Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim-Ducks

Steve Palumbo: Ducks Let Precious Point Slip Away; Selanne Trade Rumors Heat Up

The Anaheim Ducks are making things very difficult for themselves lately. As a team with playoff aspirations, it’s probably not in Anaheim’s best interest to blow a third period lead to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets, only to lose in overtime.

The 3-2 overtime loss spoiled what had been a fantastic two-goal night from Ducks sniper Teemu Selanne. It was the second consecutive loss for Anaheim a…

Blue Jackets Prevail Over Ducks in OT

On Wednesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets felt gypped out of overtime and a point in the NHL standings due to a clock issue at the Staples Center. While the evidence is still being examined in the incidence and whether or not the Kings did or did not score in the final second of the game to win in regulation, there was no doubt about the results on Friday against the Ducks. Anaheim should have capitalized on the lowly Blue Jackets, who were missing key parts of their defense due to injuries. Instead, Columbus hung in there all game, legitimately took it to overtime and then finished off the Ducks in the extra time, 3-2. “It feels good, especially after what happened the last game in L.A.,” said Derick Brassard, who had the game winning goal. “We worked really hard and yesterday we had a day off. It’s always tough to come to the West Coast and play some good teams. We just stuck with it.”The Ducks started the scoring early in the first period. Teemu Selan…

After loss, Ducks’ margin for error narrows

ANAHEIM, Calif. Considering their margin for error is narrower than the traffic-clogged three-lane stretch of Interstate 5 between Downey and Norwalk, the Anaheim Ducks emptied out of their quiet locker room Friday night fully aware of the implications from their inadequate play since the All-Star Break.

“We’re now 1-1-1 after three games. We wanted to be 2-1,” Teemu Selanne said. “We keep battling. That’s the only good thing.”

A point was left on the table at after Anaheim surrendered two leads and missed chances late in regulation on the power play and in overtime in a 3-2 loss to the NHL’s cellar-dwelling Columbus Blue Jackets. Derek Brassard picked Cam Fowler’s pocket before electing to shoot on a two-on-one, burying a heavy slapshot inside the far post past Jonas Hiller.

“I feel terrible,” Fowler said. “Giving up a two-on-one like that, it’s just unacceptable. What are you going to do?”

That’s a good question, as it’s officially backs-against-the-wall time in Anaheim.

97 points is the magic number often referenced as the playoff precipice, a cutoff that appeared to be attainable despite the 11 points that separated the Ducks from the eighth place team during the All-Star Break. After a win Tuesday in Phoenix, the Ducks were 9-1-1 in their previous 11, trending upwards and ready to return to Honda Center for a four-game homestand against teams currently out of the playoff picture.

They’ve been outscored 9-4 in losses to Dallas and Columbus since then, and judging by our All-Star Break mathematics, will likely need to go 25-5-1 the rest of the way in order to qualify for the playoffs.

The Ducks are 11 points out of a playoff spot after 51 games. In the post-lockout era, the largest points deficit a team faced after 50 games before making the playoffs has been eight points the 2008-09 St. Louis Blues were eight points out after 55 games, while the 2005-06 San Jose Sharks were eight points out after 60 games.

St. Louis rebounded to go 25-5-4 down the stretch, while San Jose finished up 16-4-2.

Is Anaheim capable of a similar turnaround?

“Obviously we know the situation, and we know how tough and difficult this last push is going to be,” Saku Koivu said. “We set up some goals after Christmas, and we’ve been pretty successful in the last month or so. You’re going to try, but I don’t think you’re going to win them all. So the key for us right now after a bad performance or after a loss is not to lose two in a row and really get back playing the style that we have to play to hopefully make the playoffs.”

“In the last four or five games, we haven’t played as well as we’ve liked, and we know that we can, so for us right now it’s just to get back and bring our game where it has to be and then we’ll see what happens.

Selanne acknowledged the team’s predicament after the morning skate, at one point even simulating a horse’s blinders in discussing his reluctance to look at the standings board in the team’s locker room, “because that was not pretty to watch.”

“Right now every game is like the playoffs,” Selanne said. “It’s a good kind of pressure, because we know we’re there, so we can’t have any nights off.”

“Of course you can’t win all of them, but that’s your mindset, that you have to show up every night, do your best. We know we have still over 30 games left, so you never know. This little stretch here, right away we start looking at the standings. Before that, I think we were too embarrassed to check out the standings. Now, we’re just checking what other teams do, and that’s what I really hope that we can get into the race and feel the pump and that atmosphere that every game is like a game seven.”

NOTES: Bruce Boudreau, on sticking with the club’s big guns on a power play that didn’t take advantage of all its opportunities: “I told them before they scored Selanne’s second goal, I said I don’t know why I’m putting you guys back out there. I must be a fool for punishment. I’m putting you guys back out there, because you’re the best we’ve got,’ and we got a lucky break and we scored. Those are opportunities against a team that’s struggling, you’ve got to score two or three and get a two-goal lead, and then all of a sudden on the road and they’ll want to go home, and they might fold the tent. But we let them hang around long enough, and what happened happened.” With his 654th and 655th career goals Friday, Teemu Selanne moved within one goal of Brendan Shanahan for the 11th most career goals in NHL history. Selanne is now 13 goals behind 10th-ranked Luc Robitaille, who scored 668 goals in his NHL career. The Ducks host their second annual Skills Showdown Saturday at Honda Center, presented in competition with the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund. The 10 begins at 11:00 AM and will feature all active members of the Ducks competing in six events: King of the Breakaway, Fastest Skater, Longest Shot, Shooting Accuracy, Hardest Shot and Obstacle Relay, with winners. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, while parking is free.

After loss, Ducks’ margin for error narrows

“We’re now 1-1-1 after three games. We wanted to be 2-1,” Teemu Selanne said. “We keep battling. That’s the only good thing.”

“I feel terrible,” Fowler said. “Giving up a two-on-one like that, it’s just unacceptable. What are you going to do?”

That’s a good question, as it’s officially backs-against-the-wall time in Anaheim.

St. Louis rebounded to go 25-5-4 down the stretch, while San Jose finished up 16-4-2.

Is Anaheim capable of a similar turnaround?

“Right now every game is like the playoffs,” Selanne said. “It’s a good kind of pressure, because we know we’re there, so we can’t have any nights off.”

Brassard’s OT goal lets Jackets end skid

Derick Brassard’s second goal of the game — with 1:05 left in overtime — lifted Columbus to a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, snapping the Blue Jackets’ six-game skid.

Columbus’ Jeff Carter scored the tying power-play goal in his return from a 10-game absence with a separated shoulder as the Blue Jackets finally won in the finale of a six-game road trip.

The NHL’s worst team rallied from a third-period deficit in its first game since an apparent clock malfunction possibly cost them a point in a 3-2 loss up the I-5 freeway in Los Angeles two nights ago.

Teemu Selanne scored his 654th and 655th career goals for the Ducks, who have lost two straight home games in discouraging fashion after a 9-1-1 run through most of January.

Moments after Selanne barely missed the net with an overtime shot, Brassard took the puck away from Cam Fowler in the Columbus end and skated the length of the ice to beat Jonas Hiller, who stopped 18 shots.

Curtis Sanford made 33 saves for the Blue Jackets (14-32-6), who still sit 11 points behind 29th-place Edmonton in the overall NHL standings.

Columbus’ comeback erased another big game for Selanne. The 41-year-old Finnish Flash had his fourth multigoal game of the season, giving him 40 points in 35 career meetings with Columbus — including two goals in the Blue Jackets’ visit to Honda Center last month.

Selanne has been Anaheim’s leading scorer all year long, and his goals gave him 1,389 career points, 22nd-most in NHL history. His 655 goals are 13th in league history and just one behind Brendan Shanahan, who needed 224 more games to reach his mark.

The Ducks went ahead less than two minutes in when Lubomir Visnovsky’s hard shot leaked behind Sanford. Selanne sprawled onto the ice and tapped it home for the 17th goal of the season.

Columbus spent much of the second period short-handed, but the NHL’s worst penalty kill shut down Anaheim’s middle-of-the-pack power play three straight times. Brassard evened it late in the period, capitalizing on a defensive breakdown and a long rebound allowed by Hiller to score his eighth goal.

Brassard, who improved his rating to minus-18 with the goal, has eight points in 13 games after managing just 10 in the Jackets’ first 31 games.

Selanne put the Ducks back ahead on their fourth power play of the period, expertly burying a one-timer on a slick pass from Corey Perry under Sanford’s arm. Perry’s assist was the MVP’s first point in five games.

But Columbus evened it again on a power play early in the third period, with Carter easily backhanding home a loose puck during a power play for his 11th goal. Carter hadn’t played since getting hurt in Anaheim on Jan. 8 on a big check by Francois Beauchemin.

Blue Jackets 3, Ducks 2, OT

Derick Brassard scored his second goal with 1:05 left in overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped their six-game skid with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Jeff Carter scored the tying power-play goal in his return from a 10-game absence with a separated shoulder for the Blue Jackets, who finally won in the finale of their six-game road trip. The NHL’s worst team rallied impressively from a third-period deficit in its first game since an apparent clock malfunction possibly cost them a point in a 3-2 loss up the I-5 freeway in Los Angeles two nights ago.

Teemu Selanne scored his 654th and 655th career goals for the Ducks, who have lost two straight home games in discouraging fashion after a 9-1-1 run through most of January.

Curtis Sanford made 33 saves for the Blue Jackets (14-32-6), who still sit 11 points behind 29th-place Edmonton in the overall NHL standings. But Columbus didn’t pout after Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty beat them with a goal in the final second two nights earlier, an instant after the clock appeared to stop at Staples Center.

Columbus’ comeback erased another big game for Selanne. The 41-year-old Finnish Flash tore up a familiar foil in his fourth multigoal game of the season, giving him 40 points in 35 career meetings with Columbus – including two goals in the Blue Jackets’ visit to Honda Center last month.

The Ducks went ahead less than 2 minutes in when Lubomir Visnovsky’s hard shot leaked behind Sanford. Selanne sprawled onto the ice and tapped it home for the 17th goal of the season.

Brassard, who improved his rating to minus-18 with the goal, has eight points in 13 games after managing just 10 in the Jackets’ first 31 games.

NOTES: LW Jason Blake returned to the Ducks’ lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed foot injury. … Columbus C Ryan Johansen missed his second straight game with an illness, but D Marc Methot returned after missing two games with an illness. … Before the game, Anaheim reassigned C Mark Bell and RW Kyle Palmieri to its AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Bell, who hadn’t played in the NHL in four years before his recall last month, went scoreless in five games with the Ducks.

Ducks blow lead, fall to Blue Jackets in OT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Derick Brassard scored his second goal with 1:05 left in overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped their six-game skid with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Teemu Selanne scored his 654th and 655th career goals for the Ducks, who have lost two straight home games in discouraging fashion after a 9-1-1 run through most of January.

Columbus’ comeback erased another big game for Selanne. The 41-year-old Finnish Flash tore up a familiar foil in his fourth multigoal game of the season, giving him 40 points in 35 career meetings with Columbus — including two goals in the Blue Jackets’ visit to Honda Center last month.

The Ducks went ahead less than 2 minutes in when Lubomir Visnovsky’s hard shot leaked behind Sanford. Selanne sprawled onto the ice and tapped it home for the 17th goal of the season.

Brassard, who improved his rating to minus-18 with the goal, has eight points in 13 games after managing just 10 in the Jackets’ first 31 games.

Blue Jackets snap skid, beat Ducks in OT

Teemu Selanne scored his 654th and 655th career goals for the Ducks, who have lost two straight home games in discouraging fashion after a 9-1-1 run through most of January.

Columbus’ comeback erased another big game for Selanne. The 41-year-old Finnish Flash tore up a familiar foil in his fourth multigoal game of the season, giving him 40 points in 35 career meetings with Columbus — including two goals in the Blue Jackets’ visit to Honda Center last month.

The Ducks went ahead less than 2 minutes in when Lubomir Visnovsky’s hard shot leaked behind Sanford. Selanne sprawled onto the ice and tapped it home for the 17th goal of the season.

Brassard, who improved his rating to minus-18 with the goal, has eight points in 13 games after managing just 10 in the Jackets’ first 31 games.

Steve Palumbo: Why Trading Teemu Selanne Makes The Most Sense For The Ducks

Teemu Selanne is the Anaheim Ducks and the Anaheim Ducks are not the same without Selanne in the line-up, But like all great pairings there is inevitably a time when it’s right for each side to go their separate ways.

The Ducks may have to do the unthinkable and trade Selanne before the NHL trade deadline passes on February 27. You’re probably asking yourself why I would say such a blasphemous…

Ducks Break Club Record For Points in January

(Debora Robinson, NHLI via Getty Images)
By Steve Palumbo (@StevePalumboNHL)
The Anaheim Ducks opened 2012 with a club record 19 points in the month of January. Despite falling desperately behind in the race for the playoffs, Anaheim found enough intestinal fortitude to put together their record breaking run.
Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes was the club’s ninth in the month of January. Anaheim’s 9-2-1 run brought them from 20 points out of a playoff spot to a more manageable 10 points. They are clearly one of the hottest teams in the league, but it may be too little, too late.
February presents a whole new challenge for the fouled fowl of Anaheim. On Wednesday they played host to the Dallas Stars in a critically important divisional match-up. Too bad the Ducks left all their mojo in January, as they were throttled in a 6-2 loss.
Anaheim had its season-high six-game home winning streak snapped and suffered only its third regulation loss of the young…

Ducks’ Cogliano nets rare natural hat trick

GLENDALE, Ariz. Andrew Cogliano wants to shoot more. With results like he had Tuesday against Phoenix, the temptation will be to shoot too much.

The fifth-year Anaheim forward netted his first career hat trick in a six-minute, 51-second span of the second period to lift the red-hot Ducks to a 4-1 win over the Coyotes. The three goals came uninterrupted, giving him an NHL rarity: the natural hat trick.

“The big thing is that really played a big role in winning the game for the team,” Cogliano said.

Jovial Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau agreed, but he couldn’t help noticing another facet of Cogliano’s feat.

“Goals are goals but it might have been the ugliest hat trick I’ve ever seen,” Boudreau said.

Cogliano wasn’t arguing.

On the first one, Phoenix goalie Mike Smith got trapped behind the net while playing the puck. Ducks forward Matt Beleskey won the battle for the loose puck with Phoenix defenseman Chris Summers and centered a pass right past Coyotes center Daymond Langkow for an easy Cogliano tap-in.

“Every really great puck handler that’s a goalie loves to handle the puck and always thinks they can make the play that nobody else can make,” Boudreau mused. “I think he was out there trying to do that and they make mistakes every couple games like that so you’ve got to go right at him.”

Cogliano did just that.

On the second goal, he beat Smith under the arm, on the short side from a horrid angle on the deep left wing for a 2-1 lead.

On the final goal, Cogliano took what appeared to be an offside feed from forward Nick Bonino and slipped a weak backhand between Smith’s pads that led Coyotes coach Dave Tippett to yank Smith in favor of backup Jason LaBarbera.

“I was just trying to shoot everything at that point,” Cogliano said, smiling. “I caught Smith, obviously, off guard with a couple of the shots. Those probably won’t go in every night.”

It was one of several breaks Anaheim enjoyed, including a disallowed Phoenix goal early in the third period where officials ruled center Martin Hanzal was in the crease, even though there is no such specific rule on the books any more.

“You could probably find five goals in the league (like that) that would be called goals, unfortunately that one got called back,” Tippett said. “What compounded the problem was that their third goal was offsides. So you get one called back and one that’s offsides, you take those away and you have a 2-2 game.”

Anaheim has been getting those kinds of breaks during this 9-1-1 streak that has breathed life into a team that had the second-worst record in the NHL on Jan. 4.

The Ducks have also been getting production from their third and fourth lines to help offset uneven recent scoring from stars Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.

“It’s so important,” Boudreau said. “When you can get them not putting points on the board and getting the other lines scoring and contributing, it’s a massive advantage.”

An advantage the Ducks hope might rally them into playoff contention after an ultimatum issued by general manager Bob Murray in which he warned that nobody on the team outside Selanne and Koivu was exempt from possible trades.

“We’ve got to do it for the last 50 games because we’ve put ourselves in such a hole,” said Boudreau, whose team still trails Minnesota by 10 points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Cogliano couldn’t remember another natural hat trick in his lifetime. He remembers scoring four goals in a game in juniors, but he’s not certain they came in succession.

“You never really think going into a game that you’re going to get a hat trick,” he said. “But it’s fun.”

Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin was the last NHL player to do it on Jan. 15 in a win over Tampa. It was the fifth natural hat trick in Ducks’ history and the first since Perry turned the trick on Feb. 5, 2011 at Colorado. It was also the first natural hat trick against the Coyotes since Columbus’ Matt Calvert did the deed on Feb. 25, 2011.

Calvert, incidentally, finished with 11 goals last season, which is how many Cogliano currently has.

“I thought Cogs had an extra step tonight before that,” Boudreau said of his forward’s second-period magic. “When you’ve got it you’re praying to God the stick doesn’t break.”