Archive for the 'Former Ducks' Category

28
Jun

Busy Time

By Daniel Closed
Categories: Ducks, Former Ducks, Hockey and Players

For being the off season, it sure is a busy time in the NHL. You get a rich Canadian with an obsolete product trying to buy a good franchise and ship them from Baltimore to Indianapolis Nashville to Ontario, then his maverick tactics get him kicked to the curb. My favorite story is the one of Keith Tkachuk, that is simply bullshit. Trading rights back to a player for exclusive negotiating services, sorry but that is just plain wrong. Honestly though, who cares, I am pretty much waiting for the two super stars to say what they are going to do in Anaheim.

smyth One of the interesting things I read was about Ryan Smyth perhaps being a target of Burke’s if Selanne does happen to retire. I don’t know what the fuss is all about honestly, he’s good in front of the net and is a good leader. But he is made out to be some messiah, like he changes the entire dynamic of your team. Sure he will score you some goals, but I don’t think he is worth all that, to be fair I am not an Oilers fan and don’t watch a lot of his games though. Some size up the middle would be welcome though, Penner doesn’t stand in front with a mission quite yet. So lets say I wouldn’t be shocked if it happened, but unlikely.

kariya The most humorist post was concerning Paul Kariya. Haha. He doesn’t have a good shot of signing with the Ducks. I believe one of the reasons he didn’t want to stay in Anaheim after 2003 was because he didn’t enjoy Mike Babcock’s defensive style of hockey. That wont really fly with Carlyle or Burke. Selanne was the least physical of all the Ducks players last season, he must have had some kind of pass or something because even McDonald did some forechecking. Paul Kariya is no longer welcome, so I say this deal has about a 10% chance of happening.

souray Scott Niedermayer can not be replaced. Sheldon Souray is said to be the best defensemen up for grabs in free agency and he can’t hold a candle to what Niedermayer brought to the locker room or ice. Pressure alone would probably eat this guy up, stay away. Get some proven 3-4 guys that can fill spots. Francois Beauchemin can do a lot of what Scott Neidermayer did on the powerplay with Chris Pronger. His decision making will need some work, especially since he might not have Scottie backing him up when he steps up to drill someone with his head down. Joe DiPenta probably wont be back either, but we still have Pronger.

But…we did sign some players as well. That goalie guy is locked in for another four years as are some of our depth defenders. It really doesn’t look like a bad off season so far and July 1st hasn’t even come along yet. Bryzgalov will probably move on, another $1-1.5 freed up. Get some more speed on the wings and a big center who has just the right amount of brain cells missing to stand in front of the net while Pronger and Beauchemin rip pucks towards their general direction. Ryan Smyth looks better to me after I say it like that.

11
May

Let The Game Begin

By Daniel 2 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Finals, Ducks, Former Ducks, Hockey, Players and Pre-Game

Today is the day, the day that everyone online can shut up for 3 hours and take in what should be the start of an awesome first to four slugfest. This wont be the soft Wild team with reigning goon champ Boogard or a Vancouver squad who didn’t look like they wanted to start the physical game with the Ducks. Detroit will bring it and you know they will drop the gloves if it does come to that, but more likely just get togethers in front of the net and in the corners. Face washes, slashes to the shin guards, pushing, shoving…hockey damnit! There are no Sean Avery’s to piss people off and not get in it, anyone who starts something will finish it. Detroit has seen this in both of their series, so this shouldn’t be anything new to them.

All the players are saying the first ten minutes are the most important, eight days is a lot of time off after all. I would expect a minor bit of rust, but once that first shift is over at Joe Louis, everyone will be dialed in. I will bet a lot of money that the team that shows up tonight will be the team that showed up in game one of the Vancouver series. The team that came at you to boot up your ass, that kind of attitude. Bet your ass that Anaheim will not come out flat in this game, Randy Carlyle and the veterans will simply not allow that. They will stress the fact these Wings are slightly crippled. Finish every check, if you have support and can get away with it, lay down the big hit. Beauchemin will take that opportunity, he would love to change the attitude of a game with one shift. He has had a decent hit in each series, no reason to think that changes here.

The majority of media types are picking the Ducks. Not because they hate Detroit, media doesn’t pick against the Yankees, they just say they don’t like them. When someone makes a prediction on a game or a series, they want to be right, not because they dislike the other team. Anaheim was built for this moment and everyone knows it. They wont fizzle out in crunch time like past Ottawa teams. Top to bottom, they are the most complete team remaining in the playoffs and beg someone to argue that. The other three teams may have an edge in something like third defensive pairing or fourth line scoring balance, but when you can interchange guys on different lines double them up, it balances out.

I really hope that Todd Bertuzzi shows up in this series, Holmstrom can not take all that beating himself. This is his opportunity to get back at anyone who said he was done. I really don’t know what happened to that guy. I know he was hurt most of this season, but damn, he is so big and so gifted. He also looks really good in Detroit, bit pricey, but I still think he is a good fit if he can produce. But I am not up on my Red Wings knowledge, so I will be quiet.

Lets go Ducks, lets go out and get this, then wait for Ottawa!

09
May

Get Your Red Hots!

By Daniel 4 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Finals, Ducks, Former Ducks, Hockey, Players and Pre-Game

I have this really bad habit of taking after my dad, he is a huge St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams fan, has been his entire life. But my dad also seems to think it’s the Rams year, every year. He was right once and then they fizzled out. While I don’t think the Ducks will win every year, I do think this year is their year. So that means they have to beat Detroit, which I think they can do in six games. But I also said that I would give the Red Wings some time, so that is what I will do. I will go against my religion and point out things about the Ducks that I think Detroit can exploit, Babcock, take notes. So here we go…

I am not from Detroit, I have never been to Detroit and I will probably never go to Detroit but if I know one thing, it is that the city adored Steve Yzerman. The man was given a key to the city and has an official Steve Yzerman day, January 13th, in the state of Michigan. Sports Illustrated gave him a special cover, they never cover anything in hockey, just that little one page run down at the end, so you know he was special. I don’t think any athlete was as cherished by a city as he was in Detroit, very classy Detroit, that makes me feel good about being a fan of this wonderful game.

Now that era is over, this is Nicklas Lidstrom’s team now, if you want to go through Detroit, you have to go through him. Sheer talent, the mold of what a two-way defender should be, he is the best. I say that being the Ducks fan I am with both Pronger and Neidermayer on the team. If he were a little bigger and nastier, he would be the blend of Pronger and Neidermayer. So is he enough to carry his team this year, especially with Mathieu Schneider gone for the playoffs? Time will tell that story, lets keep rambling on. But, lets keep on the same track and talk about the defense and the last line of defense.

Chelios, Lebda, Lilja, Markov and Quincy all played in game six against San Jose, so those are the ones I am going to go off of. Combined they are a +13, Quincy and Lilja are the only minus players and that is -1 for each, that is pretty impressive (Chelios is tops with +7). In contrast, the Ducks “D” is +8. That is good for the coaches to know, that way they can get the matchups they want. Detroit knows it has its best chance of scoring when Kent Huskins and Joe DiPenta are on the ice, but if Randy Carlyle is smart, he wont dick around this series. A steady diet of his at least one of his other four defensemen should be on the ice at any given time, playing with DiPenta or Huskins. Babcock should salivate with the last change if he sees both of those players paired together, rolling out Zetterburg and company.

Now the goalie matchup is a clash of the titans in this round too. Giguere defeated Backstrom and Luongo while Hasek took out Kiprusoff and Nabokov. I don’t think you can say any team had the edge in that department, all four of those guys are top notch netminders. In this round it comes to a showdown, who can make that unbelievable save to keep the game tied or keep the lead for their team. The man with the age and all those trophies or the one who has something to prove, that 2003 wasn’t a flash in the pan. This will be the last great goalie dual this playoff season, so lets see how many times we get to see these two go at it.

Then there is the forward battle. This is going to be a pretty even matchup as well, but I have to give the edge to Anaheim on this one. The first two lines of both teams cancel each other out, but the checking line for Anaheim can actually produce a decent amount of points. They have given the Ducks 15 points and a +5 rating, while playing against the Sedins and Gaborik. Detroit’s checking line has 7 points and is a +6. I am not sure if they matchup against the opposing teams top line, only allowing them one more goal seems kind of fishy. Scoring will come down to who wants to get the dirtiest, who wants to crash the net the most and who can take the least amount of penalties. The Ducks will rub Hasek a lot, count on that. Can the Ducks keep Holmstrom’s stick tied up, clear rebounds and keep Todd “Mr Irrelevant” Bertuzzi from having a big series? Personally, I think yes to all of those questions, but I have my own biased opinion.

Ducks fans know Mike Babcock’s style of hockey, we know what to expect and we know why it works. Play solid team, defensive hockey, create a turnover and use your transition game for scoring opportunities. The Ducks used it because the team had speed up front and pretty decent defensive core, it worked obviously. The 2007 Red Wings don’t lack as much punch as the 2003 Mighty Ducks, so they can open it up a little more. Time will tell if it is enough to beat the Ducks four times though.

Who wants to step up in this series, who wants to make an impact? Can the Wings withstand the physical beating that they will take from the constant forecheck? Chris Kunitz, where are you? Todd Bertuzzi, please stand up. Detroit, you better stand up to the physical play, otherwise it’s over sooner then later.

09
Apr

The Quest Begins

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Former Ducks and Hockey

Finally, the time of year we have been waiting for since Pronger knocked the Ducks out of playoffs last year, since he was traded and since the hype began, playoffs. An interesting series against Minnesota this time, I find it hard to believe it will be a snooze like 2003 when the Wild scored one goal in four games. While I think they will score more, I think the goal mark will stand for the amount of wins they conjure up during the series.

The Ducks will do what they always do against a good team, pound the hell out of them. If they dress the Boogey Man, he takes up a skilled player roster spot, so do you match the physical play or try and run with the Ducks? The goalie is a rookie backup who has played well after filling in for Fernandez. The defense has a couple of ex-Ducks in Keith Carney and Kurtis Foster and Brent Burns has the most points, 7-18=25, on the blueline.

The Wild have a good team, they took the 4th least penalties in the league, 6th best power play and allowed the fewest goals of any team but were .500 on the road. So what do I think all of this means? It will be low scoring more then likely, but that will only help the Ducks. Minnesota has such a good defense because it is the definition of team defense, when you bang a couple dirty goals home, you force a team like the Wild to open up. They do not want to open up, they only want to counter on your mistakes. If the Ducks get a two goal lead early, it might be all she wrote. Anaheim is no slouch when it comes to defense.

In this series the Ducks have size, speed, defense and two goalies who can shut you out every night. I wont say that the Ducks are faster then Minnesota, because Gaborik is worth two Ducks, expect a lot of Sammy in his face, being physical. But I was surprised to see Minnesota has 5 skaters with 20+ goals and another with 19. So they can run a little more with the Ducks this year, but I don’t think they want to get in to a shootout with Anaheim (not the kind of one on one).

Rattle the rookie goalie early and often, pound the defensemen on the forecheck and make sure Gaborik knows he can’t run around with little care. Brett Hull and Ray Ferraro both predicted a longer then expected series. Was that of the sweeping kind?

Anaheim in 5

04
Mar

Swagger Time

By Daniel Closed
Categories: Ducks, Former Ducks and Pre-Game

After a crappy loss to the Kings in overtime only got the team one point and then thoughtfully beating the Sharks around, Anaheim is going to get a Nashville team that is pretty hot as of late, 4 wins in a row. They beat the Kings 6-3 at the Staples Center yesterday and I watched a little of that and Forsberg looked very good, he was all over the place and had all kinds of room. Who wants to bet that the shutdown line and the defensemen wont give him any room to pull any of his shenanigans.

The Sharks looked awful and have looked awful for at least a couple weeks, if they don’t tighten that ship up, Bill Guerin is going home early and all was lost for that deal. My bet is, they don’t get everything sewn up in time and fizzle out, just call it a hunch. They don’t really have a guy who can bring it all together in the locker room.

Nashville though, that is another story, my bet is that they are going to be a tough out. Like a good contact hitter who will go 10-12 pitches, fouling them off until he gets his pitch. Forsberg has got to give them that confidence, that extra little boost that this team needs. I also believe that the Ducks are going to shut them down tommorow and bring that back to reality. Every line is playing well and contributing and Ryan Getzalf is a stud on skates, he is going to be a great player next year and down the line.

If my what I see in my head comes to reality, Anaheim will battle one out with the best in the West and bring the Predators back to reality. This is the last time these teams play each other in the regular season. Lets hope it’s a statement night, should be physical.

 

Jots and Jabs:

I wonder if Shea Weber wants to fight Travis Moen again?

Vitaly Vishnevski is comig back to town after being traded from Atlanta to Nashville a while ago.

27
Feb

O’Brien, a Few Days Later

By Daniel Closed
Categories: Ducks, Former Ducks, Hockey, Players and Trades

Since I am still stricken by this deal, I figured I would follow up on it a little. So I went out and grabbed some articles related to Shane O’Brien in Tampa Bay, here and here. I think he will do very well and I will circle the date on next years schedule when these two teams play each other, because he is going to be one pissed of sophmore. To have a Stanley Cup run ripped from your grasp has to upset him. All the luck in the world in Tampa Bay, I hope he can kick some ass over there and watch out for that third instigator penalty, don’t get suspended.

 

 

When I played in minors I used to jump into the play a lot and I enjoyed that. When we played Tampa, after the game I was commenting that it looked like fun to be doing what they are doing. They have good D men here that can do it and hopefully I can chip in. - Shane O’Brien

It’s not how hockey used to be, but you need a little bit of toughness. In Anaheim, our skill guys didn’t have to worry about anything. We had guys who could answer the bell. Now we have them in Tampa. - Shane O’Brien

15
Feb

The Game of Two Teams

By Daniel Closed
Categories: Ducks, Former Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

Well that was a damn good game and KDOC can simply stop broadcasting games, looks like an old printer in motion. Anyways, what a great game. The Ducks opened up on fire, tailed off and got frustrated, then you saw the composure of the veterans to rally the troops. Francois Beauchemin fought, so you knew this game had to be a little different, the edge was there. You certainly saw the frustration the Ducks exuded, but also the perseverance. They really never did give up if you look at every shift.

I do think it is safe to say that the team is going to take this game and run with it, use it as a building block and move forward. Not to say that they might not hit more bumps in the road in the next few games, but still, I think this is very positive to come back from 3 goals down and win in overtime. I enjoyed watching both Anaheim teams, the confident team and the struggling team. The vets will make sure that everything goes smoothly.

So, lets beat the Kings ass on Saturday!