The Ducks have jumped on the early Christmas present given to them by the Washington Capitals booting Randy Carlyle and snagging Bruce Boudreau who was fired by the Caps this week. I think we all knew Boudreau would get another job but certainly not this soon.

This move leads me to believe that Bobby Ryan will probably stay with the Ducks at least for a while everyone knew it was him or Carlyle. I am not shocked by the move but I don’t think the Ducks should be too optimistic as their issues go well beyond a head coaching change.

After winning four of their first five games this season, the Ducks have only won two of their last fifteen games thereafter.  Going into tonight’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes at the Jobing.com Arena, the Ducks are in last place in the Pacific Division, second to last place in the Western Conference, and third to last place in the League with a record of 6-10-4 and 16 points.   It’s getting a little painful to watch them.  Bobby Ryan notes that, “It’s been embarrassing.”  BUT,  I don’t want to just sit here and complain about them (because I sure as heck could never play in the NHL) so I’ll try to keep this short.

It just seems like nothing is working at the same time.  The Ducks score, just not enough.  Hiller makes great stops, he just can’t stop all of them.  At this point, the Ducks are trying so hard not to lose that they’re making mistakes that normally they wouldn’t make.  They blow leads, they wait until it’s too late to mount their come backs, and their first line doesn’t seem to regularly produce.

Tonight was no exception.  Saku Koivu scored early – less than six minutes into the first period, assisted by the over-achieving, Andrew Cogliano, and youthful, Cam Fowler.  Fowler scored the Ducks’ only two goals the other night in their 2-3 loss to the Wild in which Hiller was chased from the net in the first.   Cogliano had a goal and a helper in the Ducks second loss to the Kings.

Coyotes’ Keith Yandle and Rabim Vrbata scored two more in the first period, Vrbata had another at the end of the third, and then the Ducks allowed an early goal in the fourth to Oliver Ekman Larsson.  Seven minutes into the third period, the Ducks finally scored again when Perry had a wide open break away and went five hole on net minder, Mike Smith.  By then, it was too late to rally any sort of momentum and frustration set in.  With a little over three minutes left in the third period, Getzlaf took a slashing penalty and was given a 10 minutes misconduct.  Selanne was sent to the Sin Bin for arguing and the Ducks played the end of the game short handed.

Ducks lose again.

Perhaps after a good Thanksgiving feast and knowing that they’re at home for six games straight, the Ducks will be able to turn this season around and rack up a couple wins here and there.

NEXT UP for the Ducks is  a Black Friday game at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Photo by: Norm Hall/NHLI Getty Images

The Ducks are back at The Honda Center tonight after their 13 day, 9 game road trip across the States in which they fared very badly.  They gained 2 points from shoot out losses to the Blackhawks and Rangers, beat the Wild, and lost the other 6 games, including a 5-0 massacre by the Red Wings.

On Halloween Eve, the Ducks followed up a loss to the Nashville Predators with a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, allowing the Jackets’ annoying cannon to be shot off 3 times in their 1-3 loss.  Dan Ellis minded the net, Bobby Ryan scored the birds’ only goal, and Selanne became the first player on the club to 10 points this season.  The Ducks made sure to go down swinging, however, dropping gloves for three fights in just five minutes during the first period, and then threw in one more fight at the end of the second for good measure.

The Ducks’ next game was against the 2011 Winter Classic Winners, the Washington Capitals.  The Ducks lost this game too.  This time, they went up 3-0 in the second period before the wheels fell off the wagon.  The Ducks allowed the Caps to come back and score four goals, including one by Nicklas Backstrom in the last 42 seconds of regulation when Bruce Boudreau pulled net minder, Tomas Vokoun in the final minute.  Although Selanne had four points in the game (2 goals, 2 assists),  no one bothered to stop Nicklas Backstrom in over time either as he scored the game winner about halfway through the extra period.

On a slightly more positive note, the Ducks progressed in their next loss to the NY Rangers in that, they made it past the over time period, to the shoot out.  After only having two shots in the first period (yes, I said “two”), one would think that the Ducks’ shooters would be amped to have a chance to actually shoot on goal.  Only Selanne (of course) was able to connect in the shoot out and the Ducks lost again: 1-2.

No loss was probably as devastating as the Ducks’ loss to the Detroit Red Wings on 11/5.  The Ducks were out shot 50 to 22 in the 0-5 butt kicking and Hiller was chased from the net for Dan Ellis after the five goals.  Granted, the Ducks seem to struggle at the Joe Louis Arena, having only won three regular season games in franchise history when on the Wings’ home ice.  Thankfully, they only stop off in Motor City one more time this season on 2/10/11.

Tonight, the Ducks seemed to pick up where they left off on their road trip with a not-so-great game tonight against the Nashville Predators.  At least this game, the Ducks played D for a minute and twenty seconds before allowing Craig Smith to light the lamp.  The last time the two teams met up about a week and a half ago, the Ducks allowed Patrick Hornqvist to score just 14 seconds in.  Feeling left out, I suppose, Hornqvist did eventually put a puck in about 5 minutes into the first.  Fowler tallied his first goal of the year before the end of the bookend period to close the gap to 1-2.  A questionable penalty shot by Martin Erat in the second and a quick goal by Craig Smith in the third created too big of a gap that Francois Beauchemin’s one goal could not close.  The Ducks lost this one 2-4 as well.

NEXT UP: 11/11/11 Ducks host the Vancouver Canucks on Military Appreciation Night on Veteran’s Day.  The Ducks will warm up in camouflage jerseys and rock camouflage tape on their sticks all of which will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to military non-profit organizations supported by the Ducks org on that night.  Early thank you to the men and women who serve our country.  No one designated day could ever show our appreciation sufficiently.

[Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images]

Tonight, the Ducks stopped off at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for game three of their seven game, 13 day road trip.  This was the first of four meetings between the Ducks and the Predators this season, and their first reunion since the Preds eliminated the Ducks in six games during last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinals.  Unfortunately for the Ducks, the Preds have had the Ducks’ number in the past three seasons with an overall record of 7-3-2, with three of those wins coming from four match ups last season.

Tonight was no different.  Just 14 seconds into the first period, Patrick Hornqvist got the inside positioning on Getzlaf to hack away at a puck that bounced off Hiller’s pads onto Hornqvist’s stick and into the back of the net.  Later in the first period, new father of twins, George Parros, dropped gloves for the first time this season with Brian McGrattan.  Parros was already sporting stitches under his eye from taking a puck to the face during practice this week, but was unaffected by any blows from McGrattan, who left the ice blowing kisses to the crowd.

A scary moment came in the first when the Preds’ Mike Fisher, just three games back back from off-season shoulder surgery, skated across the center of the ice with his head down and was checked by Francois Beauchemin, causing gloves, sticks, and helmets to drop and players to express their unhappiness with each other.  Fisher left the game and didn’t return.   The first period ended with the Preds lighting the lamp with a minute remaining, scoring a goal that looked like they were putting on a passing clinic against 5 year olds.  That’s never good.

Not a whole lot happened in the second period and shortly into the third period, Shane Weber netted one from the blue line and deflated the Ducks’ morale and will to launch a come back, it appears.  Perry took a bad slashing penalty against Tootoo, inciting a fight between Geoffrion and Belleskey and with about six minutes remaining in the game, there were three Ducks hanging out in the sin bin during back to back power plays.  The Ducks made it out of the game with only three goals scored against them.

So far this trip, the Ducks have lost two (one in shoot outs), and won one.  In the Ducks shoot out loss to the Blackhawks, Selanne had a goal, an assist, and was the only Duck to score in the shootout at the United Center.  Getzlaf also tallied one during regulation.   In their win against the Wild, Selanne notched three more helpers, while Corey Perry and Getzlaf both scored on power play goals with Bobby Ryan scoring as well.

Next stop for the Ducks is at Nationwide Arena to meet up with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time this season on the night before Halloween, followed by away games again the Capitals, Rangers, and Red Wings, before heading home to host Nashville on 11/9/11.

So many arguments can be made to support the notion that professional athletes make little, to no, contribution to the betterment of society.  Alternatively, however, one could argue that what sports provide society in its time of need or darkness is intangible and we couldn’t live without them.  Whatever view you might take about athletes and their governing Leagues, you have to admit that the NHL and the NFL as well, are making incredible efforts to push to the forefront, increased awareness of cancer during the month of October.  Be it pink shoes, lavender hockey tape on sticks, or a purple “Hockey Fights Cancer” logo on helmets, the professional leagues want it known that they too, want to eradicate cancer.

This year, on their “Hockey Fights Cancer Night,” the Ducks are partnering with the Orange County chapter of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to help raise awareness for LLS.  LLS seeks to cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkins Disease, and Myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Tonight, in an effort to garner support for this esteemed organization, the Ducks gave out lavender ribbons to fans, will hold a silent in-game auction, and Jason Blake’s wife will sell “Wrap and Remember” bracelets with part of the proceeds going to LLS, among other events and activities.  Funds for this organization go toward blood cancer research around the world and providing free information and support services to victims and their families.

The Ducks’ Jason Blake and Sako Koivu are both cancer survivors and go to show that anyone can be affected.  Cancer, in all forms, is the cause of death of hundreds and thousands of Americans every year and affects so many more people than just the person who actually battles it.  May you, whomever you may be reading this, never have to lose a loved one to cancer and may the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society be successful in their mission.  (Rest in peace Maria Nye and Kim Hubbard).

In less important news, but the reason I’m supposed to be writing this blog, the Ducks defeated the Sharks for the second time in two games on 10/17, beating them 3-2 at the HP Pavilion.  Relaxed and refreshed, Dan Ellis, stood strong in the net with 41 blocked shots, and Teemu Selanne scored two goals in the first period after only tallying 1 assist in the first four games this season.  Francois Beauchemin is sporting stitches over his left eye after that game, when he successfully blocked a shot with his face.

Tonight against the Stars, the Ducks played one of their worst periods of hockey this season, allowing Loui Eriksson to score 13 seconds after the opening draw, rebounding the puck off Hiller’s leg pad and into the back of the net.  Mike Ribeiro scored another goal less than 8 minutes later.  The Ducks were able to pick up their pace in the second but still suffered from a goal called back due to interference by Corey Perry who redeemed himself off a last second goal (literally) at the end of the second.  Despite their attempted come back, Loui Eriksson struck early again in the third to put the Stars up 3-1 for good.

NEXT UP: Ducks are at home one last time on Sunday before a 7 game road trip, playing host to the Phoenix Coyotes at 5:05.  The Ducks will welcome Orange County’s first Little League World Series champs from Ocean View on Sunday as well.

The Ducks are back in toasty Orange County to host the San Jose Sharks in their home opener tonight at the Honda Center and for whatever reason, completely unrelated to the events of the game, the Ducks’ logo on the tv looked like the wrapper of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and made me want to go out and buy one the entire game.  I don’t even really like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  Ahhh the power of the subliminal.

Anyway, tonight was definitely a night of firsts.  It was the first home game of the season for the Ducks, the first game back for Toni Lydman this season, and the first career NHL goal for youngster, Maxime Macenauer, in the first period.

Despite having to defend against the power play twice in the beginning of the first period, the Ducks’ fourth line lit the lamp first with six minutes remaining.  Thanks to a dump in by Brandon McMillan, George Parros beat his defender and dropped the puck into the goal crease where youngster, Macenauer snuck the puck in top shelf against third string net minder, Thomas Greiss.  Macenauer, a third round, 2008 draft pick of the Ducks, who made the team this season out of training camp, is giving the token puck to his father, “who will know what to do with it.”  Meanwhile, Greiss is between the pipes while Anti Niemi recovers from cyst removal on his knee and back-up, Antero Nittymaki recovers from abdominal surgery.

After only four shots in the first period, the Ducks made sure Greiss worked for his money in the second period, peppering him with 13 shots to no avail, including two post shots by Getzlaf, before the Ducks gave up a power play with 1:25 remaining in the first.

The Sharks carried the power play over into the third period and did nothing with it. The Ducks, in turn, picked up their second power play of the game about five minutes in to the third, but also were not successful in their two minutes advantage.  The Ducks PP has suffered, to say the least, having gone 0-13 so far this season.

Thankfully for the Ducks, however, the one and only goal that mattered was the one that Macenauer put in, in the first period.  Ducks win, 1-0.

NEXT UP: The Ducks stay home again to host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at 5:05. The Blues are 1-2-0 so far this season.

Also, in case you didn’t read my previous blog, the Ducks were sporting the “24” on the front of their jerseys in support of Ruslan Salei, a 1996 Duck draft pick tragically lost to the 9/7/11 plane crash which killed the entire KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team.  Make sure to check out: www.loveforlokomotiv.com to donate or purchase a Memory/Remembrance bracelet in which the proceeds go to the foundation set up to honor the lost team.

Lastly, a special thanks to the stellar fact-checking skills of Hipchek and R. Bartow.  Appreciate it, guys!

The Ducks 19^th season kicked off this year at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.  Home of the Ducks’ very own, Finnish Flash, who came back again for his 20^th…that’s right – TWENTIETH NHL season (his 13^th with the Ducks).  The 41 year old and the rest of the Ducks, however, were outplayed by the Buffalo Sabres in their opening game despite the fact that the Ducks out shot the Sabres 30-25.    Jonas Hiller, back from last season’s bout with vertigo, allowed 4 goals on 25 shots in the first and second periods – including two power play goals.  The Ducks’ only goal came from Nate Guenin, a newly acquired Duck defenseman whose goal against All-Star, Ryan Miller, was his first goal of his career.

Not ones to sit around and lament over their tail kicking, the Ducks bounced right back the next night in a shootout win against the Sean Avery-less New York Rangers.  Andrew Cogliano, the Ducks’ third-line center and former Edmonton Oiler, scored 9 minutes into the first period.  Wanting to keep the game exciting, I guess, the Ducks allowed Brad Richards (whom I confuse with former Flyer Brad Richards), to score with 2 minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the game leading the two teams to OT and eventually a shoot out.  Both teams showed a little bit of fatigue/shoot-out rust in that everyone, except Bobby Ryan either had their shot stopped or missed the net entirely.

The Ducks have since headed back to the OC to get ready for their home opener this Friday (10/14) against the newly revamped, but still arch rivals, San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks, who gave Devon Setoguchi and Dany Heatley the boot prior to this year, and the Ducks, will meet up six times before the 82 games are up.

Look for the “24” patch to be worn by the Ducks, starting this Friday through 11/17/11.  The patch is representative of the number worn by Belarus native, Ruslan Salei, a 14 year veteran selected by the Ducks in the 1996 draft who was tragically killed, along with the entire KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team on a 9/7/11 plane crash.

Friday, we might also see the Ducks’ number one shot-blocking defenseman, Toni Lydman, back in the line-up again after a May 2nd off-season right shoulder surgery.  Lydman was cleared for contact on Monday and if practices go well, may be squishing fish as early as Friday.

As the NBA continues to cancel games and the NFL enters it’s fifth week of play, the NHL prepares for the opening day of another glorious hockey season on Thursday, October 7th.  While the Ducks aren’t taking part in the season’s Day 1 games, they’re presently in Helsinki Finland waiting to take on the Buffalo Sabres, a team that ESPN’s Matthew Barnaby (back from his alleged suspension after his run-in with the law last season) pegs as his “surprise Stanley Cup Contender” for the year.  Although the Ducks lost to the Sabres 2-5 in their one meeting last season, Hart Trophy winner, Corey Perry, and long time veteran, Teemu Selanne, doing his best impression of Tuck Everlasting, are back and ready to go with a majority of their offense/defense still in tact from last season.  The Ducks have also added to their offense, centers Andrew Cogliano and veteran, Maxime Macenauer, along with wingers Brian McGrattan and Devante Smith-Pelly but still retained the consistent Toni Lydman, Lubomir Visnovsky, Cam Fowler, and Luca Sbisa on defense.  Jonas Hiller is also hopefully, no longer fatigued, even though Dan Ellis proved himself worth of playing between the pipes last season, if need be.

The 2010-11 season was decent for the Anaheim Ducks, considering they are in a transition phase. Starting last year and continuing into this year, the Ducks will be replacing some of their aging players with young talent in the system.

The projected depth chart below assumes Teemu Selanne will return for virtually the same salary as last year. In addition, Brandon McMillan, Nick Bonino, Matt Beleskey and Dan Sexton will all be counted on to be NHL regulars, and not going back and forth from the NHL to the AHL. One spot on the right side is expected to go to either Kyle Palmieri, who saw some action last year, or top prospect Emerson Etem.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Ducks bought out Dan Ellis and re-signed Ray Emery, but that would need to happen tomorrow at noon to meet the June 30 deadline. Barring any trades, what you see is what you get from the defense. It is up front where you can expect to see Anaheim use some of its $7.3M cap space. They could search the UFA market for a #2/#3 center, but will find slim pickings. They may have better luck on the trade market; perhaps looking to Florida for Stephen Weiss.

ANAHEIM DUCKS 2011-12 (using CAPGEEK CAP CALCULATOR)

FORWARDS
Bobby Ryan ($5.100m) / Ryan Getzlaf ($5.325m) / Corey Perry ($5.325m)
Brandon McMillan ($0.875m) / Saku Koivu ($2.500m) / Teemu Selanne ($4.500m est)
Jason Blake ($4.000m) / 2ND-3RD CENTER ($0.000m) / Kyle Palmieri ($1.025m)
Matt Beleskey ($0.737m) / Nick Bonino ($0.850m est) / Dan Sexton ($0.850m est)
George Parros ($0.875m)

DEFENSEMEN
Lubomir Visnovsky ($5.600m) / Toni Lydman ($3.000m)
Francois Beauchemin ($3.800m) / Cam Fowler ($1.400m)
Andy Sutton ($2.125m) / Luca Sbisa ($2.175m)
Sheldon Brookbank ($0.750m)

GOALTENDERS
Jonas Hiller ($4.500m) / Dan Ellis ($1.500m)

BUYOUTS: Nathan Oystrick ($0.183m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000
CAP PAYROLL: $56,995,833
CAP SPACE: $7,304,167

On the whole, assuming Hiller can stay healthy, this roster is good enough to make the postseason. The thing that has hurt them in recent years has been forward depth outside of their top line. If they can get production out of their young players, that should make for an exciting team to watch in 2011-12.

The Ducks’ hopes for Lord Stanley’s Cup were dashed Sunday in Nashville where they lost to the Predators 4-2 in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs.  In a series that never had a scoreless period in six games, the Ducks’ defense is what did them in, according to Coach Randy Carlyle, who declared, “…you cannot give up four goals and expect to win consistently.”

The Ducks allowed 30 shots on goal with goals scored Sunday by Nick Spaling in the first period, Steven Sullivan in the second period, and David Legwand and Nick Spaling again in the third.  Spaling, not known for scoring a lot of goals, was the 12^th different Predator to score for the 1998 expansion team in this series.

Although Teemu, appearing in his 111^th career playoff game, scored in the first period, and Jason Blake scored on the power play in the second, the Ducks just couldn’t hold off the Predators in the end.  Rocket Richard winner, Corey Perry, and Captain, Ryan Getzlaf, were held scoreless for the second game in a row in which the only person who looked like he was playing at top speed for the Ducks was, once again, Selanne.

According to Carlyle, “Nobody tried harder, nobody cared more, nobody did more in this series than Teemu Selanne.”  Selanne had a point in every game this series with six goals and logged up to almost 21 minutes of ice time in Game Two at 40 years of age.  It seemed like every other shift, the play-by-play announcer was mentioning Teemu for doing something amazing.  Asked about Teemu and his return next season, Carlyle surmised, “There is always that looming ‘this is the last one’ and I’m sure he doesn’t want to go out feeling the way he does right now.”

The Ducks definitely would not have done as well as they did without Selanne in the line up this season.  Selanne was second only to Corey Perry in points, with 80.  He played 73 games, had 31 goals and 49 assists and took 213 shots during the regular season.  More than that, he was their calm, their leader, their coach on the ice.  In the days, weeks, months to come, every Duck fan will and hockey in general, will be waiting to see if the Finnish Flash will be back in the line-up for the Ducks again next season.  I sure hope so.