:00 PST. Sadly, I don't expect a win from the boys. They'll be tired even thought they will have a 35 min flight. It will be in less then 24 hrs. Never a good thing. But hey, Hiller could pull it off.

Absolutely frustrating.

All of the Ducks supporters patience is wearing thin, including mine. Something has to change. I keep saying this and I don't think that I'm the only one.

Something, has changed though. And it happened yesterday:

NHL reinstates Henry Samueli

NHL bastard-cough-I mean commissioner, Gary Bettman announced yesterday that the league lifted the suspension for Ducks owner, Henry Samueli in the following statement:

"We welcome Henry and Susan Samueli back as fully reinstated owners and members of the NHL community"

Susan, who was abiding by the terms of her husband’s suspension, also returned to her ownership role. And it leaves all of us fans wondering what will happen now that the owners are back. GM Bob Murray has made it clear that RC will be staying along with Scott Niedermayer and Jiggy, who have lately been churning in the rumor mill that has all three being let go and/or traded. Those are just rumors but I can't help to wonder if the Samueli's will be changing things around. I'm sure they know how their team is doing and I'm sure they're not happy. Only time will tell.

So for now, I will forget tonight and look forward. Jiggy wasn't able to get the win but he did show up for a lot of good saves. He hung in there and though I would've like to have seen better positioning on the goals he let it, well I take that back. That 2nd goal came off of a great pass. So I will say, better positioning from the first goal. There are many other things I would've wished differently from tonight's game. It wasn't all Jiggy. I don't want to point my finger just at him. The PP needs to produce, R2 needs to stop taking bad penalties, players need to stop turning the puck over...

Things just need to change. Let's hope a miracle happens tomorrow and we end the night void of frustration. Let's hope...

Go Ducks.

What a loss (both game and Koivu)

I blame the Ducks being bored to death. That's my excuse for them buuuuuuuuut it doesn't help with the fact that Brodeur is Brodeur and we can all agree on one thing

"Brodeur is amazing."

He's pretty much one of the reasons why the Devils walked away with a 3 - 1 win over the Ducks tonight in NJ. It also doesn't help that the Ducks were 0 - 6 on the PP-something's gotta change about that. The game started out with the Devils scoring a lucky goal on their first shot of the game which the Ducks are no stranger to having to claw back for a win. The Ducks would answer back in the 2nd period on a Corey Perry goal extending his pt streak to a career high 9 games as well as Getzy making them #1 currently in the NHL this season with having the streak. But that was all Anaheim would be able to produce for the rest of the game. NJ would score one to take the lead and right before the end of the 2nd period where the Ducks were on a PP and the puck would find Zach Parise who had a short handed breakaway then was able to stuff the puck and barely make it past the goal line. After that, Anaheim would have their chances but were unable to cash in on any of them and no one else would find the back of the net even though the Ducks would go on to out shoot the Devils 32 - 25.

In other news, I was shocked to hear that Saku Koivu hurt himself at this morning skate with a low body injury. Hopefully it's not serious and he'll come back soon.

Watching the game I couldn't help what came on my screen during the 2nd intermission with broadcasters, John Alhers and Brian Hayward. They were showing some new merch and I couldn't help myself. I must share this with the world.
I don't know what you call it but I say that this is gangsta!

Ducks travel out to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Friday who lost tonight at home against the Detroit Red Wings in a 1 - 9 match final. Ouch. Hopefully the Ducks can do the same.

Go Ducks!

"Being sarcastic..."

Quick post before the puck drops in NJ:

Following up from yesterdays fall-out due to Jiggy's comments in which he said to the media that he would rather "retire than be a back-up", J.S. addressed the media again this morning stating that:

"Let’s be clear with something, I’m not about to retire. That was kind of being sarcastic on my part a little bit. What I really mean by that is I’m not having fun not playing. I’m not going to just stay on the bench and collect my money and say, ‘It’s OK. It’s no big deal."

Sounds like Jiggy realizes that making yesterdays comments were in bad form and now he's backpedaling. The puck will be dropping in NJ at the Rock where the Ducks will be taking on the Devils and I'm sure many are gonna wonder if J.S. will get the start to see if he can back up his words.

We will see tonight.

PRE-GAME NOTES:DEVILS (11-4-0) V DUCKS (6-7-2)
GAME TIME: 16:00PST
The Devils haven't beaten Anaheim in a regular-season game since 2002-03.

Let's Go Ducks!

Tidbits from around the NHL & "Oh, Jiggy."

Here's some quick news of things happening in the NHL today.

Today marks the beginning of the GM Meeting in Toronto, ON. GMs will meet behind doors to discuss matters throughout the league. Some hot topics that are known to be discussed:

*Head Shots:
GMs want to see these come to an end or at least cut to a minimum. Lately there have been a flurry of head shots on players so far in this early season. If they're intentional or not, GMs will discuss how the league can cut down on them.

*The Trapezoid:
A lot of GMs are saying that implementing the Trapezoid behind the net was a bad idea and wish to take it out immediately. As well they say it will cut down on players getting hurt rushing towards a puck for and/or wiping out an Icing call by allowing goalies to come out to play the puck freely. If eliminated, expect Marty Turco's wet dreams to come true.

*Consistency in Officiating:
"Ref You Suck!" GMs as well as coaches, players, supporters, stick boys, parking maids, etc. want to see consistency in the officiating of the game and hope to do away with biased calls and bad calls for that matter. Well here's to hoping for that perfect world. Doubt it will ever come.

*Fighting/Helmet Inventions:
Ok. I know "Helmet Inventions" sounds funny but I didn't know how else to put it-Fighting. Oh yes, fighting. A lot of us love it, a lot of us want it to stay and this goes for everyone(SEE ALL THOSE WHO WANT CONSISTENT OFFICIATING) We have our reasons why we love it and why it's important but I won't get into that. Fighting is always a hot topic going into the GM meeting and many have talked about ways of doing it or getting rid of it, or how to work with it. And one thing is certain helmets. I've heard ideas from people that once a helmet comes off, the fight should be done. This is due to players getting punched right in the kisser, falling down and smacking their noggin right on the hard ice. It's really not a joking matter being that players have actually died from that. So with that you have people submitting their ideas or shall I say "inventions" that pertain to this. One idea that I like is having a visor that snaps off because some players hate to fight with one on just out of respect for the opposing player that they're getting involved into fisty-cuffs with. Hitting a visor with your meat-hook can do damage but so does planting one on the helmet. Some players such as Calgary Flames Cap'n, Jarome Iginla, will take the helmet off and some will ask the other player before engaging with a motion to the head saying, "Hey buddy, wanna do this dance sans the head gear?"
Proof of former Ducks D-monster, "Frenchy" Beauchemin at the 0:02 mark of this video giving the finger to the helmet motion:



One of the things that I think I would LOVE to see happen with the game is calling the play dead whenever the puck hits the ref. A lot of times, biscuits bouncing off a zebra can result in a scoring play which can be silly and plain unfair. I don't care if it has happened in the favour of my team or not, I just think it would be better.

*Victory Based On The Shoot Out:
Some hate the fact that tied games can go into the shoot out and some don't. I can safely say that I haven't made up my mind on this topic. I like the shoot out but then again, I am in different. I will also say that the S/O can be very intense and a lot of times have had me pacing back in forth like someone who was waiting to see if their most beloved-precious person in the world's do-or-die brain transplant was a success. Sorry if I have offended those who've actually gone through a brain transplant or have paced back in forth. I guess I really need to get involved in the pro/con argument on this topic.

Those are just a few and I'm sure much more will be discussed in the two-day meetings. We'll just have to wait to see what comes of them. Until then, I'm sure much coffee spiked with bourbon will be drunk and the near by Wal-Greens will find themselves on an unexpected shortage of heart-burn/indigestion medication. Only time will tell!

Jiggy comments to the media "Oh, Jiggy...."


TSN.CA have reported on some comments made by Ducks netminder J.S. Giguere stating that
he would "rather retire than be a backup goalie." Where I immediately took the palm of my hand, slapped my forehead with it, shook my head and made my own statement to his which was "Oh, Jiggy..." For those who have no idea what I am talking about, (mainly due to the fact that you've been dead for the past year or just don't follow hockey-and I'm gonna go with the first one because if you don't follow hockey, why are you reading my blog? However, I am pleased if you're reading this and don't follow/have interest in the game and you choose to waste your time by doing such reading of my blog, then I just plainly count myself: flattered...) the Ducks find themselves in an interesting situation with their netminding department. Last year Jiggy was plain awful, I don't care if you wanna put it all on the fact of his father passing, which I think is tragedy. Don't get me wrong, but he has gone through tough, personal times and played an amazing game (SEE THE EPIC POST SEASON OF 2006-2007). When that was going on last year, Hiller stepped in, and BOY! did he do well! Jiggy's untimely comments come out of the fact that he really doesn't want to be a #2 goalie, and I totally get that. He is a proven netminder, Conn Smythe/Stanley Cup Winner, I see why he doesn't want to be a back-up.

But I think his comments were out of place and at the wrong time being that he will be returning to the lineup for the Ducks 4 game road trip starting tomorrow in at the Rock in NJ and by doing so, has probably added unnecessary stress or awkwardness to the locker room as well as adding pressure to GM Bob Murray. He also stated "I want to play; that's when I have fun. Right now, this is not fun." Let's see, Jiggy has been out tending to a strained groin muscle, so with that I will say..

"THAT'S WHY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PLAYING!!!!! Jiggy, you're hurt and we need you to be 100%! So get well, take care of yourself and come back to prove that you can be the #1. You've done well so far in this early season. It's just too bad that in those games, the rest of the players decided to not show up! And don't listen to all the announcers saying how Hiller IS the #1 goalie, it's poppycock! But if you can't prove yourself and play horribly, then that's YOUR fault."

And then it these comments from J.S. could have been taken out of context. It IS the media so who knows what was meant. I will remind everyone that Jiggy has a NTC in his contract and he would have to waive that if he wanted to get traded. But until then, watch for the "rumour mills" to start turning. We will see how he does when Jiggy gets back in the crease. If you wanted to read more on what he said:
TSN Report on Giguere

I guess that's it for now. Until then I need to take care of myself and get better. Having a cold sucks. Almost as bad as Refs.

Let's Go Ducks.

Ducks v Coyotes 07.11.09 [HOME]

*PHEW*
That's all I can do!! Man, glad that's over! I shouldn't feel like this being that the lads came out in fine fashion with a full on attack giving Hiller a shut for about 47 mins of play. Then it started to fall apart. The Ducks saw fit to score 4 goals in the game and were up 4 - 0 until PHX player Keith Yandle would get one on the board at 6:27 in the 3rd, breaking the shut out. They would then immediately score two more from Upshall and Doan and come within one goal. It WAS pretty but got really stressful and ugly late in the last period. Sloppy playing would be the reason of that as well as a PP Goal that Doan notched.

But the lads hung on. Fought hard, blocked shots, made hits and by the skin of their teeth, came out on top to win the game.

*PHEW*

All I can say is "Please fellas, don't do that again because visions of Minnesota started to flash right before my eyes!"

Go Ducks!


P.S. Play of the game had to be from Perry at 17:07. Wiz made a brilliant long pass to Getzy who then passed it off to Perry who was skating hard into the slot. Perry handled the puck, did some shakin', bakin', + dekin before flipping over Bryzys left shoulder right into the net to make it 3 - 0 for the Ducks!

GAME NOTES:
DUCKS: 3
COYOTES: 3

GOALS/ASSISTS
1ST Period:
Selanne @ 2:49 / Niedermayer+Whitney
2ND Period:
Bobby Ryan @ 12:44 / Niedermayer
Perry @ 17:07 / Getzy+Wiz
3RD Period:
Mikey B @ 3:31 / Marchant
(PHX) Yandle @ 6:27
(PHX) Upshall @ 7:05 / Lombardi
(PHX) PPG Doan @ 14:36 / Lombardi+Aucoin

TOTAL SOG
Ducks: 26
Coyotes: 30

GOALIES SAVES/SHOTS
(ANA)Hiller (W): 27/30
(PHX)Bryzgalov (L): 22/26

PIM TOTAL
Ducks: 6 MINS
Coyotes: 14 MINS

NEXT DUCKS GAME [AWAY]
Weds[11.11.09] @ 1600 PST V NJ Devils

Turning around

And the tide turns...

Ever since this past Friday (about a week ago) something in the Ducks have changed. A spark has set a flame and that flame is starting to turn into a wild fire. That night, the Ducks destroyed the Vancouver Canucks in a 7 - 2 win. The following night, which was Halloween on the road in AZ, the Ducks fought hard against a hot Coyotes team and lost in a shoot out, thanks to former Ducks netminder, Ilya Bryzgalov putting on a strong S/O performance. 3 days later, the Ducks would have the most recent Stanley Cup Champions, Pittsburgh Penguins, back in Anaheim since the epic 2006-2007 season. It would prove to be one of the most exciting games so far in this early season. It went back and forth with the Ducks scoring first on a Perry Stumble Shot. The Pens would notch one goal more on the Ducks towards the end of the 3rd where the Pens scored, then seconds later, Koivu would tie it up and almost a minute after that, the go ahead goal from Pittsburgh would find the back of the net. Until the final horn, the Pens withstood a barrage of offensive pressure from the Ducks. Fleury would come out strong, and Sid the Kid would make an amazing save(that's right: save) to block a sure goal from Scotty by stacking the invisible pads right on the corner of the LW side of the net with Fleury too far out of his crease and down on the ice. The Ducks went down and in 3 games were 1-1-1.

And although the Ducks weren't 3 - 0 it was safe to say that they looked different and were playing harder. Something that couldn't be said for the opening month of this years season. In the game against the Pens, they had completely improved on the Power Play and fans could taste a win coming!
And with that, it brings us up to last night. The Nashville Predators were in Anaheim and riding a 3 game winning streak. That streak would come to an end with the Ducks playing hard and continuing on doing well with the PP. Hiller was back in net, Jiggy still out nursing a pulled groin. The whole team came out strong and save for a couple of sloppy plays and fumbling of the puck a few time, the Ducks would blank the Preds in a 4 - 0 win giving Hiller his first shut out of the season. A much deserved and needed win.

Tomorrow, they will face the Phoenix Coyotes but this time in Anaheim. On October 31st, it was announced that the NHL were granted their bid and now own the Yotes. As well as this news, D-man James Wisniewski was suspended for 2 games a few days after that match for an apparent 'dirty' hit on Cap'n Shane Doan. A hit that was not called for a penalty during the game on the 31st. A hit that was clean. But yet being that Wiz is apart of the Anaheim Ducks, the league felt the need to suspend him. Since then, a handful of bad calls have gone against the Ducks. Very suspect. In the 2nd period of the Halloween match with the Yotes, Shane Doan dropped the gloves with Wiz, when he tumbled on top of him, the fight was over. He felt the need to throw one more punch to Wiz. That in itself is dirty as players have the code of not hitting anyone on the ice. The Yotes then played against the Colorado Avalanche a few days after that match. During that game, Doan hit Kyle Quicny with a blatant elbow shot to the head. Quincy was hurt but was able to skate off the ice and head to the locker room on his own will. Doan was not penalized. No suspension was given. Looks like the Coyotes are now in full coverage of the NHL. Which is a shame. Tomorrow Wiz will be returning and without a doubt to a roaring Pond in which I expect, a standing ovation. Doan has become hated even more so now. I have lost all respect of Doan, I follow in my fellow supporters footsteps in which we are all wishing for another win. A good win and hopefully a few good hits to Doan. 'm also hoping that by the end of tomorrow night, I will be cheering all the way from up here in the Pacific Northwest, "Let's Go Ducks! Well done!"

Which I really miss doing that from the inside of the Pond itself.