Anaheim Ducks

A Whole New Series

I like to think of myself as a hockey fan, more than just a Ducks fan; I try to give the other teams their due and respect their skills, stars and hard work; I’m trying to start a career in hockey journalism and I’m trying, Ringo … I’m trying REAL HARD to be objective, but the fact is I HATE the Detroit Red Wings.  They are the Ducks’ only rival.  The “crosstown” rivalry with the Kings seems natural, but there is really no competition on the ice and the marketing machines resort to contrived nicknames and gimmicks to squeeze anything out of it.  Had the Ducks/Sharks first round matchup been like this series with Detroit, the rivalry would have blossomed, but alas San Jose choked and we’re back to square one.  My animosity toward Edmonton left with Brian Burke.  Long story short (too late) I don’t like those teams but hate barely describes the disdain I feel for Detroit.  I hate the air of superiority Detroit fans bring.  They throw octopi around every rink in North America, and soon Europe, like they own the place, because they’ve been around since 1926 and won 11 Stanley Cups (7 of which came with only 5 teams to compete against).   I loathe their whining about Osgood for 82 games immediately turning to chants of “Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!” in the playoffs.  I simply can not go on any longer denying the fact that i despise them. While it does feel a little better to get that off my chest, there is more to it than that.  The Ducks and Red Wings match up so well.  The games are close (for the most part), the series see-saws, and all great hockey like this is driven by hatred.  While it may hurt to listen to an inordinant number of their fans celebrate in our building, there is only one thing in all of hockey that’s better than seeing them sent home: watching the Ducks lift The Cup. 

Now, tonight’s game can be discribed in one word:  brutal.  Of course it was only made worse by the fact that it started so well.  Corey Perry’s goal 42 seconds into the first almost made me think they would finally have a comfortable game, but this isn’t San Jose we’re talking about and after Hiller gave up a seriously soft goal it was all Wings, eventually resulting in a 6-3 loss for Anaheim, and a new beginning to the series. 

A lot has been made about Hiller’s outstanding play, but if you read the other blogs on this site you wouldn’t know it.  No body here seems to be impressed and frankly I have to agree.  Hiller has been solid, he has made a lot of saves, and crucial saves but he hasn’t really stolen any games.  The Ducks have been scoring and he has had a lot of help from his defensemen.  He isn’t a flashy goalie like a Brodeur or a Hasek or even a Tim Thomas, he plays his angles well and backs that up with a quick glove, but for a butterfly goaltender his five hole is a huge liability.  He has a tendencyto let his stick wander and he clicks his heals together, taking away the advantage of long leg pads.  For the record I don’t buy all the talk about Jiggy being done and just like there was no reason to trade Pronger at the deadline, there is no reason not to give him another chance next year.  Hiller has been winning games and will be back in on Sunday, but the real break out goaltender of this year’s post-season is Simeon Varlamov.

While Hiller had a rough night and I continue to be disappointed by Bobby Ryan’s Thornton-esque disappearing act, this loss was a team effort, just as much as Detroit’s win was.  The Ducks committed too many turnovers, weren’t strong enough in front of Hiller, took ridiculous penalties while on the power play, were dominated in the faceoff circle and didn’t test Osgood nearly enough.  The silver lining:  the series is tied and Anaehim hasn’t lost two games in a row in two months.