The last time the Ducks lost two in a row in regulation, it was the end of December/beginning of January.   Since then, they have been smoking hot, making up points that are usually impossible to regain. 

Despite all those points earned and made up, they still could not gain in the standings.  A win against the Buffalo Sabres would have bounced them up a notch from 13th to 12th.  Instead, the Ducks were shutout 2-0 by the Sabres. 

"I thought we played pretty well," said Jonas Hiller, who stopped 22 shots. "But if you don't score, it's tough to win."

While nothing changed for them in the standings, it still felt like they lost ground.  The playoffs, previously deemed a miraculous possibility, now seem much more difficult to achieve.

You cannot fault the Ducks for their efforts against the Buffalo Sabres.  They outshot them 43 - 24.  They merely ran into a brick wall named Ryan Miller. 

Miller was nothing short of perfect in net.  He had every space covered and refused to allow anything to go past him.  He denied shots that would have gone in past a lesser man.  He made it impossible for anything other than the perfect shot to get by him, and even then, he probably could have stopped that, too.

No wonder Anaheim was frustrated by the end of the game. 

"I felt pretty good," said Miller. "I've been trying to really be calm in the net and start from in the crease. It helps that we have a lot of great back pressure. Our D is able to stand some guys up. I don't feel I have to challenge the rush plays too much. When I do have to step up and attack, it's more one option that I have to commit to."

Miller, who was frustrated and angered by the Monday trade of his friend and teammate, Paul Gaustad, took it out on the Ducks.

The Ducks took out their frustrations on the Sabres. 

Both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry got into two separate fights with less than :30 seconds remaining in the game.  When the buzzer rang, it was pick a partner and the referees had fun handing out penalty minutes and misconducts to several players. 

Even though the Ducks could not get anything past Miller, they also were not nearly as disciplined as they needed to be.  They gave Buffalo five power plays and Derek Roy scored on the first one at 7:12 of the first period.  That was to be the eventual game winner. 

With Miller clearly on his A++++ game, Brad Boyes goal at 8:16 of the second period made the 2-0 lead by the Sabres seemingly insurmountable.  It was. 

Another opportunity lost and time is ticking away for the Ducks.

"[The loss] is a bit of a heartbreaker, but this team hasn't quit in 2 1/2 months," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "I don't expect them to quit now."

Two more back to back games against Calgary on Friday and Los Angeles on Saturday will be make or break situations. 

“It’s against two opponents that we’re chasing,” said Perry.  “You win both and it’s four points. You never know where that can put you at the end of the day. They are probably the two biggest games of the year right now.”

Maybe it was too much road trip.  Maybe it was playing in the second of back to back games.  Maybe it was a little of both.  Whatever it was, the Ducks looked like their earlier season selves in a 4-1 loss to Colorado. 

The Ducks did well on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks, but lately that isn't saying much.  Going back to the airport to fly to Denver and play the next night seemed to suck whatever life the Ducks had right out of them.  Colorado, who has now won four in a row, was more than happy to capitalize. 

"I think it's a combination of everything," said Avalanche coach Joe Sacco. "We know what's at stake every time we play.
"Right now, it's a stretch where things are going pretty good for us, but we got to keep our foot down on the gas pedal. We can't let up. It's a tough conference and every game is so important."

Anaheim did ok in the first two periods, but facing Semyon Varlamov meant they would have to be stellar.  They were not. 

Cody McLeod put the Avalanche on the board at 9:26 of the first period.    Bobby Ryan was able to tie up the game at 18:30 of the second period.  They needed the power play advantage to do so and it was the only goal they got behind Varlamov. 

In the third period, the Avs buried the Ducks. 

Ryan O'Reilly took the lead back :37 seconds in.  Matt Duchene extended it at 2:55.  Jay McClement put the final nail in the coffin at 14:46.  4-1 Colorado.  Game over.

"They came out hard in the third and we couldn't respond to anything," said Francois Beachemin. "We need to think of the mistakes we made and correct them and get back at it."

At least the next few games are at home.  The Ducks play Buffalo on Wednesday, Calgary on Friday, drive up to LA on Saturday and then finish off with Edmonton on Monday.  After that, it is back to the airport again.  Hopefully the Ducks can get back on track quickly.

Like Colorado, they are fighting for their lives. 

On Monday the trade deadline came and went and no one named Rick Nash moved.  It was pretty quiet overall, with a few teams making tweaks here and there. 

The Ducks, who only a couple months ago seemed poised to be sellers, made just two minor moves.   Right wing Andrew Gordon, who was sent to Syracuse a while back, was shipped to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Sebastian Erixon.   Erixon, 22, has spent the entire season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. 

Anaheim also traded minor league defenseman Mark Fraser to Toronto in exchange for right wing Dale Mitchell.   Mitchell, also 22, has played with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and Reading of the ECHL.

Beyond that there were no blockbuster deals or shocking moves to make the deadline notable. 

 
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Whenever it is hat night at the Honda Center, fans want a reason to throw their newly acquired chapeaus on the ice.  There was no hat trick, but Ducks fans had plenty to celebrate in the 3-1 victory over the listless Blackhawks. 

Chicago was playing in the second of back to back games, having been spanked 4-0 by Los Angeles the night before.  They still had some energy (and probably anger) in the tank and came out strong.  Anaheim looked like they had to readjust to being the home crowd favorites after being on the road for over two weeks. 

The results were Chicago spending far too much time in Anaheim's zone and forcing Jonas Hiller to be good early.  On their first power play opportunity, Patrick Kane had a puck trickle behind Hiller at 11:29 to make it 1-0.  No shutout two games in a row for this team. 

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the Blackhawks.    It was Blackhawk down from there.

After discovering they could spend some time in Chicago's end, the Ducks finally had a puck go in the net behind Ray Emery.    A long sequence and good work by the Ducks resulted in Andrew Cogliano getting on the scoreboard with just :19.9 seconds left in the period. 

It was not that simple, however.  Initially deemed by the referees to have kicked the puck in, the goal was waived off on the ice.  The referees had a little confab and then proceeded to have a discussion with the powers that be in Toronto.  After what felt like another period of ice hockey, the news was good.  Cogliano got his stick on the puck after he kicked it with his skate.  Touched by a stick = good goal.

It was all Ducks from there on out.   Chicago could not even get a shot on goal in the second period until near eight minutes in.  Who knew if it was fatigue or malaise or missing Jonathan Toews, who has been out for several games with an upper body injury that is feared to be a concussion after having a one car crash.  Whatever it was, the Blackhawks looked awful.

The Ducks did not have any sympathy for their opponent. 

Sheldon Brookbank decided going 167 games without a goal was not much fun, so he only waited another five before getting the third goal of his career at 12:31. 

"It always feels good when you get the win and you are a part of it," Brookbank said about his first game winner.  "I could tell you a lot of stories of goals called back. Maybe I have more confidence now."

Chicago fared no better in the third period, registering only three shots on goal.  Emery did his best to keep his team in the game, despite being outshot 38 - 19, but he could not keep everything out. 

Teemu Selanne pretty much sealed the deal with a two man advantage at 4:48.  Goal #658 came in his signature spot on the ice and he made it look easy.   Selanne leads Anaheim, at age 41 1/2, with 21 goals and 55 points.

He also moved past Luc Robitaille for 20th on the all-time points list with 1,395.  The goal, which was his 246th power play goal, is one shy of Robitaille for fourth on the all-time power-play goals list.

"I'm enjoying every second of it now," said Selanne. "When you go through some tough times like we did in the first half, you really believe what’s happening here. When it turns around, it has been unbelievable. Fun. That's why we all play. You try to keep pushing and enjoy this."

It was very enjoyable to the 17,601 in attendance, a record number since coming into existence in 1993.   Not so enjoyable to Hawks fans who made up part of the crowd.   One was overheard questioning whether or not Chicago should give back the Stanley Cup they won a couple years ago.  Ouch.

And now the Ducks head out of town, again, for a single game in Colorado before returning home for a little longer period.   Another must win for Anaheim.

The last time the Ducks played in Anaheim it was February 8 and they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime.  Two weeks later, the Ducks finished off their long eight game road trip in Carolina.  This time they defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout.

Now the tired Duckies can come home, satisfied at earning a 5-1-2 record during their grueling trek around the US.  It gives them 62 points in the standings, only four points out of a playoff spot. 

"If we could reach the 60-point plateau, I thought we could still be in the hunt," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "To get more than that is really big."

Anaheim earned every point and did it by playing very good teams.  They had a chance to win every single game, which is quite impressive.

When the Ducks faced Carolina earlier this month, Cam Ward was in net.  This time they got to see Justin Peters holding down the fort because Ward has a "lower body injury."  Peters was just as formidable in net, making 35 saves, and making it difficult for the Ducks to score.

Jerome Samson put Carolina on the board first at 13:52 of the first period.  Once again, the Ducks would have to come from behind.  They evened things up quickly at 14:40 with a goal from Luca Sbisa, his fourth of the season.

In the second period, Jamie McBain restored the Hurricanes lead with a power play goal at 5:40.  Carolina held on to that lead until the third period. 

Jonas Hiller held Carolina to just the one goal lead, giving his teammates a chance to tie things up once again.

"I kind of saw we weren't playing our game tonight and the guys looked a little tired," said Hiller.  "That was not too surprising after such a long trip.  (Carolina) had a couple of really good chances and I just didn't want to get scored on.  We played better in the third and that changed the game around."

The Ducks finally were able to tie up the game midway through the final period.  Corey Perry got his 30th goal of the year at 9:35 on the power play.    This was despite his coach's lack of confidence in his team with the man advantage.

"Our power play has been so dismal," said Boudreau. "So for the third power play in the third period, I said, 'Decline it.'  Perry looked at me as if I had two heads. Then he went out and scored because I think he was so (ticked) at me. But that was the first power play goal we got outside of Columbus on this trip."

Being tied meant they got at least a point.  Nothing was decided in the extra time, so the Ducks had to stay a little longer to finish it up in the shootout.

Saku Koivu was the only successful shooter for the Ducks.  Hiller was able to stop every single Carolina shooter, so the Ducks came away the victors with two more points to send them home happy campers.  Tired campers.  But happy campers.

The Ducks only get to play one game at home (Sunday against Chicago) before heading back to the airport for another road game in Colorado.  Then they can settle into their beds a little better and buckle down for the remaining 21 games.

Will they make the playoffs?  Who knows?  But they are certainly in better position than they were just a short time ago.

Doing their best to make up ground in the NHL, the Ducks cannot afford to lose a single game.  On a long, two week road trip, Anaheim has done a superb job at earning points in every game.  That ended when they met up with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. 

The 3-2 loss in regulation was their first regulation loss on the road in seven games.

Jonas Hiller has limited opponents to two goals or less for most games since January 1st.  This time, he could not prevent Steven Stamkos and the Lightning from striking fast and furious.

Stamkos first goal came just :28 seconds into the game, on a power play.  A bad turnover forced Cam Fowler to take a hooking penalty in the first shift of the game and Tampa Bay made quick work of the man advantage.   

Stamkos continued to be a one man wrecking crew by adding his second goal at 17:58.   He had five shots on goal and it appeared that all of them had a good chance of going in. 

As usual, the Ducks were behind, not only by a single goal, but two goals. 

Saku Koivu, who committed the heinous turnover on the first shift, redeemed himself for the remainder of the game.   He put the Ducks on the board :40 seconds into the second period. 

Tampa Bay did not waste any time restoring their two goal lead.  Teddy Purcell, assisted by Stamkos, made it 3-1 at 2:40.

Bobby Ryan, assisted by Koivu, put the Ducks back within one goal at 18:38, but the Ducks could not get any closer.  Not that they didn't put up a valiant effort. 

Anaheim outshot the Lightning 11-3 in the third period and overall 30-16.  It did not matter.  Mathieu Garon refused to let any more goals past him, even when the Ducks pulled Hiller for the extra attacker in the waning seconds of the game. 

"They made a big push in the third; we knew they'd make a big push," Purcell said. "They've been one of the best teams in the League since the New Year so we knew it was coming."

The Ducks are now 4-1-2 on their road trip and will finally finish up their travels in Carolina on Thursday.

IN OTHER NOTES:  Devante Smith-Pelly was back in the line up after a two month absence.  Smith-Pelly was loaned to the Canadian Junior Team for Worlds, but broke his foot in the first game by blocking a shot.  After his foot healed, he was then loaned to Syracuse on a conditioning assignment.  Smith-Pelly had a very good return game.

“I thought I played pretty well.” Smith-Pelly said. ”Obviously just being my first game, I was just trying to get my legs under myself and play physical and stuff like that. I thought I did a pretty good job of that.”

He did.  His youthful energy at the end of a road trip was certainly a positive for the team as well.

The Ducks continue their winning ways and continue to earn points on the road with a 2-0 defeat of the Florida Panthers.  In the past, the Panthers might have been an "easy" team to play, but this year they are on top of the Southeast Division and have a playoff berth. 

Lately, though, it does not matter who the Ducks are playing.  They are finding ways to get points and continue to inch infinitesimally closer to a playoff spot.  They are still in 13th place in the Western Conference, but only five points out of 8th place.  Only two points separates between 13th and 10th.  Slowly but surely, the Ducks are making a run for it.

"Everybody's believed for a long time that we had a chance to climb back," said Teemu Selanne. "We're still not really there, but we're in the right direction. It's a good sign that even tonight I don't think we played that well, but we found a way to win the game.  Jonas (Hiller) was really good today again. That's what we need."

Having Hiller on top of his game certainly helps.  He made 31 saves in his third shutout of the season and has earned first star of the week honors for his recent play.

Hiller is 13-3-4 since the beginning of January.  This week Anaheim went 3-0-1, all on the road and all with Hiller in net, including back to back games in Minnesota and Pittsburgh. He stopped 98 of 102 shots he faced, and Hiller has allowed two goals or fewer in 17 of his past 20 appearances.

Even superb goaltending will not win you games if you do not have offense.  If you need confirmation of that,  all you have to do is ask the Los Angeles Kings. 

Against Florida, it was Selanne who provided enough offense for the Ducks to win the game.  At 12:13 of the first period, Selanne got career goal #657 by putting the puck past Jose Theodore.  

That moves Selanne into sole possession of 12th place on the all time goals list, moving ahead of Brendan Shanahan.  He is only 4 goals away from Jaromir Jagr, who might be motivated to score a couple more with Selanne closing in.

With his 20th goal of the season, Selanne also became the oldest player to score 20 goals in a season since Johnny Bucyk in 1976-77.

"He's scored so many goals, I don't even know where we would be without him this year," said Hiller. "He's still one of the quickest guys out there and he knows where to go. It seems like he always is at the right spot where he gets the greasy goals and it's really important for us, especially on the road, where we don't score too many goals."

Niklas Hagman, who had been hurt in the first period with a blindside hit from Sean Bergenheim, finished up the game after a lengthy absence and added an empty net goal with :14.3 seconds left in the game to seal the deal. 

The Ducks now head up the road a little to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning on Tuesday night.  They will finish up their long road trip on Thursday against Carolina.  If they can continue to succeed on the road, they might not want to come home!

Plain and simple, I hate the New Jersey Devils.  It goes back to 2003 and the Stanley Cup Finals.   No neutral journalistic policy here.  I can manage that with every other team in the league, including the Red Wings and Kings.  New Jersey?  I just hate them.  Including smirky Martin Brodeur, who played like 2003 Martin Brodeur against the Ducks on Friday evening.

Needless to say, all I want is the Ducks to beat New Jersey.  Every single time that they meet up. 

That did not happen on Friday night, but Anaheim did manage to pull out a point (and almost two of them) in the 3-2 shootout loss to the Devils.

The Ducks certainly played well the whole game.  And they outshot the Devils 38 - 27, so they had their chances.  However, Brodeur played exceptionally well for a guy who might retire at the end of this season.  He stopped virtually everything he saw and was deservedly the first star of the game.

Jonas Hiller was equally up to the task and kept the Ducks in the game, even though they were behind for most of it.

Rookie standout, Adam Henrique, put the Devils on the board at 1:25 of the second period.  His 15th goal of the year was batting in a rebound from Ilya Kovalchuk.   Mentions of Henrique and Calder Trophy have a lot of merit.

Alexei Ponikarovsky, who was a dud for the Kings organization, put a puck through Hiller's five hole at 10:56.  If you turn over a puck, most of the time, the other team is going to take advantage, and they did.  2-0 New Jersey and things did not look good for Anaheim, who still needs every precious point in the standings.

"There's been no quit in this team since the beginning of January," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "They just keep battling. There are a lot of guys with star power and there's an awful lot of no-names who are working their tail off and doing a heck of a job."

Never fear, Corey Perry is here!   As is Sheldon Brookbank, but more on him later.

Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, doing what they do best, finally got one behind Brodeur at 16:08.  Getzlaf had a wicked shot on net, one of the rare times he shoots instead of passes, and Perry finished off the rebound.  Perhaps all was not lost for the Ducks after all.

Before the middle frame ended, Bobby Ryan was went down awkwardly into the boards while tangled with Anton Volchenkov.  He was clearly in pain and hobbled to the locker room at the end of the period.  Initially not on the bench to start the third, he joined his teammates shortly thereafter, although still clearly hurting.  Ryan gritted it out for the remainder of the game, although he did admit he would likely be quite sore the next day. 

The Ducks were unable to take advantage of three power play opportunities in the game.  In fact, it seemed as if New Jersey had more chances while shorthanded than the Ducks did with the extra man.    Perry had his own breakaway chance while shorthanded midway through the third period, but was denied by Brodeur, who stacked the pads old school.

As time was winding down, the Ducks refused to give up and Brookbank, as non-offensive a defenseman as you can get, tied up the game at 17:47.   How rare is it for Brookbank to score? 

Brookbank, a former Devil, scored for only the second time in his career.  His first goal was on March 31, 2009, nearly three years ago.  167 games later, he figured he would do it again.  It could not have come at a better time.  And it gave the Ducks even more determination.

It appeared that the Ducks had gotten the extra point in overtime with a goal from Getzlaf at 1:10.  Not so fast.  Because it went off his foot, it had to be reviewed and it was a long review.  Ruled a goal by the officials, it had to be overwhelming evidence that it was not.  Toronto finally found the evidence they needed to determine it was indeed put in by a kicking motion and therefore, play would continue. 

"I understand how difficult a job it is and I can understand they had an awful lot of criteria to look at," Boudreau said. "I bet they anguished over it for a minute. My belief is that if it was called no goal, that I wouldn't have overturned it. If it was called a goal, I wouldn't have overturned it either."

But overturn it they did and play went on.  Dull was not an adjective that could be used to describe the remainder of overtime.

Shootout was required to make the final determination of the outcome.  Brodeur could not stop Teemu Selanne, who has not scored a goal in the Devils new building, one of only a handful that he has not.  Does it count if it is a shootout goal? 

Hiller could not stop Kovalchuk nor Patrick Elias and with Brodeur denying Perry and Getzlaf, the win was New Jersey's. 

Having eight points out of 10 earned in five road games is still respectable.  The Ducks now head to Florida for a little sunshine and the hopes of earning more points in three remaining games before they land back in California.

Seems like the Ducks keep pulling miracles out of their....well, whereever they have been hiding them all season long.  A 2-1 come from behind win on the second of back to back games, in Pittsburgh, where you have not won since October 2001, and being able to do so while holding potential league MVP, Evgeni Malkin, to zero points, constitutes a miracle.

Anaheim, who started the season well and then did their best impression of a skydiver without a parachute, have figured out where the ripcord is located. 

Going 14-3-3 since January 1 (now that's keeping your resolutions!), the Ducks are now at the .500 mark (24-24-9) and only six points out of a playoff spot.  On January 6, they were 20 points out.  How on earth has this team been able to make up that kind of ground in an NHL that is not conducive to such comebacks?

The answer is one win at a time.

As it was in Minnesota, the Ducks fell behind early in the first period.  Jordan Staal took advantage of a 2 on 1 and placed the puck in the top corner of the net at 6:27.  Jonas Hiller, who was in net for the second night in a row, kept the Ducks, who were not sharp, in the game for the remainder of the period.

Anaheim woke up in the second period and did a much better job of getting scoring chances.  Finally, with less than a minute to go, Corey Perry got one by Marc-Andre Fleury and the game was tied. 

Both sides were feeling testy in the third period and it was clear that both teams wanted a win.

In the end, it was Teemu Selanne who won it for the Ducks.  At the end of an overly long shift, Matt Beleskey was able to get the puck out of the Ducks zone and over to Selanne.  For a 41 year old, he sure didn't look tired.   With a burst of speed Selanne came in forehand, backhand and made goal #656 of his career look really easy at 7:51.  

"I don't know the length of that shift – it might have gotten closer to a minute's length," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma.  "They were able to get a turnover, and (Matt) Niskanen was gassed from the shift. They got an opportunity with speed and, with Selanne, we've seen that one before."

With Selanne, it doesn't matter how many times you have seen it.  It looks mighty pretty every single time!

A late penalty by former Duck, Chris Kunitz, helped the Ducks kill off time on the clock.  An empty net in Pittsburgh's end did not give the Penguins any advantage either and the Ducks won another road game.  

"I was pretty proud of our guys to show that," said Ryan Getzlaf.  "It's not an easy thing when you're on this long of a road trip and playing back-to-back games and playing in one of the hardest buildings in the League. Everybody wants to bury us and get us out of the way, but the guys are doing a great job of fighting through it."

They have earned seven out of eight points on this road trip and they are halfway through.   Next up on the list is the New Jersey Devils, a team that all fans who date back to at least the 2003 season hate. 

Go get 'em boys.

Regardless of their opponent, whether it be Detroit or Columbus, or any team in between, the Ducks need points and wins.  Going into Minnesota on Tuesday, the first of back to back games, the Ducks goal was no different than any other game - win.

Minnesota, currently slumping after being on top of the NHL back in the fall, initially appeared to be stopping that slump, leading 1-0 most of the game.  Instead, the Ducks pulled it together and got their first win of the season when trailing after two periods and came out with a 2-1 regulation win.

The win nudged the team just a little bit closer to playoff contention.  They are still eight points out of a playoff spot, but in December, that number was 16 points out.  Even if they manage to defeat Pittsburgh on Wednesday, they still will be in 13th place in the Western Conference, but there is denying they are inching upwards. 

For a long time during the game, it looked like the Ducks were not going to be able to get anything past Josh Harding and the Wild.  After Dany Heatley got an early power play goal at 3:56 of the first period, Harding helped the Wild hold that lead until the third period. 

Jonas Hiller did his part in stopping everything else that came his way and gave Anaheim a chance to get back into the game.  It just took a while.

Niklas Hagman, who was the 8th round shootout savior for the Ducks a week ago, came through again for the team.  Working hard, he beat Harding at 8:17 of the third period to tie up the game, scoring from his stomach.

Hagman, who was picked up by the Ducks on re-entry waivers from Calgary on November 14, has been a good fit with Anaheim and contributed positively, night in, night out.  His efforts against the Wild were the turning point for the Ducks.

"If they would have gotten that next one, I don't think there is a good chance we get two by him," said Bruce Boudreau about Harding. "But when we tied it up, it gave us some life."

That life translated to Corey Perry getting the game winning goal just a few minutes later at 12:21.  Perry continued to show why he is was the league MVP last year and put a well placed puck behind Harding that the goalie had no chance to stop.

They held on to win, something that did not look possible when the third period began.

"We're just playing the same way the whole game and not trying to do different things or be too cute when we get down," Perry observed.  "That's what we've been doing since we've been on this roll and we have to keep doing it."

They will need to do it against Pittsburgh, a team that is closer to a Detroit caliber than Columbus.  The Ducks recalled Jeff Deslauriers from Syracuse a couple days ago and sent Iiro Tarkki back down.  Perhaps the plan is to put Deslauriers in net, to give relief to Hiller.  The last time they played Hiller in back to back games, it did not turn out so well.  No sense having a second goalie if you don't use him. 

Regardless of who is in net, the Ducks need the win just as bad.