Familiarity breeds contempt and for the Ducks and Kings, there is plenty of contempt.

In the first meeting of the season on Tuesday night, the two teams showed why they are both at the top of the Pacific Division and the NHL to a standing room only Honda Center. 

The game took not only overtime, but a nine round shootout to finally decide who got the three points.  When all was said and done, Los Angeles walked out of the building with two points in the 3-2 defeat of Anaheim.  

Were it not for Jonas Hiller, who stopped 49 out of 51 shots on goal, the Ducks would not have even garnered a point out of the affair. 

"We got in the lanes and got a lot of blocks and everything else, but it's just the whole … it's the work ethic," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "The work ethic has got to get a lot better.  When you have the opportunity on your stick, whether you deserve to win the game or not, you’ve got to put it away."

Hiller could not stop everything and Jeff Carter put the Kings on the board at 7:05 of the second period.    Ryan Getzlaf got his 14th of the year to tie up the game less than a minute later at 7:51. 

The Ducks had their first lead of the evening on a power play goal from Corey Perry at 2:14 of the third. 

Clearly both teams were pretty close, as evidenced when Dustin Brown tied up the game again at 5:43.  Nothing else changed for the remainder of regulation, despite good chances on both sides.  Overtime did nothing to solve the impasse either.

Time for a shootout at the Honda corral.  But both Hiller and Martin Jones, who made his NHL debut for the Kings, were deflecting pucks like the Matrix. 

Usually these things are decided in three rounds, with an occasional extra thrown in every now and again.  Not these two teams.  For eight rounds, Hiller was perfect, with a seemingly different move for each save made.  Jones was equally steadfast with nothing going in behind him. 

By round nine, both sides had gone through a good portion of their shooters.  Finally Dwight King got one past Hiller.  Jones stayed firm against Mathieu Perreault to give the Kings the extra point and the win.

"It’s tough to lose that way," said Hiller. "I don’t know if he missed the shot a little bit, but it kind of caught me right between the pad and my glove. It’s a tough one. All you can do as a goalie is make as many stops as you can, and hope the guys up front score at some point."

So instead of making any kind of separation in the standings, everyone stands firm.  The Ducks are still second in the Pacific Division, behind San Jose, and the Kings are just one point behind Anaheim.

"You want to put teams behind you," said Nick Bonino, who recently signed a three year contract extension worth $5.7 million. "Our division has five teams in the top-nine in the West. It’s a tough division to get out of. It’s a fun division to play in because of that. But games like these, tight games, we need to close out if we have a lead in the third, or if we have chances to win in a shootout."

This is just game one of a four game series between the two clubs.  Game #2 will be on January 23, in Anaheim, just two days before meeting up at Dodger Stadium for the Stadium Series game.   The final meeting will not be until March, but by then there will be even more familiarity....and contempt.

The Ducks now get a couple days off before meeting up with Chicago (who lead the NHL) on Friday and St. Louis (also contending in the West) on Saturday.

 

San Jose and Anaheim, the two top teams in the Pacific Division, battled it out on Saturday and in the end, San Jose came out on top in shootout.   Barely.

Both teams were playing the second of back to back games, but they had plenty of energy for each other.

Corey Perry put the Ducks on the board first at 5:56 of the first period.  The Ducks were able to take that lead into the locker room, something Sharks opponents have not had much chance to do this season.

The Sharks tied up the game in the second period at 4:16 with a goal from Logan Couture.   A power play gave the Ducks the chance to get back the lead until Jonas Hiller made a serious fumble. 

Hiller came way out of the net with the intent to clear the puck.  He did.  Right into the middle of the ice and into the path of an on-coming Sharks player.   Unless he was the proud owner of an instant transporter, Hiller had no chance of getting back into net.    Patrick Marleau was credited with the exceptionally easy short handed goal at 10:13 and San Jose had their first lead.

"I don't know if it was a turning point," said Hiller, who made 32 saves.  "Sure it's a tough goal to give up.   I don't know if I missed it or if the puck just jumped when I wanted to play it.  It's a tough one."

San Jose extended the lead to 3-1 late in the period when Martin Havlat put another puck behind Hiller at 19:03. 

The Ducks refused to give up and continued to persevere in the third period. 

Defenseman Alex Grant, called up from Norfolk due to an injury depleted blue line, got his first goal in his first ever NHL game at 12:50. 

"I was just trailing [Nick] Bonino and he made a nice pass," said said. "I wanted to get it off quick and on net, and it went in. I had 11 friends and family in the seats tonight. It was unbelievable. I can just imagine how they’re feeling."

With the Ducks now within one goal, they were further energized.   Their hard work was rewarded when Ben Lovejoy got another one past Antti Niemi at 16:54 to tie up the game.

"We said between periods that if we get one [goal], we’ll get two," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "We were right there. They had a 3-1 lead, but it’s still within the distance where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. When Alex Grant scored, I thought there was a really good chance we’d tie it. I thought we were going to win it in regulation because the adrenaline was flowing pretty good."

The Ducks came close in regulation and again in the overtime period, but Niemi would not yield anything else. 

Niemi, who made 28 saves in the game, was perfect in the shootout, stopping Perry, Bonino and Kyle Palmieri.   

Hiller only allowed one goal from Joe Pavelski, an odd one that was in question for its legitimacy as Pavelski turned on the brakes and appeared to stop in front of Hiller before resuming and shooting the puck. 

"It's not a vague rule, but it's a weird rule," said Boudreau. "You are allowed to stop, but the puck is not allowed to stop. He came to a dead stop, but they OK'd it in Toronto, and they get to watch it on replay, so I guess the puck didn't stop it's forward motion."

The goal was good and it was enough to give the Sharks the extra point and the edge in the Pacific Division.

"I think it was a great effort to come back in the third," said Hiller.  "But its tough that we couldn't win it."

The Ducks have a couple days of rest before meeting up with the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday for the first time this season.

In other notes:  Teemu Selanne earned a rest day and did not even travel with the team to San Jose after playing the day before against Calgary.

You have to feel sorry for the Calgary Flames.  If nothing else, as a Ducks fan, you certainly have to empathize with them. 

The Flames have come into the Honda Center 18 times now and 18 times the Ducks have won.  This goes back to January 19, 2004.  A decade of suffering in a building that seems impossible to win in, with the latest loss coming the day after Thanksgiving in a 5-2 drubbing.

Every time Anaheim visits the Joe Louis Arena, they get the same feeling.   Four wins in 20 years.  Calgary has had three wins in Anaheim. 

It isn't as if the teams have rolled over and handed their opponent an easy victory.  There is just something about the mojo in the building. 

Regardless of who their opponent was, the Ducks were just happy for a victory after a 6-3 loss in Dallas on Tuesday night.

"We were in a position where we needed a good rebound game," said Ryan Getzlaf.

Rebound they did.  The Ducks dominated for the majority of the game, outshooting the Flames 42-21. 

Sami Vatanen got his third goal of the year at 12:20 of the first period to get the scoring started.  The assists came from Andrew Cogliano and Saku Koivu, who was back on the ice for the first time since suffering a concussion more than a month ago.

"I felt physically pretty good," said Koivu, who ended up with two assists on the evening, rejuvenating the second line again.  "You can only get into contact so much in practice.  I felt fine.  We have a second tough game Saturday, so hopefully things remain well."

The Ducks did not take much time to make it 2-0 with Corey Perry tipping in an easy shot from Ben Lovejoy at 13:14.  The puck slipped through Swiss goalie Reto Berra's legs and into the net.

Dustin Penner got his first of two goals at 3:52 of the second period on the power play.   Getzlaf shot the puck and Penner tucked it in behind a wide open Berra.

The problem with the Ducks dominating at one end, it left Frederik Andersen a little lonely at the other end with not much work to do.  Sometimes it is easier to get in the zone when you are being shot at consistently. 

Former Ducks defensive prospect, Ladislav Smid, put Calgary on the board at 5:51 with a puck that just barely snuck behind Andersen.  Andersen had sprawled back, gloving the puck and tossing it out, but not before it crossed the blue line.  It was a quick review to confirm the goal. 

The Ducks regained the three goal lead with Cogliano's seventh of the season.  He took the shot and took the hit into board as well, not even able to see the puck go in, but he knew it was good when the horn blew and the crowd cheered.

Calgary got a little life and finished off the period well.  David Jones made it 4-2 at 12:17 after seeming to catch Andersen unprepared for a shot (it had been a while, who could blame him?) After that Calgary had a wee burst of energy and finished off the period strong and looking dangerous.  It didn't last.

Penner's second of the game at 11:26 of the third period saw the end of Berra in net for Calgary.  Kari Ramo came in relief, although by then the damage had been done and the game was over. 

"Obviously, playing with Getzlaf and Perry, and the way we read off of each other, we’re opportunistic," said Penner, who has five goals in the past three games. "It’s not like I’ve been doing anything different. I still have the same mindset I’ve had the past two years.  I’m getting more of an opportunity now."

Not much consolation for bitter Kings fans, who saw Penner score a total of 11 goals in 117 games.  Penner has 9 in 21 for Anaheim. 

"When you're a happy hockey player, you do things better than when you're not a happy hockey player," was coach Bruce Boudreau's assessment of Penner's success. 

Clearly Anaheim is not just Teemu Selanne's happy place.

So now the Ducks head up to San Jose for the second of back to back games, currently tied with them for the Pacific Division lead.

"It’s going to let us know where we are in the next four games," said Boudreau. "San Jose, Los Angeles, Chicago and St. Louis are the top-four teams in the league. It’ll give us a real good barometer of where we’re at. In that sense, we’re looking forward to seeing where we’re at."

Ouch.  The 6-3 rout of the Ducks by the Dallas Stars hurt.   It was the three goals in three shots in less than a minute in the third period that did Anaheim in. 

For the first two periods of play, things looked good.  Emerson Etem scored at 6:06 of the first period to give the Ducks the early lead. 

They held on to that lead until midway through the second period when Antoine Roussel got his first of two goals at 13:13.    Anaheim persisted and got back the lead late when Nick Bonino made it 2-1 with :36 seconds left.

Then came the third period. 

It was a 1-2-3 punch that knocked out the Ducks and sent them reeling.      First Cody Eakin scored at 5:25.   Stephane Robidas gave Dallas the lead just :25 seconds later.  And if you thought the horn in Dallas had blown enough, :28 seconds later Ryan Garbutt, who was suspended after these two teams met the last time for head hunting Dustin Penner, made it 4-2. 

So much for Jonas Hiller looking stellar, as he had in the previous two games, when he shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning and allowed only two goals in Phoenix.   This 27 save performance looked a lot more pedestrian.

"We were still talking on the bench about, 'OK, it's a tie game, let's get this thing under control,' said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "And next it's 3-2.  It just went boom, boom.  We just go with some inexperienced guys out there and they go brain dead for a bit."

To say the Ducks are having injury issues would be an understatement.  The defense has been decimated.  Sheldon Souray has been out all season.  Francois Beauchemin remains day to day with an upper body injury.  Bryan Allen was injured in the previous game and did not make the trip to Dallas.  Luca Sbisa tore his tendon in a fight against Tampa Bay.   

Who is left?  Cam Fowler, Ben Lovejoy, rookies Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, Mark Fistric, who has been a healthy scratch for most of the year, and Nolan Yonkman, called up from the AHL.    Not exactly a stellar blue line, no offense. 

It wasn't just the defense.

"I have to take full responsibility for that tying goal there," Etem said of Eakin's goal. "I just let off, took my foot off the gas pedal and I need to stay with that guy."

Roussel's second goal at 12:08 put the game out of reach, despite Penner's power play tally at 13:25. 

Nothing else got past Dan Ellis, who got the start despite the fact that Kari Lehtonen was penciled in.

"I just decided that [Ellis] needed to play," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "That's it."

The fact that Ellis, who stopped 28 shots, used to be a back up for the Ducks probably worked into the equation, too.

An empty net goal from Alex Chiasson at 19:01 finished things off.

"It just can't happen," said Andrew Cogliano after the game. "We've won two games in a row. We're feeling good. This is a tough building to play in. We're up 2-1 after the second in a key position. Mental mistakes end up costing us the game. It just can't happen for a team like us. We could have taken over first place again tonight. Now we have five really tough games coming up and we have to sharpen up."

At practice on Wednesday morning, the previous evening's lapses were still fresh.

"I'm telling them we have to be better," said Boudreau.  "I don’t understand what the thought process is on a lot of them. We went through all the video on the breakdowns from last night and it’s stuff we just talked about in the third period. Guys are losing their concentration a little bit quicker than they’ve done in the past. It’s one of the things we worked on today and we'll work on it more tomorrow. Hopefully this weekend and beyond, we’re a lot better at it."

It can't get much worse than three in :53 seconds.

In other notes:  Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelly were sent to Norfolk in anticipation of Saku Koivu's return from a concussion.  Koivu was finally cleared for contact in practice and will be able to play against Calgary on Friday afternoon if he has no further symptoms.

The Ducks were playing the second of back to back games in Phoenix, where they had a perfect home record.  Despite being the rested team, the Ducks took full advantage of their opportunities and downed the Coyotes 4-2.  So much for that perfect home record.

Jonas Hiller, getting his second start in a row, was just as stellar on Saturday as he was shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.   Hiller had to work hard, stopping 42 shots in the victory, 15 in the first period alone.  It was a career high number of saves for the Swiss netminder in a game.

The Coyotes came out with energy and speed and had chance after chance after chance.  The ice was clearly tilted in their favor.  Then Anaheim got its first power play of the night.

Dustin Penner got the Ducks on the scoreboard at 11:11 with his fifth of the year.   Regardless of being outshot 11-3, the number that mattered at that point was how many of them made it into the net.  

Mike Ribeiro, who always seems to be able to score against the Ducks no matter what uniform he is wearing, tied up the game at 7:27 of the second period.  The tie didn't last long.  Penner got his second of the game just :36 seconds later.  

After that, the Ducks never yielded the lead.  Corey Perry, playing in his 600th game, extended the lead with his 13th of the year at 11:01.  Sami Vatanen, recalled from Norfolk after an injury to Luca Sbisa, made it 4-1 on another power play goal at 16:43.

It was a very quite arena after that. 

Shane Doan's marker at 4:20 of the third period brought the Coyotes within two and gave him an eight game point streak.  Try as they might to add more, Hiller stood firm.

"We knew it was going to be a tough building to play in," said Hiller. "We played a really solid road game. I was definitely excited to get the two points."

Unlike the previous evening, at least Hiller knew he was going to be in net.  

"It’s definitely easier coming off a good game and finding your way right into it," Hiller commented. "I thought early on I had a few shots, so it was nice to be right into the game again. Everybody battled hard, guys were blocking shots. That’s what’s needed to win."

The latest win keeps the Ducks on top of the standings in the NHL, extra important as all the teams breathing down their neck have games in hand.

"It’s a great feeling," said Perry.  "This is where we want to be and this is what we’ve worked hard for. We took last year in stride and we kind of brought the same mentality into this year, and it’s been working for us."

Ducks now get a couple days rest before tackling the Dallas Stars on Tuesday evening.

In other notes:  Frederik Andersen was recalled from Norfolk due to the extended injury to Viktor Fasth.  He backed up Hiller and they will continue to split duties.    Luca Sbisa is out for 6-8 weeks with a tendon tear in his right hand.  Surgery to repair the tendon is scheduled for Monday.

After the 5-1 drubbing that the Ducks suffered at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, the Ducks had their sights on evening the score in the Friday night rematch.

The flu was gone and Tampa Bay wished that Ryan Getzlaf was still missing, too.  Getzlaf, who missed the first tilt in Florida with an upper body injury, ended up with the game's only goal with a mere 5.2 seconds remaining in overtime.  It halted Anaheim's five game losing streak. 

This one was a battle of the goaltenders.

Ben Bishop, who is 6'7", fills up a lot of net for Tampa Bay and made 42 saves.  Jonas Hiller, not nearly as huge, refused to be Swiss cheese and stopped all 31 shots for his second shut out of the season.

What made things even more remarkable was that Hiller was supposed to be sitting on the bench.   Instead, Viktor Fasth suffered a lower body injury in warm ups, necessitating Hiller's presence in the goal.

Coach Bruce Boudreau informed Hiller as they were headed out onto the ice.

"I didn't have too much time to think about anything," said Hiller, who looked exceptionally sharp from the time the puck dropped.  "Sometimes, it's almost easier that way.  All your focus is about getting int othe game, making the next stop.  It was great to have some good stops early.  That gave me the confidence and it was good to be in a good goaltending battle."

Good would be an understatement.  Nothing was going to go past either goaltender, despite some excellent chances for both teams. 

"That was probably as good a goaltending display from both goaltenders I've seen in a very long time,"said Boudreau.

When you combine for 73 shots on goal and only one of them goes in, barely, it is superb goaltending.

With neither netminder yielding in the first 60 minutes, the game went to overtime.  Things didn't look any more promising there either, and bets were on for how many rounds a shootout would last between these two goalies.

With the clock winding down, Getzlaf put an end to the double shut-out and took a last ditch shot at the net.   Bishop nearly made the save, reaching behind him with his glove as the puck was on the line, but his own defenseman, Richard Panik, tipped it in with his stick.

To say that the Honda Center went crazy in celebration would be an understatement.  Getzlaf and teammates rejoiced as if they had just won the Stanley Cup.  

"I just knew there wasn’t much time left," said Getzlaf.  "I just wanted to go on one last rush and get one on net.  I ended up getting two cracks at it and managed to get it over the shoulder, and I kind of blacked out after that."

Seeing as it was Getzlaf's first overtime goal of his career, he had a right to black out.

"I didn't think anyone would score on those goalies," said Boudreau.  "Getzy plays hard.  He is the leader.  He logged a lot of minutes tonight (25:04).  It was only right."

Ducks do not get long to enjoy the victory as they turn around and head to Phoenix for the second of back to backs on Saturday night.

In other notes:  Viktor Fasth will be out for 3 - 4 weeks with muscle inflammation.  In his place, Frederik Andersen has been recalled.

This is one the Ducks should have had.   The 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils just doesn't feel good.

"It's not losing games that bugs you so much," said Ryan Getzlaf.  "It's the way you lose them.  We played a pretty solid game, but we've got to be able to be a great team to close those games out."

The Ducks lost in a painful way.

Ben Lovejoy was trying clear a puck from the crease in the overtime period and ended up banking it off of Corey Perry's foot into the net behind Jonas Hiller at 1:58. 

"I don’t even call it a mistake," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "It was an accident. The way it was going, we missed two total open nets, and a minute before, [Mathieu] Perreault missed the net. You knew something negative was going to happen."

The ironic thing is that the Ducks should never have been in overtime to start with.  They had a 3-2 lead with just over a minute left.  The Devils pulled Martin Brodeur for the extra attacker and Jaromir Jagr tied up the game at 18:59. 

"It's even tougher to swallow that we're on a losing streak," said Lovejoy.  "Up 3-2 with very little time left.  Incredibly unfortunate ending.  That's a game we need.  We are a desperate team right now and that's an unacceptable way to lose."

The Ducks started off well and Matt Beleskey, who was flying all night, got them on the board at 8:29 of the first period. 

What happened next also qualified for strange and unusual. 

Teemu Selanne was called for high sticking on Adam Greene.  The problem? 

Greene was not hit by Selanne's stick.  His stick was on the ice.  Greene was hit by his teammate, Marek Zidlicky's blade.   Nonetheless, a double minor was assessed and the Devils capitalized with two power play goals.  One from Zidlicky at 15:44 and the other from Eric Gelinas at 17:10.

In the second period, the refs seemed to be a little kinder to the Ducks, perhaps a bit of a make up situation for the first period error.  The Ducks got even with a 5 on 3 advantage with a goal from Nick Bonino at 2:28. 

Getzlaf added a second power play goal at 15:40 to give the Ducks the lead, with Perry providing the perfect screen to Brodeur, then quickly moved out of the way of the oncoming puck. 

Unfortunately, the Ducks took the foot off the gas in the third period. 

"The trend in the third period is quite simple to decipher by me," said Boudreau.  "Every game, it gets bigger, because now you’re sitting there going ‘I certainly don’t want to be the one that makes the mistake to lose.’ Nobody wants to be the guy that makes the mistake in the third period. So, we’re playing too cautiously. You’ve got to keep going after them."

The Ducks will now try to right the ship and exact a little revenge on Tampa Bay, who beat them 5-1last Thursday.  Perhaps the honoring of Hall of Famer, Scott Niedermayer, will help give them the boost they need to turn this thing around.

In other notes:  Francois Beauchemin left the game in the second period with an upper body injury.  He is listed as day to day.

It's been a long season for the Ducks.  They have played twice as many games away (15) as they have at home (8).   They have also played more games than any other team in the NHL.  It was bound to catch up with them sooner or later.  Despite that, the Ducks are still tied at the top of the NHL in points.

Their latest four game road trip saw Anaheim battle the flu as well as road weariness and they came home after a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh with a 0-3-1 record. 

After earning a point in Carolina on Friday night and having a couple days between games, the Ducks started well in Pittsburgh.  So well, they had 12 shots on goal and held the Penguins to zero shots on goal until late in the first period.

Unfortunately, they could not capitalize, as Marc-Andre Fleury kept the Penguins in the game. 

"Nothings changed in the game of hockey," said Dustin Penner.  "When we outshot them so badly, there were chances to score.  Against a really good team, that's when you've got to score."

After a scoreless second period, you could see that Pittsburgh was coming alive and it would only be a matter of time before the something would find its way into a net.

Brian Gibbons, newly recalled from the AHL and playing in his first game, got his first goal as well at 3:52 of the third.  Caught in the middle of a line change, he ended up with Evgeni Malkin on the ice, who slipped Gibbons the perfect pass.  Gibbons nailed it past Viktor Fasth and gave the Penguins the lead.

Pittsburgh never yielded it after that.

A goal from Brandon Sutter 1:02 later made it 2-0.  But on the next shift, Ryan Getzlaf responded with his 11th of the year and cut the lead in half.  It was the only one to make it in past Fleury, who made 27 saves for the victory.

Sidney Crosby, who had not scored in ten games, made it 3-1 at 7:56. 

"We've been getting chances and stuff and we've been working hard," said Getzlaf.  "But we've had sickness and injury throughout our team and we haven't dealt with it well this trip."

The Ducks now come home, where they are perfect at the Honda Center and want to a) extend that streak and b) end this losing streak. 

“I think coming home is great and you love playing in front of the home crowd,” said Matt Beleskey, who was reinserted into the line up in Pittsburgh after missing six weeks with a broken thumb.  "You get that energy and maybe some relaxation off the road. I think that’ll be good for our team.”

The Ducks only have two games at home (New Jersey on Wednesday and Tampa Bay revisited on Friday) before they head out on the road again.  No time like the present to turn things around.

Unable to crack the Anaheim line-up, the Ducks traded center Peter Holland to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Ducks also sent right wing Brad Staubitz, who played in Norfolk all season.

In exchange, the Ducks received defenseman Jesse Blacker and the third-round and seventh-round selections in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.  The third-round pick becomes a second-round selection should certain conditions be met. The seventh-round pick returns to Anaheim after originally being sent to Toronto with right wing Ryan Lasch in exchange for center David Steckel.

Blacker, 22, has been playing with the Leafs AHL team all season and will be sent to Norfolk.   He has six goals and 29 points in 130 career AHL games.

Holland, 22, appeared in four games with Anaheim this season, scoring one goal.  He was a first round selection (15th overall) in 2009.

The Ducks have significant depth at center with Ryan Getzlaf, Saku Koivu, Mathieu Perreault, Andrew Cogliano, and Nick Bonino.  Rickard Rakell has also played a few games for Anaheim and has been doing well in that position.  Unfortunately that left Holland as odd man out.

For the Leafs, an injury to Nazem Kadri has left Toronto thin up the middle, so Holland should be able to fill that gap for them and get the NHL ice time that he deserves.

By moving both Holland and Staubitz, Anaheim also clears about $1.5 million in salary, giving them a little more breathing room with their cap space.

Although it is hard to say goodbye to a first round draft pick, Holland was truly stuck in no man's land.  Too good to be in the AHL, but not really strong enough to beat out other guys on the roster in the center position.   Even if Koivu retires after this season (which is likely to happen), there is still a logjam at that position.  Now with the Leafs, he can take advantage of that opportunity and make the most of it.

Personally, I wish him very well in his new home!

With a 3-2 shootout loss to Carolina on Friday night, the Ducks have three losses in a row on the road, but at least are making some progress.

They are still suffering the flu bug, with the latest victim, Mathieu Perreault, stepping out of the line up.  But they earned a point and played well, which is something to build on for the final road game of this trip in Pittsburgh on Monday.

Viktor Fasth found his way back into the net after being out for nearly a month with a lower body injury suffered during a practice.  He stopped 21 shots, but could not stop enough in the shootout round to give his team the extra point they wanted.

"I felt great," said Fasth.  "The injury has healed like it should.  I feel nothing when I’m on the ice. It’s great."

The Ducks did not look great in their loss to Tampa Bay the night before, but rallied for the second of back-to-back games.

"I think we played pretty well tonight," said Teemu Selanne.  "The last two games we haven't been at the level where we should be, so we're going in the right direction."

After no goals whatsoever by either team for nearly the first forty minutes of play, things finally yielded late in the second period.

Corey Perry scored at 18:00, with an assist from Ryan Getzlaf, who was back in the line up after missing three games with an upper body injury. 

Carolina tied things up at 19:43 with a power play goal from Eric Staal, who deflected in Alexander Semin's shot.  They took the lead at 3:01 of the third period on a goal from Drayson Bowman.

Unlike the previous game where the Ducks wilted when going behind, the Ducks persevered and kept pushing.  Their efforts were rewared when Dustin Penner tied up the game on a power play at 7:18.  His stick imploded on the shot, but the puck still fluttered into the net behind Justin Peters.

Nothing in the score changed for the remainder of the game and in the overtime period.  So going into the shootout, the chances looked good for Anaheim. 

Carolina's record in shootouts is about as good as the Ducks' power play has been all season.  They are 3-10 in shootouts over the past two seasons combined.  Ouch. 

Unfortunately for the Ducks, they changed their fortunes.

Peters stopped Getzlaf and Selanne, with Perry being the only successful shooter for the Ducks.   Fasth was unable to stop both Semin and Chris Terry, who sealed the deal and the two points for the Hurricanes.

"You use it as a positive," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "I told them that they played really well in a tough building on a back-to-back. With what we've gone through, it's quite a task for anybody.  Obviously you want the two points.  I was pleased that we battled so hard to get the one point."