Anaheim Ducks

Dan Cleary and the Heartbreakers

Game 7 was a fitting yet agonizing ending to the emotional rollercoaster that was the 2008-’09 Anaheim Ducks’ season.  Anaheim’s will to fight through mid season doldrums and make the playoffs was mirrored in their dogged determination to come back and tie the game when it looked all but lost.  I could say that we should be glad that they made it this far, or that they left everything out on the ice, and that it could have gone either way, or nitpick the referees, but the bottom line is that in a best of seven series it is always the better team that wins.  It may be true that in early March Ducks fans would be happy with a second round, seventh game, one goal loss to the best team in hockey, but this is mid May and nothing short of heartbreak. 

The late, great hockey writer Jack Falla once wrote that “Hockey should be more synthesis than analysis,” and I couldn’t agree more.  Analysis can lead to second guessing and hypothetical situations that are better left unsaid, especially in a situation like this.  However, I do have to get one analytical nugget off of my chest.  As with the rest of the series this game could have been completely different in so many ways.  While it didn’t ultimately cost the Ducks the game/series their power play in the first half of the game was awful.  Particularly in the extended five on three opportunity they had in the first period, the Ducks seemed tentative and afraid to give the puck away.   Seemingly stunned into inaction, Getzlaf and Pronger held the puck at the point, standing flat footed making it easy for the penalty killers to stay in the passing and shooting lanes and really just wait for the clock to tick down.  It was that penalty kill that gave Detroit their first life and allowed them to dominate for about the next 20 minutes and jump out to a two goal lead.  Of course the Ducks fought back admirably, but the inconsistent play that plagued them throughout the season cost them a great start and put them in an early hole.  With that out of the way this will go down as the greatest series in Ducks history… aside from the result of course. 

A Tale of Two Teams

As lethargic as the Ducks looked in their 4-1 loss on Sunday they looked just as desperate and determined to continue their season for at least one more game.  The only two Ducks who brought the required amount of desperation to Game 5 were Erik Christensen and Randy Carlyle, the former of which was robbed twice after having been scratched four games in a row while the latter split up his top two forwards, furiously trying to find something to spark his team.  As such they were pretty severely outplayed but managed to keep themselves relatively close for the majority of the game thanks to a rebounding Jonas Hiller.  But all in all it was a classic Detroit Red Wings game:  hop out to a lead and refuse to let the opponent play with the puck. 

On the other hand Game 6 was taken over by Ryan Getzlaf and the Anaheim first line.  The three scoring plays are a perfect microcosm of the game from a Ducks perspective.  Each Ducks goal started with strong play in the defensive zone by Getzlaf and Perry, a quick transition and ended with the respective goal scorers going to the net and making life difficult for Chris Osgood.  With a two goal lead the Ducks played most of the third in their own zone, with the exception of their stellar top line, a dangerous thing against one of the deepest most potent offenses in the league.  Johan Franzen’s goal was set up by mistakes forced by Detroit’s aggression and the Ducks’ conservative defensive posture.  On the goal, as with much of the rest of the game the Anaheim defense won battles along the boards, but were somewhat reckless on the clear.  Andrew Ebbitt’s reach for a no look backhand pass from Rob Niedermayer drew the penalty and overly aggressive penalty killing at the point left Hudler and Franzen free down low for an easy tip in.  While careless mistakes cost them here though the defense was just good enough to get away with their mistakes.  And then there was the small matter of 46 penalty minutes doled out between the two teams at the final buzzer.  After another failed clearing attempt Hiller made one last second save before tempers boiled over between the best skaters from each side.  While Ryan Getzlaf’s pestering of Marian Hossa pushed tensions to the edge, it was Scott NIedermayer’sroundhouse elbow to Pavel Datsyuk that set off the all out line brawl that took the place of the hand shake line that Detroit had planned. 

While I don’t really believe in momentum carrying over from one game to another in the playoffs anymore, the spectre of make up calls looms large in the wake of Scott Niedermayer’selbow to and subsequent pummeling of the lady byng candidate combined with the “Big Bad Ducks’” reputation.  Regardless of the officials, if the Ducks can cut down on the turnovers (20 in Game 6 including 17 giveaways) and take fewer lazy, untimely penalties (two bench minors for too many men, including one while on the power play midway through the third) while the big line and defensive corps plays like they did yesterday they will have a great shot at making their third Western Conference Final in four years. 

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. 

Game 3 Red Wings @ Ducks

Anaheim came out with a huge first period including a gorgeous Teemu Selanne breakaway goal; 45 saves, 16 blocked shots and one quick whistle later the Ducks come away with a 2-1 win and a 2-1 series lead.

The Ducks did a great job attacking and in the face off circle off the hop, but this game turned on one shift in the second period. Thirteen minutes into the middle frame, Anaheim leading by two, Detroit set up as if on the power play, Holmstrom in his office and James Wisniewski is hit by a puck in the chest; he stays in the play until being elbowed in the face by the big Swedish power forward. Not only was Wisniewski carted off on a stretcher after bleeding from the face, hunched over in the slot for several minutes, but Scott Niedermayer is forced into a hooking penalty. Fifty one seconds later Henrik Zetterberg scored on the power play to cut the lead in half and it was all Red Wings for the rest of the night. The hockey gods would pay the Ducks back, however late in the third period.

Jonas Hiller, who was fantastic all night, caught a huge break with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Scott Niedermayer turned the puck over behind his own net and as the disk hung in limbo, tantalizingly close to the goal line, referee Brad Watson blew his whistle only a split second before Marian Hossa tapped it across the goal line. No Goal: A non reviewable play and the reason the Ducks skate away with the win after only 60 minutes.

Bobby Ryan, reunited with Perry and Getzlaf, and was less than stellar. Ryan, who normally has the softest hands you will ever find, had trouble handling the puck all night and strayed further and further away from his fundamentals. His lackluster play along the boards in his own end has made him a big defensive liability for Randy Carlyle, who has to keep Getzlaf and the first line out against either Datsyuk’s line or Zetterberg’s. On the other hand Teemu Selanne’s swift skating and hard work is starting to produce results.

Teemu’s second goal of the series, third of the playoffs, was a beauty. The slash skating Selanne received Ryan Carter’s stretch pass at the blue line and promptly blew Chris Chelios’ 47 year old doors off before slipping a backhander behind Chris Osgood. The Finnish Flash could have easily had two more breakaways in this game but was thwarted by the “underrated” defensive play of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Ducks started well in the puck possession game, winning 57% of the faceoffs, but had trouble holding onto the puck at times, particularly in the third period. The other small but worrying aspect of the game for Anaheim was icing. On at least three occasions the Ducks iced the puck within two or three feet of center ice. Luckily though, they were able to escape poor decisions and small mistakes while sitting back on one goal lead in the third against one of the deepest offensive teams in the league, and the Ducks win another game that could have gone either way to take a 2-1 series lead going into a humongous Game 4, Thursday night.

Game 2 Ducks @ Red Wings

It took 101 minutes and 15 seconds, but the Ducks finally evened the series up when Todd Marchant wristed the puck over Chris Osgood’s glove for the 4-3 win. The Ducks fell behind early on a power play goal from Brad Stuart that deflected off of James Wisniewski’s skate and in, but Ryan Getzlaf answered back putting away his own rebound. Then on the power play less than a minute later Chris Pronger would score while Scott Niedermayer did his best Tomas Holmstrom impression, screening Osgood. Mikael Samuelsson drew the Wings even going into the first intermission with a backhander on a three on two rush that Hiller should have stopped. In the second the Ducks gave Detroit another taste of their own medicine as Ryan Carter scored a power play goal taking advantage of the lively boards at The Joe. Franzen tied the game just over five minutes into the third floating into a soft area and lifting the puck over Hiller’s glove, and that is how regulation ended.

Anaheim looked strong controlling the puck in Detroit’s zone to start the overtime, but it wouldn’t last as instead of attacking the net Bobby Ryan retreated into the neutral zone and Detroit began an onslaught. The Red Wings’ prolonged possession in the offensive zone drew a tripping penalty on Scott Niedermayer, only the third against the Ducks on the day. Obviously the Ducks killed the penalty, but it gave Detroit all of the momentum going into the second extra period. The second overtime was more evenly spread out with both teams having some great chances, but before the fans got back to their seats for the third OT Todd Marchant ended it as Rob Niedermayer crashed the net.

The Ducks looked for secondary scoring and almost found it Drew Miller’s two regulation breakaways, but it was Ryan Carter who really stepped up in this one. His go ahead goal in the second and constant hustle earned him a slot on the first line in overtime while Bobby Ryan was moved down to the second. I really like this line combination from Randy Carlyle, not only does it have potential to spread the scoring out by reuniting Teemu Selanne, Andrew Ebbitt and Bobby Ryan but Carter provides a second center on the top line to back up Ryan Getzlaf in the circle and a strong back checking presence against Detroit’s top forwards. The move was facilitated by the scratching of George Parros and Erik Christensen in favor of the now healthy Petteri Nokelainen and Black Ace Josh Green on the fourth line. That change in the lineup also rid the Ducks of a potential penalty liability on George Parros, as good as he was in the regular season, and made way for increased puck possession by inserting the faceoff ace Nokelainen. Anaheim did a lot of things right today, from a lethal power play, to disciplined defending, improved face off percentage (29% in Game 1 to 40% in Game 2) and despite a soft goal, some timely and spectacular saves by Jonas Hiller to get a much needed split out of Detroit before heading back to So Cal for Game 3 Tuesday.

… and The Ducks Have Caught a Break

Like a sharp ping emanating from behind Jonas Hiller the news that Mike Brown will not be suspended for his hit on Jiri Hudler came from Colin Campbell’s office today. While the lack of a suspension for a Western Conference fourth liner may be overshadowed today by the league’s three biggest stars starting a playoff series, it will be the talk of the town tomorrow morning. Brown’s sentence was possibly commuted to time served by the fact that Hudler returned minutes later after receiving ten stitches, or possibly because the hit was delivered less than a second after the puck was released, according to Randy Carlyle, however those reasons don’t really make the decision any easier to understand in the wake of the Brashear suspension. Then again Ben Eager escaped suspension for elbowing Rick Rypien. Regardless of the reasoning and track record of the NHL’s punishment Czar Ducks fans breathe a sigh of relief while Detroit fans shake their heads.

The Wing Nuts will also have to persevere through at least one more game without Brian Rafalski, who missed Game 1 with an “upper-body injury” he sustained in practice during their seven day layoff between rounds one and two. Forty Seven year old Chris Chelios will likely be in the lineup again tomorrow after playing 6:57 last night none of which in the third period. All of this seemingly good news aside, discipline and special teams will be paramount if the Ducks are to draw even in the series tomorrow afternoon.

Game 1 Ducks @ Red Wings

The Ducks lose a heart breaker as Nick Lidstrom scores his second goal of the game with only 49 seconds on the clock to win 3-2, but without a doubt, the story of Game 1 will be Mike Brown’s hit on Jiri Hudler in the first period. With Anaheim leading 1-0 Hudler passed the puck off the boards and was drilled in open ice by the shoulder of Brown. As the Wing lay in a heap, bleeding profusely from the forehead the officials deliberated, eventually deciding to give Brown a five minute major and a game misconduct, but the worst is yet to come. Based on the 5 game suspension of Donald Brashear in Game 6 of Washington’s first round series with the Rangers, I do not expect to see Brown for the rest of the series. The Ducks responded well during the penalty not allowing Detroit’s number one power play in the league to set up for extended periods, however Johan Franzen drove the net hard and scored before demolishing Jonas Hiller in the crease to even the game at one. Lidstrom scored a classic Detroit goal on the power play with Tomas Holmstrom and Ryan Whitney screening Hiller in the second period to take a 2-1 lead, but Teemu Selanne would score a power play goal of his own to tie the game again with only 14 seconds remaining in the period. Apart from the Detroit captain’s goal with seconds to spare Anaheim played a whale of a third period. The first line did a great job of controlling the puck in the offensive zone. While they tested Osgood somewhat sparingly they contained Zetterberg and Datsyuk in the defensive zone, until the game winning goal was scored. The focus on Detroit’s top forwards cost the Ducks, as a rebound bounced into the slot and the most dominant defenseman of the decade slipped the puck through a laterally sliding Hiller’s five-hole.

Overall it was a tightly contested game that could have gone either way. Both teams played physical accusing each other of dirty hits. The Duck’s payed for theirs and will continue to, while the Wings didn’t. I refuse, however, to complain about Franzen’s contact with Hiller because, if the Ducks want to win this series they are going to have to do the same thing to Chris Osgood and they will have to adjust to the differences between San Jose and Detroit. The Wings go to the net, San Jose didn’t; the Wings scored on the power play, the Sharks didn’t; and most importantly Detroit made the smart plays with the puck and San Jose certainly did not do that. Anaheim did an admirable job of puck possession in the defensive zone and the neutral zone, but against THE premier puck possession team in the league they will have to spend more time controlling at the other end to draw even in Sunday morning’s crucial Game 2.

Game 6 Sharks @ Ducks

The Ducks finished off San Jose with a 4-1 win in a Game 6 that started with a bang. Two seconds after the opening face off Ryan Getzlaf and Joe Thornton squared off setting the tone for a doozy of a game. The first period went by like a flash with a parade to the penalty box early that, thanks to Jonas Hiller, the Ducks survived with the exception of a Milan Michalek goal. Corey Perry then tied the game by swatting the puck out of mid air and behind Nabokov on the power play. Teemu Selanne got off the shnide with a power play goal that would turn out to be the game winner off the stick of Christian Ehrhoff in the second period. Teemu had been flying all over the ice all series long but finally made his own “Puck Luck” by going to the net right off of the face off. Francois Beauchamin gave the Ducks an insurance marker about a minute and a half later off of Danny Boyle’s stick. Anaheim clamped down on the Sharks defensively in the third, but the first line continued to push, controlling the puck in San Jose’s zone and refusing to give Thornton, Marleau and Pavelski a chance to get the Sharks back in the game and topped it off with Ryan Getzlaf’s second goal of the series. San Jose out shot the Ducks for the sixth game in a row but again came up short as Jonas Hiller made some spectacular and timely saves playing behind, what is quite probably, the best and deepest defense in the league. As strong as Hiller was he could have been tested more as Anaheim blocked 14 shots. This game and this series had just about everything and as a parting shot I present my top five Ducks/Sharks Moments:

5) James Wisniewski’s goal in Game 3. A bullet from the half wall only a small part of The Wiz’s outstanding play, at home especially.
4) Bobby Ryan’s opening goal of the playoffs. Following his shot off the post he plants the puck in the back of the net as he dives over Nabokov reminiscent of Bobby Orr 1970, unbelievable.
3) Nabokov’s save on Todd Marchant’s breakaway late in Game 2. Chris Pronger hits Setoguchi then Ryan Whitney threads a pass right up the middle to Todd… Marchant in stride who can’t quite lift the puck on his backhand as Nabby gloves it off for one of his few highlights of the series.
2) Scott Niedermayer’s pass to Corey Perry for the game tying goal Saturday in San Jose. The capitan leading the rush drawing two defenders to him at the offensive blue line shows all the poise in the world dishing off to a wide open Perry who scores to show the Sharks that even at their best they would have to fight to the bitter end.
1) Bobby Ryan’s second goal of game four. Immediately after a 16 minute delay for a broken glass panel between the benches the rookie sensation brought the Honda Center crowd back to life and gave the Ducks a strangle hold on the series.

I would have liked to have put a Hiller save on the list, but I couldn’t choose one. Let it be known though, that it would have been one of the many toe saves he made, directing the puck into the corner after shuffling across the crease on his knees. The best thing about this series though, was not a moment, but the smart, patient play on the blue line lead by Scott Niedermayer. Without the composed play of the defense and the clutch goaltending of Jonas Hiller San Jose could have easily won this series in five, as it happened the Sharks’ season ends much the way their past few have, with an early exit and the Ducks move on to meet Detroit in round 2.

With all due respect to the Sharks, a worthy number one seed, Detroit is truly the best team in the league. After winning the Cup last year Detroit did nothing if not get better, signing the best free agent on the market in Marian Hossa. Playing in this year’s abnormally strong central division with the heavily derided Chris Osgood in goal, the Wings fell just five points short of the Sharks in the regular season. Anaheim went 1-2-1 against the Wings this year, with three of the four meetings leaving the teams one goal apart. This match up promises to be an epic battle between the two best teams since the lockout. Each has won a Cup, each has won eight playoff series since the work stoppage, and each has beaten the other twice in the playoffs overall. Detroit will come into the series on at least six days of rest and for the Ducks to have any chance they will have to attack the Detroit crease and take advantage of the lone weakness in the Red Wing lineup: a three time Stanley Cup champion in net. Scary.

Game 5 Ducks @ Sharks

In my book the playoffs don’t officially begin until you have your first overtime game. Unfortunately for the Ducks it only took Patrick Marleau six minutes and two seconds to end it. For Anaheim to take the game to an extra period though, was a feat in and of itself. San Jose came out to a torrid start and finally brought their lunch pails to the rink absolutely dominating the first two periods and jumping out to a two goal lead; a lead which could have easily been four or five were it not for Jonas Hiller standing on his head. The Ducks only took three penalties in the entire game, however those penalties were forced by the newly found work ethic of the Sharks who grabbed complete control of the momentum on the power play. The Ducks played well at the beginning of each period culminating in the third with Ryan Carter and Corey Perry tallying in the first four minutes to force overtime.

Coming off a Game 4 where he was nearly flawless, James Wisniewski had a rough night in San Jose. On the other hand Scott Niedermayer was everywhere tonight. After Game 4 Jeremy Roenick claimed that Scotty is “probably the best defensman [he's] ever seen” including Bobby Orr and Nick Lidstrom and he did not disapoint tonight. Not surprisingly he had assists on both Anaheim goals and seemed to control the puck whenever he was on the ice in all zones, he battled through checks and remained his composed self in his 24 minutes and 47 seconds of ice time. An unwelcome surprise for the Ducks was Bobby Ryan missing a large chunk of the third period while receiving medical attention in the locker room. Luckily the Calder finalist was able to return and looked dangerous in overtime. The Sharks put everything together tonight and have shown that they can play the style they necessary to win in the playoffs, which is a another scary proposition for Ducks fans. But the Ducks’ third period performance in the face of adversity to come back in the third when no team has been able to win when trailing after two in these playoffs should give them confidence heading back home for Monday’s Game 6 where San Jose’s backs will once again be against the wall.

3-1

After Game 2 Todd McLellan talked a lot about “Puck Luck” and gave his stock responses about process versus results. In Game 3 it seemed that he had broken through to his players. They crowded the front of the Anaheim net more than they had to that point, and it payed off with two goals off of deflections and a win. The problem with those comments getting through to the Sharks is that those are regular season talking points effective in eliciting regular season responses. The playoffs are not about process, as Ducks fans know from Games 1 and 2, they are about results. What looked like “Puck Luck” on two deflection goals for San Jose Tuesday was the makings of the president’s trophy winners starting to play playoff hockey. They took advantage of their power plays for the first time in the series and they went to the net hard. Going into last night’s game any Ducks fan would have to be worried about that however, last night’s Game 4 assuaged those fears in a big way.

The Sharks went right back to skating hard, taking the body, ignoring the puck, shooting from the perimeter and expecting to beat the most successful playoff team since the lockout while the Ducks dominated for upwards of 50 minutes. The three stars of the night said just about it all for the Ducks. The obvious first star was Bobby Ryan who flew all over the ice as the first line dominated in the San Jose zone, especially in the second half of the game. Jonas Hiller’s 31 save shutout garnered him second star honors. While the Sharks tested Hiller in flurries the most important aspect of the game has to be the play in the defensive end represented by James Wisniewski’s third star. Wiz didn’t show up on the score sheet, but he blocked shots cleared the way for Hiller and cleaned up the loose change. But the most impressive aspect of Game 4 was the poise shown by the defense with the puck. From one through six everyone on the back line did all the little things right. They kept great body position on the fore checkers, made fantastic outlet passes, chipped in offensively. It really just all came together last night for the Ducks in a dominating 4-0 win giving them a chance to close out the Sharks in San Jose tomorrow night.