GDT 39: Anaheim @ Edmonton 12/27/07 6:00

:ducks @ :edmonton

6:00pm
FSN
Rexall Place

From NHL.com

It may have taken three months, but the Anaheim Ducks are finally playing like a team capable of defending their Stanley Cup title.

The Ducks try to match a season-high four-game winning streak Thursday night when they continue a four-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers.

Hindered by the early season absence of starting goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Ducks (18-15-5) won only four of their first 13 games. They won a season-best four in a row from Nov. 9-17 before going 5-7-2 in their next 14 contests.

A stronger commitment to defense has helped Anaheim record points in four straight (3-0-1), a stretch that has included three consecutive wins during which it has allowed three goals.

Two of those three victories have come against San Jose, which along with Dallas are the two teams the Ducks are chasing in the Pacific Division.

Giguere stopped 27 shots and Chris Pronger had a goal and an assist in Anaheim's 5-2 victory at San Jose on Saturday.

Todd Bertuzzi, Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz also scored for the Ducks, who improved to 6-0-2 in their last eight meetings with the Sharks.

"It's always good when you play well against a division rival like this," Pronger said. "It was a big game for us to keep moving up the standings, and a step forward for us the way we've been playing the last few games, and getting back to playing the way we can."

The Ducks scored five goals after they were held to two or fewer in each of their previous five games.

"We're obviously not happy where we're at," said Bertuzzi, in his first season with Anaheim. "We've given a lot of points away, and it's a matter of playing the way we know how to play. I think we've figured out this is how we have to play in order to win, and this is how they played last year in order to win."

Getting star defenseman Scott Niedermayer back also has contributed to Anaheim's improved play. The Ducks are 3-0-1 since Niedermayer returned, and his presence has helped ease the burden on Pronger, who is tied for second on the team with 29 points.

The Oilers lost their third straight on Sunday, 3-2 at Chicago, but the loss of one of their top players could prove more costly.

Ales Hemsky left the game late in the second period because of a left knee injury after colliding with Chicago's Martin Lapointe. Hemsky - second on the team with 29 points - was to undergo an MRI but the team has not reported the results.

"It's was a dirty hit, there was no doubt about it," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "It's should have been at least 5 minutes. Now we've got one of our best guys having X-rays because of a guy who plays 10 minutes a game."

Losing Hemsky would be a very big blow to Edmonton (16-18-3), which ranks 28th in the league with 2.32 goals a game, including only six over the past four contests.

The Oilers have won all three meetings this season against the Ducks, outscoring them 12-3. Mathieu Garon is 2-0-0 with one shutout and a 0.96 goals-against average versus Anaheim.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w240/NHL_Mitchell/ChrisPronger25oftheAnaheimDucksc-1.jpg

LINEUP UPDATE: Samuel Pahlsson will miss tonight's game with an abdominal injury.

stupid FSN, ive been looking forward to the rain of pronger boos.

Is this game getting joined in progress? I'm watching FSN West, and it's a repeat of a Kings game.

Is this game getting joined in progress? I'm watching FSN West, and it's a repeat of a Kings game.

'experiencing difficulties'. Hurray!

just started airing as i began to type a complaining post on here...

guess i scared them into getting their act together

Why is the feed so blurry?

YAY! IT's on the TV Tubes!

what an awful powerplay.

what an awful powerplay.Better than an awful penalty kill.

Ha. Carroll said Dustin has lost 20-25 pounds since beginning the year. Yeah I'd say that he came into camp slightly out of shape. If those 20 pounds put him back to last year's weight (compared to actually losing weight compared to last year), how do you even gain 20 pounds in like 3 months?

Ha. Carroll said Dustin has lost 20-25 pounds since beginning the year. Yeah I'd say that he came into camp slightly out of shape. If those 20 pounds put him back to last year's weight (compared to actually losing weight compared to last year), how do you even gain 20 pounds in like 3 months?

Drinking beer instead of water?

huge hit by Carter.

Why didnt Staios get an instigator on that? Carter gets 2 more showing him mercy...

Okay... listening on the radio and I don't know what happened with Carter and the odd PP for the Oil. Can someone who's watching explain this, please? Thanks in advance.

Carter came down. Staios had his head down, carter leveled him behind the net. (clean hit). Staios immediatelly dropped all his gear and helmet and skated down the ice after Carter and tried to throw a punch at him. Carter just grabbed him and pushed him down to the ice without throwing a punch.

How Carter got 2 penalties confuses me, but its the typical reffing in the nhl. The infractions don't matter. The refs figured the Oil deserved a powerplay, so they worked out the penalties to give them one.

YAY! IT's on the TV Tubes!

TV Tubes?

It's nice to have two top scoring lines.

1-0 Oilers...

Oilers score a deflection goal off of a weak wrist shot. On their 5th shot of the game.

Makes ya wonder... would you rather be lucky or good? LoL

Makes ya wonder... would you rather be lucky or good? LoL

This year versus the Oilers I'd settle for being even one of those. :(

Wow....what a call.

What the hell was that? Getzlaf penalized for throwing a check?

Even the Oilers commentator was confused. "Getzlaf with a solid hit on Gagner. (whistle blows) Too solid, apparently."

Refs are out to get us...

Ahaha...penalty for the Oiler player being a *****.

Are you serious? Another PP for the Oil b/c the Ducks play physical hockey?

Did they show a replay of the call? There wasn't one on the Oilers broadcast, but it didn't look like a real penalty live.

P-p-p-perry!

1-1

Getz to Bert to Perry.

Really good play by Bert.

He has played his best hockey with Getz and Perry.

Nice little play between Bert, Getz and Perry.

Nice play to get a Perry goal. I was just about to shout at Bertuzzi waiting too long and not shooting. Lucky for Bertuzzi Perry pops free to knock in a nice pass. So his patience was redeemed, even if I would have preferred a shot.

A tie game! Yes!

Parros crushes Pitkanen. Probably a tad late. But the Ducks need to hit the heck out of that soft defense.

Last game Pitkanen got scared after a few big hits and was a non-factor after a good start.

2nd post. But that puck really had no chance of going in. At an angle off the near-side post, with not enough of a hole to score without hitting the post.

Great chance, but that pass by Bertuzzi was terrible...

Not having Pahlsson SUCKS!:(

We need to win this one...and win it dominantly.

Somehow Oiler fans are complaining about calls...I wish I had video of the Getzlaf penalty....christ.

Getzlaf is having a rough day in the circle. 2/10, including the loss that led to the Oilers goal.

That's his biggest weakness right now, he's at 45% for the year, which is actually worse than last year (49.4).

Somehow Oiler fans are complaining about calls...I wish I had video of the Getzlaf penalty....christ.
I dunno, it seems like a pretty poorly reffed game both ways. There was like a couple trips/hooks not called on the Ducks, 1 hook not called on an Oiler (on Bertuzzi), and a weak call on Getzlaf.

Somehow Oiler fans are complaining about calls...I wish I had video of the Getzlaf penalty....christ.

Their post about Giguere and his illegal size upper body is classic.

Their post about Giguere and his illegal size upper body is classic.

I liked it too.

Their post about Giguere and his illegal size upper body is classic.

He must shoot up with HGH before every game.

Their post about Giguere and his illegal size upper body is classic.
Meh. Edmonton has some big whiners. It's sad that the good posters get drowned out by a very vocal group of clueless fans. Like the ones claiming Lapointe was intentionally cheapshotting Hemsky, and that he should have gotten a big suspension.

Man I miss the Edmonton ice of the late 90s. This crap sucks. No one is able to accept passes cleanly. Or stickhandle without the puck bouncing.

Heh, looks like Penner is gunning for Giguere's head.

Heh, looks like Penner is gunning for Giguere's head.
Maybe Penner's ascribing to my Mario Tennis strategy of aiming AT the opponent, not around him.

Maybe Penner's ascribing to my Mario Tennis strategy of aiming AT the opponent, not around him.

I mastered that skill in Mario Tennis.

nice.

beautiful goal

2-1

Bobby Ryan to Weight!

beautiful pass from Ryan.

Good time for a goal. :)

What a beauty. That was a beautiful pass by Ryan.

Weight's first Duck goal. Congrats.

Nice pass by Ryan, nice goal by Weight. Horrible transition coverage by Edmonton. Weight's first goal as a Duck?

Yay 4 points!

Bobby Ryan can stay.

Isn't it nice to string together some victories! So... how do we convince Scotty to stay one more year?!

What a difference a S Niedermayer makes...

Their post about Giguere and his illegal size upper body is classic.

LOL, i just went over and read the game thread. Bitter much? :biglaugh: The funniest thread is the one discussing (still) the Penner signing. Some of the rationalization and circular logic in that thread is pure gold.

Got home in time to see the 3rd period, 2nd line is starting to look real good. Putting Kunitz there instead of Bert really makes a big difference, he's a much better fit with Ryan/Weight.

What a difference a S Niedermayer makes...

You said it. This team looks confident and collected. Good win. They outplayed the Oilers for most of the night (parts of the 2nd were iffy), but overall a good road win. Beautiful shot by Weight and a better pass by Ryan on the play. :) Corey Perry is amazing. :yo:

Now, the Ducks have TWO offensive lines IMO and that makes a tremendous difference.

Nice play to get a Perry goal. I was just about to shout at Bertuzzi waiting too long and not shooting. Lucky for Bertuzzi Perry pops free to knock in a nice pass. So his patience was redeemed, even if I would have preferred a shot.

I agree with this. For example, on the 2 on 1 w/Perry, he was looking pass all the way. He has to shoot more, but his pass on the Perry goal (even if a little lucky), was a solid play.

I think this is my first GDT ever. 1-0 so far, but I think I am only using this privilege in special occasions.

Kinda dull game. Good win though. Nice pass by Ryan, but he had a wide open shot earlier in the game that he "passed" on.

I have never been so happy to lose VCash on a game. I was making my bet this morning, half paying attenton to what I was doing when I realized I had bet on Edmonton and not the Ducks! I'm so happy to be wrong about that bet, lol! The Ducks have a nice winning streak going and seem to be moving in the right direction. Now let's just work some more on that PP.

What a difference a S Niedermayer makes...

4-0-1 since he's been back. I'd say a big one.:):handclap::yo:

The Weight trade is turning out to be another gem of a trade by Burke. Amazing GM and the couple of haters have disappeared. :handclap:

The Weight trade is turning out to be another gem of a trade by Burke. Amazing GM and the couple of haters have disappeared. :handclap:
Hmm I'm not quite sure yet, Weight has 2 points in five games and can be pretty invisible at times, Andy Mac is averaging about a PPG with the Blues, and probably would have been back to normal production with Teemu anyways, but that's the salary cap.

Hmm I'm not quite sure yet, Weight has 2 points in five games and can be pretty invisible at times, Andy Mac is averaging about a PPG with the Blues, and probably would have been back to normal production with Teemu anyways, but that's the salary cap.

Agreed, but lets give Weight some credit here. I seen the way he communicates with his line-mates, specially Ryan. I think Ryan is learning a lot from Weight and as they keep playing together they seem to be getting better and better. On the other hand, I am glad Andy Mc is fitting in well with the Blues.

I watched the Oilers feed and the commentating duo was so bad that Hayward actually sounded brilliant compared to those 2 clowns. You can call Hayward a homer but fact is that he understands the game much better than many other color guys around the league.

Anyway, boring game but what can you expect against the Oilers, they have zero offense and zero physical play so when Ducks pummeled them with hits, nobody stood up and responded.

Nice pass by Ryan, but he had a wide open shot earlier in the game that he "passed" on.

Yes, he has the hockey intelligence of a Mississippi 4th grader, however he does have skill so hopefully playing with Weight will help him get up to speed mentally.

:sarcasm:Hmm I'm not quite sure yet, Weight has 2 points in five games and can be pretty invisible at times, Andy Mac is averaging about a PPG with the Blues, and probably would have been back to normal production with Teemu anyways, but that's the salary cap.

Mac's still a quality player and anybody who can see past his nose realised a key problem was the quality of his linemates. Bringing up Ryan has improved the 2nd line and if we had him all year our offense wouldn't have been so anemic in the first half.

A bit of a break:sarcasm: was May's injury, he's been ineffective all season and getting Carter or Miller in for him makes us a better team.

I see May and the Stanley Cup are to ride on Anaheim's Rose float on New Years Day - now I know why we signed him!!

I watched the Oilers feed and the commentating duo was so bad that Hayward actually sounded brilliant compared to those 2 clowns. You can call Hayward a homer but fact is that he understands the game much better than many other color guys around the league.

Anyway, boring game but what can you expect against the Oilers, they have zero offense and zero physical play so when Ducks pummeled them with hits, nobody stood up and responded.

Try listening to the Oilers radio play by play guy - talk about biased and bush league.

For a knowledgeable Canadian city their broadcasters are embarrassing!

Yes, he has the hockey intelligence of a Mississippi 4th grader, however he does have skill so hopefully playing with Weight will help him get up to speed mentally.

His hockey IQ is exceptional, better stick to giving your money away at the poker tables, dont think you know much anout hockey

His hockey IQ is exceptional, better stick to giving your money away at the poker tables, dont think you know much anout hockey
I'd say his offensive IQ is pretty good, and that's more with the puck than without it, but certainly not his IQ in other aspects of the game. Yet.

Boring game, I suspect because of a post-holiday buzz. Very conservative, no one wanted to make a mistake. I'm just glad we got the win. Although the Oilers didn't have much of a chance, we just smothered them. They kept carrying the puck in and making a move to where there's no puck support, and ended up getting hit or losing the puck. It's pretty amazing how much better the team has played defensively since Niedermayer came back. A large part is his play, but the team as a whole is also playing better.

Hmm I'm not quite sure yet, Weight has 2 points in five games and can be pretty invisible at times, Andy Mac is averaging about a PPG with the Blues, and probably would have been back to normal production with Teemu anyways, but that's the salary cap.

Really? Can we stop it with the Teemu talk? What good is it that Andy would have been back to normal with Teemu? When exactly is Teemu coming back? February? Come on, people...

Whether or not it's happening, let's just all assume it's not.;)

Agreed, AndyMac might have been back to normal with Teemu if he came back sometime mid-January or something, but the Ducks could have been out of a playoff position by then needing to get on a huge roll.

Weight is obviously, most likely going to be a rental and we missed out on a younger guy who we would have had for a couple more years in Andy... but this squad is built for winning NOW, and Weight might be the better fit for this squad as it stands. Plus we hopefully get the Perry resigning because of moving Mac.

Try listening to the Oilers radio play by play guy - talk about biased and bush league.

For a knowledgeable Canadian city their broadcasters are embarrassing!

Rod Philips has been the play-by-play guy for the Edmonton Oilers since 1973. He's called 7 Stanley Cup Finals and was the voice of arguably the greatest dynasty of the NHL. He may be a little biased after all these years but he's still regarded as one of the best in the business. You must have selective hearing because everything that comes out of Burke's mouth is embarrassing and bush league. :)

:sarcasm:


A bit of a break:sarcasm: was May's injury, he's been ineffective all season and getting Carter or Miller in for him makes us a better team.



Agreed May's injury really cleared the way especially for Miller he's probably the single reason for this win streak! I really dont know what the team would do without him. It kinda sucks that the playoff hope's come down to if Miller is healthy or not. May sucks!!!!:yo:

I <3 may

I :dunno: miller

Another debate on Miller?

Lets compromise. The team is winning...who cares?

Another debate on Miller?

Lets compromise. The team is winning...who cares?

But... I miss May.

But... I miss May.

I do too man. The guy is a trooper and he has a clearly delineated role that he understands. For 600K, you can't have a better player.

Carter has seemingly won a spot with his strong, tough play. I would alternate May/Miller based on winning/losing trends.

:sarcasm:

Mac's still a quality player and anybody who can see past his nose realised a key problem was the quality of his linemates. Bringing up Ryan has improved the 2nd line and if we had him all year our offense wouldn't have been so anemic in the first half.

A bit of a break:sarcasm: was May's injury, he's been ineffective all season and getting Carter or Miller in for him makes us a better team.

I see May and the Stanley Cup are to ride on Anaheim's Rose float on New Years Day - now I know why we signed him!!

Wow you are ****ing annoying now... You have to turn every thread into a May vs. Miller thread.

Bobby Ryan being on our 2nd line would not have made the offense better the whole year. It would have slowed his development and we would be in a much worse scenario now. Ryan even said that his time in the AHL and playing center did wonders for his game. IT CAME OUT OF HIS OWN MOUTH. Get that through your head.

Did you watch Carter and Miller befoe Scotty came back? They sucked. Carter has played very well lately, and I too would not switch the lines as long as the team keeps winning. If you think Carter being in for May has turned this team around you are just plain dumb. Scotty coming back has given this team so much more confidence, and it's obvious when watching the team.

We signed May because he was awesome for us in the playoffs and a solid 4th liner. I'll take him on my team any day of the week. Everyone here seems to agree but you, so please stop turning every thread into the same topic. God, now I wish I would have accepted the mod job so I could keep you from doing **** like this.

Rod Philips has been the play-by-play guy for the Edmonton Oilers since 1973. He's called 7 Stanley Cup Finals and was the voice of arguably the greatest dynasty of the NHL. He may be a little biased after all these years but he's still regarded as one of the best in the business. You must have selective hearing because everything that comes out of Burke's mouth is embarrassing and bush league. :)

For christ sakes, you were doing such a good job of throwing up an informative post, and then you toss it down the drain. I suppose it was a bit much to expect an entire post from an Oilers fan not to include some sort of petty remark.

Another debate on Miller?

Lets compromise. The team is winning...who cares?

Well, there's one thing eveyone can agree on

Miller and/or May > Balmochnykh

Yeah yeah, it's a stretch, but I'm getting really annoyed of the "Miller Sucks!" and "May sucks!" debates.

And I'm happy the Ducks are winning. A much better feeling.

Well, there's one thing eveyone can agree on

Miller and/or May > Balmochnykh

Yeah yeah, it's a stretch, but I'm getting really annoyed of the "Miller Sucks!" and "May sucks!" debates.

And I'm happy the Ducks are winning. A much better feeling.

I don't know, I still like Balmo's upside as a Gap Holiday Season Sweater Folder.

Rod Philips has been the play-by-play guy for the Edmonton Oilers since 1973. He's called 7 Stanley Cup Finals and was the voice of arguably the greatest dynasty of the NHL. He may be a little biased after all these years but he's still regarded as one of the best in the business. You must have selective hearing because everything that comes out of Burke's mouth is embarrassing and bush league. :)

You forgot to mention he's also in the Hockey Hall Of Fame - BTW he still sucks and I suspect he has an Oiler tatoo on his butt!:sarcasm:

Canadians - the hockey experts - should demand better!

Oh, Carter and Miller > May.:yo:

Are we undefeated with Brad May out of the lineup? I guess that physical play is being missed!:sarcasm:

Dude, give it up. I don't even know how you can gloat about Carter over May in a game where he didn't really do anything. He played less than 7 minutes, didn't play a shift in the 3rd when the game was tied and we needed something, and was pretty much invisible other than the penalty kill he put us on. Yes it was a huge hit, but it was penalized, costing the team a PK.

Yes I prefer Carter over May long term, because Carter has versatility and potential to be anywhere from a (lower tier) 2nd line center to a 4th line center. But if tonight's game was game 7 of the SCF, I know who I'd want in the lineup, and his name doesn't start with C.

Brad May fills the 4th line spot better than Ryan Carter. May isn't as good offensively, or even defensively, but on the few shifts he does play he helps keep the puck in the other zone, forechecks well, lays the body, and often changes the momentum. As long as it's restricted to minimal minutes, I want May out there over Carter. And I don't want the 4th line playing more because that means the 3 much better lines are losing icetime.

And if you're going to compare them, at least wait until a game where whoever you're pimping actually does something positive. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, for example, I think Carter had pretty strong games. Otherwise you're just sounding petty and biased.

Edit: And one final thing. In the end, who the hell cares who's better? Even if ____ is 2 times better than May, it's not like either of them are going to get enough ice time to do anything. Because the other 3 lines will still be better and take all the ice time. Why waste all the energy arguing over a possible improvement that won't make any real difference?

I hope you are joking with all of the may bashing you do, not many people would agree with you that carter or miller make a bigger impact than may does.

The whole comparing of E-peens that goes on between the miller fanboys and those of you who get a boner from fighters like parros is getting pretty old.

Dude, give it up. I don't even know how you can gloat about Carter over May in a game where he didn't really do anything. He played less than 7 minutes, didn't play a shift in the 3rd when the game was tied and we needed something, and was pretty much invisible other than the penalty kill he put us on. doesn't start with C.

Edit: And one final thing. In the end, who the hell cares who's better? Even if ____ is 2 times better than May, it's not like either of them are going to get enough ice time to do anything. Because the other 3 lines will still be better and take all the ice time. Why waste all the energy arguing over a possible improvement that won't make any real difference?

These two comments should put an end to the Miller/Carter vs. May debate.