During last night's game against the Los Angeles Kings, defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky broke his hand during the third period and did not return to the game.  He is expected to miss all the remaining games this season.

In light of Visnovsky's injury, Brendan Mikkelson was recalled once again from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

Goaltender Joey MacDonald was reassigned to the Toronto Marlies, indicating that Jonas Hiller is well enough from his back spasms to play in the remaining three games.

The Ducks flew out this morning to Dallas, where they will play on Thursday evening, followed with a back-to-back game against St. Louis on Friday night.  The team will then fly home for the final game of the season against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday evening.

The game against the Oilers is also Fan Appreciation Night and all fans in attendance will receive a copy of the 2009-2010 team photo.  There are plenty of other opportunities to win prizes throughout the evening as well, including the jerseys off the backs of the players themselves after the game.

Tickets to the final home game are still available.   This could very well be the final game for Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne, both of whom are likely to retire after this season.

Selanne, who despite breaking his hand and his jaw this season, still has 26 goals in just 53 games played.  He reached the 600 goal mark earlier this season and now has 605 goals, 17^th on the all time list.  He is also the Ducks nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.  Selanne won the Masterton Trophy in 2006.

The final meeting of the Freeway Faceoff and one team is in the playoffs, the other is on the outside.  In years past, the team on the outside would have been the Kings, but not this year.  The Ducks are the ones looking in and the Kings have already clinched a spot.  They will make their first playoff appearance since 2002.  The Ducks will not make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. 

The Kings handily took the six game series winning four of the games, including the final game 5-4 in a shootout.

It was a game for the Ducks that symbolized their problems all season.  They could not play a full 60 minutes.  They blew a three goal lead.  They stopped moving their feet and sat back.  They did not have the needed sense of urgency until it was too late.  Another point slipped away.  Stop me if you've heard this one before.

"Today was a game that was very similar to many that we played this year," captain Scott Niedermayer agreed.  "It was disappointing to let it get away.  It's been a tough year.  We're disappoint that we're in this situation.  We're not happy at all."

By the time they got to the shootout, it didn't matter anyway.  Colorado defeated Vancouver in a shootout just seconds prior to the start of the Ducks shootout.  That win, coupled with Calgary's earlier defeat in the evening, meant that the Avs clinched the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  All that gets decided from here is the final ranking from first through eighth. 

For the Ducks, it is a bitter pill to swallow.   There are players on the Ducks who have never sat out the post-season.  Now they will know the feeling for the first time.

"It's not a lot of fun," said veteran Todd Marchant.  "It's a year that's gone by in your life and your career that you've got to start all over again.   It's tough.  It's an awful feeling.  It's a bitter taste that sits in your mouth the whole summer."

The Ducks had a 4-2 lead going into the third period.  A power play goal from Jason Blake, two goals from Teemu Selanne, including one on the power play and another from Bobby Ryan, his first since March 17, gave the Ducks a cushion, despite being outshot 22-11 by the Kings. 

After Ryan's goal, Jonathan Quick was relieved of duty an Erik Ersberg inserted in his place.  Ersberg only let in one goal and was virtually ignored in the third period by the Ducks. 

Dustin Brown got the Kings on the board at 9:46 in the middle period, and Alexander Frolov scored got a power play goal late. 

In the final frame, the Kings threw everything at Curtis McElhinney, getting his sixth consecutive start in net.  Outshot 16-3 in the final 20 minutes, the Ducks were fortunate that the game was merely tied at the end of regulation.  Goals from Justin Williams at 7:56 and Michal Handzus at 18:51 (with Ersberg pulled for the extra attacker) made it 4-4 and required overtime.

"We played hard," said coach Randy Carlyle, who has not missed a postseason since coming to the Ducks.  "It just seemed like we ran out of gas tonight.  We just didn't have enough to finish it off."

They had enough in the overtime period, though, outshooting the Kings 7-2.  Another case of too little, too late.  And in the shootout, the Kings prevailed.  Corey Perry had the only goal for the Ducks, while both Jack Johnson and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings. 

Game over with two knives in the back.  First from Colorado and then from the Kings.  Ouch. 

"To go from needing to start the year better, to coming out of the Olympic break losing five in a row, those things hurt us," said Perry, who looked as shocked and subdued as the rest of the players in the locker room.  "We missed the playoffs.  It's not good and not fun.  You play this game wo win championships and this year we don't get to be a part of that process."

Three more games to go and not one of them matter for the teams involved.  Not one.   

"The best thing the players can do is remember it all summer and not let it happen again," cautioned Marchant.

Ducks fans certainly will remember. 

This is it.  The regular season ends Sunday, but for the Ducks, it could end tonight if they lose to the Kings.  Only a win can keep their playoff hopes alive. All they can control is what they do, but there will be a lot of focus on Colorado, as well.

Colorado is the only team that the Ducks can catch, but this is dependent upon a lot of factors all working out right.  The Ducks would have to win every single game in order to get 93 points.  Colorado has 91 points currently, but even one loss by the Ducks and Colorado would win the tie-breaker in wins.

If Colorado wins just one more out of their final four games, it does not matter what the Ducks do, because Colorado would have more wins.  Tonight, Colorado plays Vancouver and the game starts at the same time as the Ducks/Kings game.  You can bet there will be some score watching this evening.

Let's make believe that everything aligns correctly and the Ducks win every game and the Avs lose every game.  There is still the matter of Calgary and St. Louis to contend with.  Calgary has 89 points and St. Louis 87 and both teams still have three more games to play. 

The Kings have already clinched a playoff spot and both the Kings and Ducks have never been in the playoffs during the same year.  The Kings would be more than happy to knock the Ducks out for certain.

Adding to more uncertainty is who will be starting in goal for the Ducks.  Curtis McElhinney has been terrific for the Ducks, going 5-0-1 in the past six games.  He has a 1.91 GAA and .939 save percentage during that time, solid, strong numbers that have kept the Ducks in the hunt.  McElhinney has been in net since Jonas Hiller had back spasms.

Hiller began skating and practicing with the team on Monday and he will have to see how his back holds up after the morning skate and warm ups.  If he feels good enough to go, coach Randy Carlyle will have a difficult decision.  Do you put in your number one guy, who hasn't played in two weeks, or do you go with the hot hand?  Logic says Carlyle would use Hiller, because you go with the number one guy in a must-win situation.  Either way, Carlyle does not mind having the difficult decision to make, knowing he can be confident with either goaltender in net.

 

 

Anaheim Ducks center, Saku Koivu, has been chosen by the NHL as the Second Star for the week ending April 4. Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak earned the First Star and Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask was named the Third Star.

Koivu led the NHL in scoring with four goals and eight points in four games last week, helping the Ducks (38-31-9) collect seven of eight available points and remain in the race to grab the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. Koivu posted his first four-point game (one goal, three assists) since March 2007 and tied a franchise record with a career-best plus-five rating in a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on March. 31. He recorded two goals, including the game-tying strike with 1:24 left in regulation, and one assist in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on April 2 and tallied the game-tying goal with 1:32 remaining in regulation plus the shootout winner in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on April 3. Koivu ranks fourth on the Ducks in scoring with 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) and leads the club in game-winning goals (six) and plus-minus (plus-13).

"That's what you need when you're down some bodies," praised coach Randy Carlyle.  "Saku Koivu definitely has been a strong competitor for our team for the better part of the year and offensively now he's starting to deliver here in crunch time.  It's huge.  It's just a statement of the character of the individual."

 

 

They're not dead yet.  A determined effort by the Ducks earned them an unlikely win on the road against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim remains alive in the playoff chase.

The Ducks have struggled on the road all year, but have won three in a row away from home.  This time the Ducks won 2-1 in a shootout that had a lot of deja vu to the previous night's game against Vancouver.

Curtis McElhinney got a back-to-back start and his fifth start in a row for the Ducks.  He made 28 saves and more importantly, saved every attempt in the shootout by the Kings to get the Ducks two points in the standings.

Jack Johnson had the Kings only goal of the game on the power play later in the first period.  It went in off of Troy Bodie's skate at 19:40.

The ice seemed less than ideal with the puck bouncing around a lot and it was difficult to get any chances.  In a virtual repeat of the previous game, the Ducks got a late power play opportunity.  Pulling McElhinney for a two man advantage, the Ducks converted once again.

Saku Koivu, who tied up the game at 18:36 of the third period against Vancouver, tied up the game at 18:28 against the Kings.  It took three chances, with Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan missing, but Koivu chipped the puck up over Jonathan Quick and the game went to overtime.

McElhinney, who looked nervous in the shootout against Vancouver, redeemed himself mightily against Los Angeles.  No reason to hang his head after either game, but you can guarantee this one gave him a boost of confidence.

Still hanging on for dear life, the Ducks continue to get it done.

"We desperately needed these points," said Koivu, who put in the only goal of the shootout. "(Friday) we got a shootout loss and lost a point, but tonight we came back at the end of the game.  We've got to win them all and get help from other teams, but we are going to push until the end."

Next push comes on Tuesday in a rematch with the Kings at the Honda Center, their final meeting of the year.

The Ducks were on a three-game winning streak and still wanted to keep their infinitesimal glimmer of a playoff chance alive.  The Canucks were trounced and trampled 8-3by the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.  You can be sure they did not want a repeat performance against the Ducks on Friday night.

Things were much closer between the two teams in a fast and furious paced contest.  In the end, it was the Canucks that edged out the Ducks with a 5-4 shootout victory.  Anaheim earned a point, but they needed both of them.

As they did in the last game, the line of Saku Koivu, Jason Blake and Teemu Selanne remained hot.  All three past winners of the Masterton trophy contributed to the scoresheet once again.

Koivu lifted a shot up and over Andrew Raycroft at 3:01 of the second period to get the Ducks on the board.   Even though Michael Grabner tied up the game at 10:07, placing a nice shot behind Curtis McElhinney, getting his fourth start in a row, the Ducks persisted.

A fortuitous 5 on 3 opportunity presented itself to the Ducks and they seemed happy to take advantage.  Selanne scored goal #602 at 14:31 with both Alexander Burrows and Jannik Hansen in the box, Hansen there four minutes for high sticking.  The goal put Selanne in sole possession of 17th on the all-time goal list, moving ahead of fellow Finn, Jari Kurri. 

"I'd rather not pass him and have these points to give us still a chance," said Selanne, acknowledging the bittersweet milestone.  "What happened earlier in the season put us behind the eight ball.  In October, November, we lost games that we were not supposed to lose.  Those points are killing us now."

The Ducks could not add to the lead on the extended power play time, even though they spent most of the time in the Canucks end.  They still took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission, but would regret not having more of a cushion.

The lead was short lived as Grabner roofed another beauty behind McElhinney just 1:22 into the third period.   Hats off to the youngster at 3:55 when he tipped in a Christian Ehrhoff's blue line shot for his first career hat trick.  The Canuck fan filled lower bowl happily tossed a few chapeaus onto the ice to celebrate the first Vancouver lead of the game.

"I've been here for a few games now," said Grabner, who played in just his 17th game this season.  "I've had a lot of chances and didn't get one in, so it's nice to get the first couple out of the way."

Selanne's second power play goal of the evening at 9:20 tied up the game again.  It also moved Selanne to #9 all-time on the power play goals list ahead of Mike Gartner with 218 goals.  More than a third of Selanne's goals have been with the man advantage.

The back and forth scoring continued with someone not named Grabner putting the Canucks ahead once more at 13:33.  Hansen finished off the rebound of Ehrhoff's shot that McElhinney could not control. 

Time was winding down, but the tired Canucks took another penalty late.  The Ducks took a time out, then pulled McElhinney to make it 6 on 4.  It only took :15 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity before Koivu got his second goal of the game at 18:36.

Overtime saw chances on both sides, including to glorious post shots by the Canucks.  Anaheim just could not get it done in the shootout.  Corey Perry scored on his attempt, but McElhinney, in his first shootout, was unable to stop Kyle Wellwood and Pavol Demitra.  Andrew Raycroft made two great stops on Selanne and Bobby Ryan, and the that was it.  Game over.

"One is good, but we were going for two (points)," said Troy Bodie after the game.  "We know we're still in the hunt."

After the game, McElhinney spent a long time sitting in his stall, deep in thought and clearly feeling the weight of the Ducks burden upon his shoulders.  He made 36 saves in another impressive performance, but none of that seemed to matter to him.  In his eyes, he was responsible for the loss and seemed unable to forgive himself for his lack of perfection.   One wanted to remind him that in the end, it really is just a game.

So the Ducks wend their way up the freeway to have a final two games in a home and home series with the Kings.  The Kings want to solidify a playoff spot and the Ducks would enjoy nothing more than spoiling those attempts and keeping their own dimming hopes alive.    

In other notes:  Brendan Mikkelson was sent back to the Toronto Marlies earlier today.  Ryan Getzlaf missed his fourth game since reinjuring his ankle.  Jonas Hiller missed his third game with back spasms.  James Wisniewski served the final game of his eight-game suspension.  He is eligible to return on Saturday night against the Kings.

The Ducks have been busy in the past couple of days.  They have recalled defenseman Nathan Oystrick from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.  The 27 year-old was acquired from Atlanta in exchange for Evgeny Artyukhin.  This would be an opportunity to see what the physical d-man can do, again with a look to next season.

The Ducks also played back-up goalie switcheroo.  They sent JP Levasseur back to Springfield and recalled Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Marlies.  Jonas Hiller remains out with back spasms and Curtis McElhinney has been performing admirably in his absence.  In fact, the Ducks have won the past three games that McElhinney has been in net.  MacDonald will take his turn at being the back-up.

In other Ducks news, defenseman Mat Clark was signed to a three-year contract earlier this week.  The 19 year-old remains with his OHL club.  Announcement of another signing, of forward Peter Holland, is expected to come out soon.  Holland, drafted in 2009, had a strong training camp and is reputed to be signed to a three year deal as well.

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A week ago the Ducks had lost two in a row on the road, Ryan Getzlaf reinjured his ankle and the team decided to throw in the towel in the playoff race.  Rather than continue to push for what seemed impossible, the Ducks took a look at some young players with a view to the future.

Since that time, they have won all three games, including two on the road, and have bounced back from 11 points out of a playoff spot to 7 points out of a playoff spot.

Is it likely the Ducks will squeak into the playoffs with six games left to play?   A defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night would have all but eliminated the team.  Instead, the Ducks had a decisive 5-2 victory over the slumping Avalanche and that glimmer of hope still exists.  A teeny tiny glimmer, but a glimmer nonetheless.

Getting it done against the Avalanche was a team effort, but the line of Jason Blake, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu were the ones on the scoresheet.

Blake figured into every Ducks goal with one goal and four assists and a +5 on the evening.  Koivu had a goal and three assists and was +4.  Selanne got goal #601 to tie him with Jari Kurri, as well as another assist and was also +5.

It appeared that the Avalanche scored first, early in the game, but Cody McLeod's stick was deemed higher than the crossbar and therefore the goal was waved off after a review.

So Steve Eminger got the party started at 15:40 of the first period.  Craig Anderson, who was not as sharp as he has been all season for Colorado, misplayed the puck.   Blake intercepted it, got it to Koivu and Eminger finished it off.

The Ducks took advantage of another turnover late in the period with Koivu scoring at 19:56.   Taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission was far better than a 1-0 lead and the Avs never could recover.

Milan Hejduk got the Avs on the board at 13:22 of the second period with a power play goal.  Curtis McElhinney, getting his third consecutive start, had no chance on the shot.

The Avs remained hopeful of getting back in the game until Scott Niedermayer had a tight angle shot that seemed to literally go through two people to make it into the net behind Anderson at 19:30.

Colorado refused to die and came out shooting in the third period.  Another turnover cost them.  The odd man rush down the other end resulted in Selanne's 601^st goal, 22^nd of the year, at 2:34.  Blake extended the lead further at 12:02 and his five points ties a club record for most points in a game.

Darcy Tucker made it 5-2 at 13:26, but that was it for the Avs.  They have now lost six of the past seven games, stalled in the standings.  For a team that was predicted to be last in the Western Conference, they have been the little engine that could, defying the odds and staying consistent all season.  Until now.

However, the Avs misfortune could be to the Ducks benefit.  There is another team, the Kings, also struggling a bit as the regular season comes to a close.  The Ducks play them twice more before the season is done and those points could be huge.

Next up is the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.  The Canucks play the Kings on Thursday night, and a win for Vancouver would seal up a playoff spot for them.  It would also continue to put the Kings in a precarious position.

The Ducks can only control what they do, but the next three games could very well determine if the glimmer of hope is real or only fool's gold.

The Ducks have recalled J.P. Levasseur from the AHL to act as interim back-up goaltender.  Last night Jonas Hiller experienced back spasms during the warm-up prior to the game against Dallas and Curtis McElhinney was given his second start in a row.  After further evaluation this morning, the Ducks felt it best to recall Levasseur until Hiller is deemed ready to go.

Anaheim is now headed to Colorado for a one-game road trip.  They will play the Avalanche for the final time this season on Wednesday night.  If Hiller remains day to day, McElhinney will get his third start in a row and hopefully his third win in a row.

 

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When Jari Kurri scored #600 in 1998, there were not many members of the 600 club.  12 years later, and Teemu Selanne is still only the 18th member of the club.  Kurri, Selanne's boyhood idol and teammate for one season on the Ducks, was flown in from Finland to help honor Selanne's milestone before the game on Monday night.  Selanne's family was also there, along with his mom, Liisa.   

While the initial focus was on celebrating Selanne, the Ducks were even happier to celebrate a victory over the Dallas Stars.

Before the game Kurri said he would be ok seeing his friend tie and/or pass him at 601 goals. 

"I gave up a long time ago so I’m ready to see it now!"

Kurri would have to wait.  Selanne could not even put the puck in the empty net at the end of the game and finished with 8 unfulfilled shots on goal. 

 

The Ducks had an extra jump in their step from the moment the puck dropped, but could not get anything past Kari Lehtonen until the second period.   Then the floodgates opened. 

Nick Bonino, playing in only his second game, got his first ever NHL goal at 8:11.  The power play goal was assisted by Selanne.  Not a bad way to start your career.  Selanne, who scored 76 in his rookie year, happily dragged the puck out of the net for the souvenir and told Bonino he still remembers his first one.

Bonino did not look out of place in his first game, and he was equally comfortable in his second.  He agreed that his first would also be remembered for the rest of his life.

"It's incredible when I get on the ice with Selanne, Perry, Niedermayer," reflected Bonino.  "You really can't do any wrong.  I got an opportunity and I'm just trying to make the best of it."

Corey Perry scored at 12:41 and Kyle Chipchura made it 3-0 less than a minute later at 13:30.   Time out by Dallas, who at that point was being outshot 25 - 13.  It was not Lehtonen's fault for lettin' in all those goals.  He got virtually zero support from his teammates in front of him.   Despite the score, Lehtonen still ended up making 43 saves in the game.

The Stars got one goal behind Curtis McElhinney, who started in net for the second game in a row as Jonas Hiller had back spasms during the warm up.  Loui Erikkson had a beautiful shot that circled around McElhinney at 14:49.

That was it for the Stars, even though they poured it on in the third period.  McElhinney stood firm, stopping 30 shots, 14 of them in the third period alone. 

"That's the way he played in the last game for us," said coach Randy Carlyle.  "He just continues to prove that he's a quality goaltender.  He had to make some big stops, but they didn't get too many second and third opportunities.  A lot of the pucks that were directed his way were swallowed up, and that's a great sign for a goalie."

The Ducks now head back out again to Colorado for a single road game on Wednesday.   

In other notes:  Aaron Ward was out with a bruised foot suffered when blocking a shot against Edmonton on Friday night.  Ryan Getzlaf continues to be day to day with an re-injured ankle.  For Dallas, Mike Ribeiro sat in the pressbox as punishment for missing a team meeting on Sunday.  He did not look happy.