midseason progress report

It's been 41 games, so the team is halfway through the season. They're 2 games above .500, at 19-17-5. How do you think they've played?

I've decided to do a little grading thing on the players. I'm a harsh grader. It's based on what I expected the player to do this season. C means they did as well as I expected, that's the baseline grade. In fact, if everyone got Cs, then we should have a good year (I expected the team to get around 4th or 5th in the West).

Forwards:

Getzlaf- A. I expected him to take a slight step back from the playoff form, but he's pretty much maintained that form. Although he's been dropped somewhat from penalty killing, it's because we're counting on his offense more than ever. Needs to work on faceoffs.
Perry- A-. I expected a huge jump in Perry's play, and he's delivered. He's become the goal-scoring threat I expected out of him. Even more so, actually.
Bertuzzi- D. Tough grade, because I was actually expecting him to be a failure. I expected the injuries, so he doesn't get marked down that much for that. Although I expected more out of him in the games he did play. He's picked it up as of late, although I think that's mostly because he gets the coveted Getzlaf-Perry spot. We need more offense out of him to succeed. And shoot the ****ing puck!
Kunitz- C-. Kunitz has done well on Getzlaf's wing, and is the only reliable non-twin scorer. But I expected him to produce more offensively on his own, as the anchor for the 2nd line. Basically I expected the same numbers out of him but to have done it on the 2nd line instead of taking up the 1st line wing. He's done well providing the grit and defense though.
McDonald- D-. I expected a point drop out of him, and was worried about how there wasn't a sniper for the 2nd line, but I still hoped for something between him and Kunitz. Alas.
Weight- C+. He's done pretty well, he's the current 2nd line keystone. I want more points of of him, but I see a lot of nice plays and passes that people aren't expecting. I think the production will increase when his linemates get used to his play. He's also better defensively than I was expecting.
Ryan- C+. His grade is artificially high because I expected him to be in Portland, so he's exceeding my expectations. But I want the team to acquire some veteran secondary scoring and to send him down. He's still getting lost at times.
Moen- D. Moen's performed alright, but I had big expectations out of him. After the playoffs I thought he could pick it up offensively and maybe even play with the twins. Carlyle didn't want to split him from the checking line, but he's regressed offensively, even more so than his linemates. And his PK has stepped back. I don't have numbers, but I feel like it's mostly the 2nd unit that has performed poorly on the PK.
Pahlsson- C-. He's been very good, but hasn't been quite as lockdown on the PK as last year. I think it's due to the injury. He's still dominating ES though. He's also regressed offensively, along with this entire line.
Niedermayer- C-. Niedermayer's played pretty well. He's been on the PP some, and hasn't really done much with it, but that's more a team depth fault. He hasn't done well in terms of being a calming leader though, he was the best candidate for that in Scotty's absence.
May- C-. Done pretty much as asked. Although fewer momentum changing shifts than I would like.
Marchant- D+. PK has taken a step back. Maybe 2. He also didn't step up at all offensively when they tried him on the 2nd line (although that was expected).
Parros- A-. Most improved player on the team. Still needs to work on balance, but he's actually providing something out there. Hits, decent cycle, energy. He's not a liability on the ice anymore.
Miller- D. I expected him to either serve as an apprentice on the checking line or be the defensive-minded presence on the top line. Or maybe alternating with May depending on the opponent while learning the PK. But he's been scratched a lot recently, and hasn't done anything to warrant more time. Might as well send him to Portland so he can polish up and contribute later.


Defense:

Pronger- C-. He's played quite well offensively, but I think he's taken a half step back from last year.
O'Donnell- C+. He's done well as Pronger's partner.
Beauchemin- D. He still sucks up the ice time, and a lot of his decreased numbers is because he's gone from a great partner to crap for large stretches because of Schneider's injury. But I notice him getting beat one-on-one a lot more, whereas last year he was so solid he could cover for Niedermayer's pinches. I think he's also a big reason for the weakened PK. But he's done about as expected offensively, even if the team was hoping for a slight improvement with Niedermayer "gone."
Niedermayer- I'm not gonna grade on 7 games.
Schneider- C. I'd say he's done pretty well when he's played. And he's had fewer giveaways than I expected. But the injury hurts his grade, back down to a C. He's really cooled off offensively as of late, though, after the torrid start. With such a weak offense, we need more goals out of him.
Hnidy- D+. I expected more out of him. He had a horrible start, but has been decent since. But he had performed quite well last year as a 2nd pairing defenseman on a weak Atlanta defense, I was hoping he could anchor the 3rd pair and fill in the 2nd pair for injuries. He didn't step up while Schneider was out.
Huskins- B+. 2nd most improved player on the team. Extremely solid, it seems like the coaches have taken off the chains and allowed him to roam more and he's made good decisions. On the verge of being a 2nd pairing guy.
DiPenta- C. Meh. He gets beat wide consistently, but I expect that out of him. Standard #7. Although he gets the memorable play of the year award with that breakaway out of the box against SJ. Damn I wish someone had recorded that.


Goalies:

Giguere- D+. He's played decently, and I don't think he's really lost the team any games. Well maybe like 1 or 2. But he hasn't stolen many games either. And with the big pay raise, he really needed to be stealing games when the team was floundering.
Hiller- D-. He looks like a bad Giguere. As in he plays the same style, but isn't nearly as consistent and lets in soft goals. I know we couldn't risk him leaving because Bryzgalov was going to leave, but I'd really have preferred that they wait some and let Hiller get used to the angles in the AHL. He really needs to improve quickly, I don't want Giguere to be overplayed because we can't trust the backup. Because injuries is Jiggy's biggest weakness.
Bryzgalov- C. <Shrug>.


Maybe I should have graded them based on expectations of the projected lineup positions, since my personal expectations of a few (Moen, Miller, Bertuzzi) were probably unusual. Whatever.

I'd say the team's biggest problem in the 1st half was lack of a 2nd line, poor penalty killing by the 2nd unit (especially Marchant and Beauchemin), and no calming leadership. Hopefully Niedermayer and Weight can provide the leadership, and improved fit of playing style on the 2nd line can lead to increased production. But I'd still like a mid-tier rental vet to kick Ryan/Miller/Carter out of the lineup. Sorry kids, we want to win now and you can still learn some in the AHL.

Damn, that's a long post.

Pronger and Pahlsson have been excelent.

Pahlsson has, Pronger's only been very good.

But I had very high expectations for both of them, and both of them have not been as good as last year. Pronger, if he had played a full year, might have had a Norris, but he's not done quite as well with the added pressure of losing Scotty (until now). Pahlsson, who probably should have had a Selke, has produced less offense and, more importantly, been a little weaker on PK. Below expectations = less than a C by the scale I made.

My quick list:

Thumbs up: Progressing
Huskins
Parros
Getzlaf

Thumbs down: regressing
Giguere
Macdonald (when he was here)
Beauchemin

Getzlaf- A. Overall our best player
Perry- A. 2nd best. Breakout offensive year.
Bertuzzi- F+. Having a bad offensive year. Moments of brilliance, but overall a bad, expensive signing.
Kunitz- D+. Hasn't been what I expected. Then again, he's lost his linemates.
McDonald-F. The fact that he was traded tells the story.
Weight- B-. He's been better than I expected and has been a good influence on Ryan.
Ryan- C. Offensively and defensively, he is what I expected. Growing pains.
Moen- D. Down year after a clutch playoff
Pahlsson- D+. Hasn't been as good offensively or defensively.
Niedermayer- D+. Has been alright, but the whole line hasn't done as well as expected.
May- C. About what I expected. Not much offense, a few fights...the one with Boogaard impressed.
Marchant- C. Has been okay.
Parros- B+. Yeah, probably one of our most improved players. Has shown much better than expected offensive ability.
Miller- C.


Defense:

Pronger- D-. Has dissappointed in leadership and on ice performance. When you're the captain of the SC champs, and your 2 games above .500 at the halfway mark, you are disappointing.
O'Donnell- C. About right for him.
Beauchemin- C+. I've thought he's been good.
Niedermayer- F. Cut class for most of the semester. F.
Schneider- B+. Really gave the team a lift when he came into the lineup.
Hnidy- C.
Huskins- C. He's been performing at about the level of last year.
DiPenta- D-. Sucks. But the bar wasn't that high for him anyways.


Goalies:

Giguere- D-. Has let in a lot of soft goals. Pulled his grade up a little recently.
Hiller- D-. Not that good of a backup.



Overall team: D-.

My quick list:

Thumbs up: Progressing
Huskins
Parros
Getzlaf

Thumbs down: regressing
Giguere
Macdonald (when he was here)
Beauchemin
You consistently have the hottest avatars ever.

* Getzlaf- Improving, allready the best offensive player on this team. A
* Perry- Same as his twin, would like to see a little more agitating from him, great finisher A+
* Bertuzzi- I think he's finally coming along after the crap start. Starting play physical, going to the net and showing some offense C-
* Kunitz- Tough player to rank, hasnt shown as much physical play as last season. Andy Mac sucked this year as well. C+
* McDonald- Didnt do much this year F
* Weight- I like what he's done so far, good leader and if he had a finisher on his line i could see more points B+
* Ryan- Came back from the AHL with some motivation and showed some skills that we hope continue B-
* Moen-The shutdown line hasnt been the same but Moen seems to be the one thats playing the best D of all our forwards B
* Pahlsson- His Injury problems have killing that line all year C-
* Niedermayer- Wouldnt mind seeing Sutherby replace him next year that all depends on what Scotty Does. D-
* May- Fighting more then last year, but May shines in the playoffs B-
* Marchant- The worst contract on this team right now, very serviceable .player too bad its not at 1.5 mill B-
* Parros- Saw some 2nd line duty alreay :amazed: Im ranking based on other enforcers Fighting skills improved,offensive skills improved A+
* Miller- No physical play, no offense, no size, average defensive skills, F-
* Carter- Provides some energy, can skate, hit, take faceoffs, wouldnt mind this as Marchants replacement. No real offensive skills shown B-
*Sutherby - Energy but injured way too much. D-


Defense:

* Pronger- Could he be getting worn out? Still the best shot on this team and has done some good things. B-
* O'Donnell- Nothing bad too say about him. Took a hometown discount, doesnt make mistake, probably the Toughest D-man on this team B+
* Beauchemin- Physical play/hitting way down, offense down C-
* Niedermayer- Did have that win streak when he returned C+
* Schneider- Best Dman on this team so far A-
* Hnidy- Good hitting, decent skater and shown some decent offensive instincts great 6 d-man B+
* Huskins- Too fancy at time, good skater, his shot gets blocked too much at the point, bad penalties at time C-
* DiPenta- Perfect injury fill-in D-man C-


Goalies:

* Giguere- Seems fatigued from last 2 years, hopefully that payday hasnt stopped his intensity. C-
* Hiller- Ugh wish Bryz was still here

My take on this is short. Despite everyone claiming there is no cup hangover, there is.

I can handle bad production, but when there is often a lack of effort in the game, it is unexcuseable.

Getz and Perry have played well, but even they have suffered a little bit of laziness.

The sad part is, with so many talented players still on this squad, no one is stepping up and trying to carry this team. Not Giggy, Not Pronger, Not Schnieder.

There can be all kinds of excuses about a lack of a sniper or whatever, but there's enough guys on this team who should be putting the puck in the net to have a much better record.

We have been killed with terrible powerplays and terrible penalty kills. If those were better, this team would have a great record. This team needs to get creative.

IMO, the team has been soft this year compared to last. Some games im like wth are we trying to play like detroit and register some 10 hits a game. I.E. The past 2 games, it seemed that we got outplayed physically in both. I understand the 2nd game cuz of fatigue i guess:shakehead.

Getz and Perry have seemed lazy at times as well, but i believe they will always have that cuz they have had that rap coming up. Bertuzzi needs to score about 20 goals in the 2nd half to justify the signing of him.

our 2nd line is weak, plain and simple whoever plays on that line seems to suck, i hope that weight can get some chemistry w/whoever he plays with.

our shut down line is still real legit, no matter who plays there i thought marchant did a fine job in pahlsson's past absent lets see how he does tonight. Moen is playing good IMO real physical, the only constant physical presence besides Parros.

our 4th line is ok, at least recently they have stopped taking dumb penatlies and carlyle has rewarded them with more time cuz our 2nd line can't do ****.

Our D has been solid i would say, the problem has been in between the pipes. Giguere has never been flashy but it seems he has had to be more times this year already than before cuz he seems out of position alot:thumbd:. His GAA isn't horrible, but at times we need him to make a quality save early and he doesn't do it causing us to play catchup which we can't do anymore.

Special teams - terrible in comparison to last year, but we can't expect the PK to get much better killing off 8 penatlies a game and 2/3 5-3's. Our PP needs to get better, we gotta capitalize on the opportunities cuz of ES goals are not coming.

In order for us to make the playoffs it has been speculated we need some 52+ points which wont happen if we don't start being gritty again(HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT), not taking stupidass lazy or stick penalties, we need better goaltending period. Also, we are gonna need alot more scoring from the blue line to help our scoring.

We just gotta make the playoffs, after that so long we don't play detroit first round, we should be able to compete for a cup again!

Getzlaf- A. Overall our best player
Perry- A. 2nd best. Breakout offensive year.
Bertuzzi- F+. Having a bad offensive year. Moments of brilliance, but overall a bad, expensive signing.
Kunitz- D+. Hasn't been what I expected. Then again, he's lost his linemates.
McDonald-F. The fact that he was traded tells the story.
Weight- B-. He's been better than I expected and has been a good influence on Ryan.
Ryan- C. Offensively and defensively, he is what I expected. Growing pains.
Moen- D. Down year after a clutch playoff
Pahlsson- D+. Hasn't been as good offensively or defensively.
Niedermayer- D+. Has been alright, but the whole line hasn't done as well as expected.
May- C. About what I expected. Not much offense, a few fights...the one with Boogaard impressed.
Marchant- C. Has been okay.
Parros- B+. Yeah, probably one of our most improved players. Has shown much better than expected offensive ability.
Miller- C.


Defense:

Pronger- D-. Has dissappointed in leadership and on ice performance. When you're the captain of the SC champs, and your 2 games above .500 at the halfway mark, you are disappointing.
O'Donnell- C. About right for him.
Beauchemin- C+. I've thought he's been good.
Niedermayer- F. Cut class for most of the semester. F.
Schneider- B+. Really gave the team a lift when he came into the lineup.
Hnidy- C.
Huskins- C. He's been performing at about the level of last year.
DiPenta- D-. Sucks. But the bar wasn't that high for him anyways.


Goalies:

Giguere- D-. Has let in a lot of soft goals. Pulled his grade up a little recently.
Hiller- D-. Not that good of a backup.



Overall team: D-.

I generally agree with this.

In all, I'd give the team a general C- grade. So far they haven't been bad enough to be out of a potential playoff spot, but they aren't the same team that was just hitting, playing tough and just being dominant. All is not lost yet, but if the Ducks stay in the same spot that they are in now come the end of February, I may start to worry.

Everybody bagged on me when I said re-signing Kunitz so early was bad. If we didn't maybe we could have locked up Perry for the same price. Or at least locked him up at all. At least by now.

Forwards: Getzlaf- A Best player on the team. Perry- B** Needs to cut down on the dumb penaltiesOtherwise he has been outstanding. Bertuzzi- F.* We thought he might replace Selanne?* Boy were we wrong. What a lazy player he is. Kunitz- B.* Solid 2 way player.* With his contract some expected more but he is a steady and reliable forward. McDonald- C- Sad to see him go. The off season signing really affecting Mac more than anyone else. We were slow now we are the Anaheim Turtles.* Glad to see he has performed well in St. Louis.* First Class human being!. Weight- C+.* Good player, especially considering the linemates he's been given. Ryan- C-Coaching staff obviously has zero faith in him. Seems when the team is struggling it is Ryan who gets benched. Should be in Portland. Moen- D.* A star in the playoffs and a dud this season. Enough said. Pahlsson- C. We need more offense from Sami! Niedermayer- C* Great defensive player and outstanding along the boards. Why is he on the PP again? May- D-. Useless regular season player. If we make the playoffs though his battering ram style will come in handy again. Marchant- D Bye bye Todd. Parros- B-.* Avoids dumb penalties. Can he not teach the others? Miller- D.Considering his ice time he has done what I would expect. Will be a solid 2 way player in the future.Defense: Pronger- C-.* He has NOT provided the leadership required from a captain. O'Donnell- B+.* Our most reliable Dman this year.. Beauchemin- D.*For some reason he seems to have lost focus this season. His aggression for the most part has not been there. Niedermayer-* A Our best dman by far! Schneider-* B.*Without him we'd have no chance for the playoffs. Lets hope he stays healthy! Hnidy-* C+.* I* think he has done well with the exception of the 2 games in London. Huskins-* B+.* Good skating, solid dman. Top 4? Not sure yet, he has struggled as of late. DiPenta- C* Good 6-7 dman. Does all you can ask for an extra player.Goalies: Giguere- D+.*We need more from Giggy. Hiller- D-.* Bryz was better nough said.

* Parros- Saw some 2nd line duty alreay :amazed: Im ranking based on other enforcers Fighting skills improved,offensive skills improved A+

Do you mean you give Parros an A+ based on his fighting, or an A+ based on his hockey ability considering he's an enforcer? Because while his fighting is much improved, I still think he's not that good of a fighter. He's improved from terrible (on the Kings) to below average (last year) to a mediocre heavyweight (now) in my eyes.

And it looks like I forgot Sutherby. He's done well enough when he's been in, but I dislike the trade because I'm worried about that groin. I was kind of hoping he'd be able to fill in with Getzlaf and Perry while the team waited for a rental (like a more offensive but less gritty May), but it doesn't look like he can do it. D because of my higher expectations and the injuries.

IMO, the team has been soft this year compared to last. Some games im like wth are we trying to play like detroit and register some 10 hits a game. I.E. The past 2 games, it seemed that we got outplayed physically in both. I understand the 2nd game cuz of fatigue i guess:shakehead.


I agree with you on this point, but it seems we've taken a lot of dumb penalties this years and couldn't back it up on the PK like last year.

Although they are improving on the PK but not so much on the PP.

I give the whole team as of this point a C- based on the standings and who they've lost to.

How would folks rate the coaching staff?

I'd say C-.* They need to insist on more discipline from the players to cut down on penalty minutes. Many players have taken bad penalties but the only guy who seemed to get punished was Perry.

Also the choice of the 2nd powerplay unit is sometimes bizarre.

Do you mean you give Parros an A+ based on his fighting, or an A+ based on his hockey ability considering he's an enforcer? Because while his fighting is much improved, I still think he's not that good of a fighter. He's improved from terrible (on the Kings) to below average (last year) to a mediocre heavyweight (now) in my eyes.

And it looks like I forgot Sutherby. He's done well enough when he's been in, but I dislike the trade because I'm worried about that groin. I was kind of hoping he'd be able to fill in with Getzlaf and Perry while the team waited for a rental (like a more offensive but less gritty May), but it doesn't look like he can do it. D because of my higher expectations and the injuries.

I ranked him an A+ compared to other enforcers. He will fight anyone and does not turn down fights, i think he's much better then a mediocre fighter this year he's not elite but his win over Boogard showed a lot.

Jiggy: D- ( bryz is outplaying him with a way worse defense in front of him)

Team overall: D+ ( we are going to need an 8 game win streak to even beging thinking about playoffs.)

I don't have grades, i think everyone has different expectations of the players. But one glaring fact:

as of last night, Ducks are 29th in avg goals scored per game(30th is EDM). That pretty much sums up the entire 1st half.

I think both our lines look more dangerous offensively though than they did at the start of the season. A healthy Bertuzzi on the first line is better than Kunitz, and now we actually have a second line. Bobby Ryan doesn't look amazing, but he looks dangerous at times, Weight is adding more than McDonald was and Kunitz is better than whatever scrub we were putting at LW.

When the checking line gets healthy, and Giguere finds his groove, we should be shutting teams down regularly. Doesn't it seem like Getzlaf is getting pretty unlucky too scoring goals?

^^^^^66^bout getz he hits a lot of pipes like the latest shootout loss when he could have won the game but he hit the post and we ended up losing

Team overall: D+ ( we are going to need an 8 game win streak to even beging thinking about playoffs.)

Having actually looked at the standings, we are in the 8th slot. Given the fact that all the teams behind us are playing sub .500 hockey, we can think about playoff hockey now. We need to do about 7-8 games over .500 for this last half of the season and we will be in the 5-7 slots. Most important are winning over the teams in the conference that are below us without going into OT. Tonight is one of them.

I give the team a C. Average. There are some standouts like Getz, Perry, Huskins which have shown improvement over last year. Kunitz has disappeared, Proger is mailing it in, no one can shoot, still taking STOOOOPID fouls. Offensive fouls for crying out loud!

There is a Stanley Cup Hangover, for most everyone just lifted the cup 6 months ago. There is not the 'fire' of having never won it and having the chance that there was before. Everyone on the Ducks is playing out the season to get into the playoffs and nothing more. Expect a late season run to secure the 5-7 slot and then last years team will show up with all the fire and should get into the conference finals.

Forwards:
Getzlaf- A+ He hits he scores he passes Sttickhandles AMAZING
Perry- A Goals
Bertuzzi-
Kunitz- He misses teemu more than me. He doing fine though.
McDonald- F not that it matters
Weight- B See Ryan
Ryan- B Bertuzzi-Weight-Ryan Big Boy Pinball
Moen- Really hasn't he done enough. B worked hard without Pahlsson
Pahlsson- A* when healthy
Niedermayer- C Should be on the Power Play
May- C Grade A Badass not really
Marchant- D Salary thats all.
Parros- A is for Awesome


Defense:
Pronger- B see odonnell
O'Donnell- B see pronger
Beauchemin- B Still makes me happy and the accent doesn't hurt,
Niedermayer- F as in no "F"fort
Schneider- A Really helped when he was healthy.
Hnidy- F horrible deal
Huskins- B I like him.


Goalies:
Giguere-Hiller I can't judge either.
Bryz- Amazing for Phoenix

Getzlaf: - A
Perry: A-
Kunitz: B-
Betuzzi: C-
Weight: C+
Ryan: C+/B-
Sami: A-
Rob: B
Moen: C
Parros: B+
May: C
Carter: B+
Miller: D
Sutherby: D
Marchant: F (Does nothing)

Pronger: A-
Niedermayer: []
Beachemin: FFF---
Schnieder: B-
OD: B-
Huskins: B+
Dipenta: A (SOLID)

Giguere: C
Hiller: D-

When I make these ratings, I'm not saying Dipenta is better than Huskins or Schnieder, it's mostly based on expectations going into this season.

I'm not going to rate players individually but as a whole we are average so I would give us a C. There are alot of areas I am not that happy with such as special teams, our inability to score at times mainly because we are so damn slow, inconsistant goaltending.

I would say Pronger, Perry and Getzlaf are the only players I would say that for the most part have played up to expectations on a consistant basis, even including Prongers slow start.

Getzlaf: - A - nothing wrong
Perry: - A - outstanding
Kunitz: - C - needs to find a linemate
Betuzzi: - C - I need to see him consistently on the scoreboard with Getz and Perry before I drop him to an F.
Weight: - C - needs to help settle down that second line
Ryan: - C - needs to shoot more
Sami: - A - cornerstone to the delay-of-game line
Rob: - D - don't we have someone else that can be filler?
Moen: - C - dude has had plenty of scoring chances (especially tonight), needs to start burying something
Parros: - D - maybe he's a better fighter and is skating better, but that really doesn't help the team.
May: - F - anyone wanna trade for 7th rounder? waste of money and space so far this season
Carter: - C/B - We'll see how well he continues
Miller: - C - meh
Sutherby: - C - Hoped he come in here and find a home on the top 2 lines and break out... waste of space until he finds a spot on a line or we lose our other filler guys to injury or trade
Marchant: - C - Earns too much, but reliable filler

Pronger: - A - been ok, has scored some big goals lately
Niedermayer: - F - I don't think we're that much better with him in the lineup right now, especially because of the cap hit for him AND his brother combined...
Beachemin: - D - needs to start hitting.
Schnieder: - B - solid B
O'Donnel: - B - solid
Huskins: - B - I remember our 3rd D-pair getting rolled at times during the playoffs, especially on the road. Nice to have this guy around.
Dipenta: - C - Didn't we trade him for a 4th line checker yet?

Giguere: - B - I want to be harsh on Jiggy, but he really hasn't had a terrible season. So often the Ducks are caught standing around while speedster forwards are jumping on pucks and past defenders... If I needed to fix 1 thing on this team to make it better, he would not be anywhere near a top priority.
Hiller: - ?? - I always miss the games he starts

Same things that have been said countless times. Ducks need to play with more effort/energy. Ducks need to put the puck in the net more. Ducks need to do better on the PK and PP.

Outside of Getz/Perry, nothing on this team scares an opponent. They move the puck slow during the PP... just line up your d-men for the expected point shot....

Their second line can't score consistently...

Don't worry about getting checked, just come into the Duck's zone and someone is goina just poke at your stick...

Having actually looked at the standings, we are in the 8th slot. Given the fact that all the teams behind us are playing sub .500 hockey, we can think about playoff hockey now. We need to do about 7-8 games over .500 for this last half of the season and we will be in the 5-7 slots. Most important are winning over the teams in the conference that are below us without going into OT. Tonight is one of them.

I give the team a C. Average. There are some standouts like Getz, Perry, Huskins which have shown improvement over last year. Kunitz has disappeared, Proger is mailing it in, no one can shoot, still taking STOOOOPID fouls. Offensive fouls for crying out loud!

There is a Stanley Cup Hangover, for most everyone just lifted the cup 6 months ago. There is not the 'fire' of having never won it and having the chance that there was before. Everyone on the Ducks is playing out the season to get into the playoffs and nothing more. Expect a late season run to secure the 5-7 slot and then last years team will show up with all the fire and should get into the conference finals.

i know, but most teams have played 4-5 less games than us. An i have to assume for the worse. So assuming they keep playing 500 we should still need a win streak to catch up to htem