Captain, oh captain!  Ryan Getzlaf has signed an eight-year contract extension that will see him in an Anaheim jersey through the 2020-2021 season 

The $66 million contract breaks down to $6.5M next year then $8.75M, $9.25M, $9.25M, $9.025M, $8.95M, $8.275M and $6M.

“We are very happy to have Ryan committed to this franchise long-term,” said GM Bob Murray. “He has often expressed his interest to stay in Anaheim for his entire career, a goal we share. He is a leader, a proven winner, and possesses a skill set that’s hard to find. This is a great day for the Ducks.”

Ducks fans are equally happy and breathing a partial sigh of relief.  No one wanted to see Getzlaf test free agency at the end of the year, or worse, be traded before the deadline. 

Getzlaf, 27, was a first round draft pick by the Ducks in 2003 and has appeared in 534 career NHL games with the Ducks, scoring 146-353=499 points with a +77 rating and 504 penalty minutes (PIM).  He was named the eighth captain in Ducks history on Oct. 3, 2010.

“I’m extremely thankful to the Samuelis, Michael Schulman, Bob Murray and the entire Ducks organization for the opportunity to remain in Anaheim for the long-term,” said Getzlaf. “This is a wonderful day for my family, as Anaheim has become our home. The fans here have treated me very well, and I look forward to being part of a winning hockey team and contributing to the Orange County community for years to come.”

One can only hope that Getzlaf's "twin," Corey Perry, will be the next signing.  Perry, the Hart trophy MVP a couple seasons ago, is also up for a new contract.    Perry was also a first round draft pick in 2003 and the two have been joined at the hip ever since within the Anaheim organization.

"When you find somebody to play with who has so much chemistry like Getzy and Perry, for me, it would be crazy to go somewhere else when you have almost everything you really need," observed Teemu Selanne. "You have a franchise who really wants to win, who treats players so well. You have an unbelievable hockey player to play with. I can see why this place could be a happy place for both of them for a long, long time. That’s not me. It’s up to them. But I’d like to see Corey Perry to do the same thing, but that’s only my opinion.”

Selanne's opinion would be well advised to follow. 

“It’s nice to get it out of the way and we can worry about the important things in this season right now and pushing forward," said Getzlaf.

Like beating the Calgary Flames tonight.

It only took three times (and a change of venue!) but the Ducks finally defeated the Coyotes.  After two consecutive 5-4 shootout losses in Phoenix, the miniseries came to Anaheim where everything changed.

The Ducks and Jonas Hiller were able to procure a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday night.  In a case of very strange fuzzy math, the Ducks and Coyotes split the three game series with four points each. 

Anaheim continued their recent trend of scoring first with Corey Perry getting what would be the eventual game winner at 7:10 of the first period.  He put the puck behind Jason LaBarbera, who was in net instead of Mike Smith. 

LaBarbera stopped everything else, including a penalty shot by Andrew Cogliano in the second period. 

The only other puck that went in was Ryan Getzlaf's empty netter with less than a minute remaining in the game.   That made it 2-0 and sealed the victory for Anaheim.

"That was a much better defensive effort," said Getzlaf. "Our goaltending was great, and we didn't give them second chances."

Bobby Ryan, who was back on the top line with Perry and Getzlaf, also liked how his teammates played.

"I thought we locked the neutral zone up pretty well," Ryan said. "We didn’t really let them get through there too many times with full possession. They were having to dump it a lot and our D was doing a good job going back and keeping it along the wall and getting it out. It was just a gutsier effort defensively.”

That defense gave Hiller a bit of a rest in net.  Getting his second consecutive start in net, Hiller only had to face 18 shots for his first shutout of the season, compared to 40 in the previous game.

The Ducks continue their every other day of play with a game on Friday night at home against the Calgary Flames.  The Flames have not won in Anaheim since 2004, but you can be sure they will want to end that streak as well as slow down the Ducks progress as the second best team in the Western Conference and the NHL. 

Anaheim has made two entry level signings this week.

First, they signed center Charlie Sarault to a three year contract that was announced on Tuesday.  Sarault, 21, currently leads the Ontario Hockey League in scoring for the Sarnia Sting.

"I guess since its not so much of a secret anymore, yes the rumours are true I did just lately sign to the Anaheim Ducks, I can't express In words how happy and excited I am to be signed by such a great organization #Honoured #DreamComeTrue," was what Sarault posted on his Twitter account before the signing was officially announced.

Sarault has 22 goals and 102 points with a +18 rating in 63 games this season.

On Wednesday the Ducks also announced that they signed defenseman Kevin Gagne to a three-year entry-level contract.

Gagne, 20, has appeared in 294 career Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) games, scoring 39-130=169 points with a +129 rating and 136 penalty minutes (PIM).  He currently plays for Rimouski after being traded from St. John, where he played for four seasons.

Joseph Cramarossa, a third round draft pick from 2011, was also signed to an entry level deal which was announced on Saturday.

Per club policy, financial details of the contracts were not disclosed by Anaheim.

The Ducks will be happy to get the Phoenix Coyotes out of their system.  Monday night's 5-4 shootout loss looked like a repeat of Saturday's loss.  Only the goal scorers and netminder changed. 

Jonas Hiller got the nod in net for Anaheim and did not fare any better than Viktor Fasth did two nights before.  Mike Smith got the same results, though, helping his team to earn four out of four points while the Ducks went home with two out of four. 

"If we want to average or mediocre, then we can look at it as we got two points in the two games here," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "But if we want to be reall ygood, we know we had chances to win both games and we didn't get the job done."

Anaheim certainly had their chances, but they could not manage to hold on to a lead to save their life.

Matt Beleskey scored first at 10:12 of the first period and the Coyotes tied up the game :59 seconds into the second period with a goal from Antoine Vermette. 

The Ducks kept taking penalties and Keith Yandle got a power play goal at 6:34 to put Phoenix ahead. 

Ryan Getzlaf got his first short handed goal in over five years to tie up the game at 19:52 of the second period.  It was a positive note on a period that was just plain awful for the Ducks.

The Ducks regained a little momentum in the third and took the lead again at 1:56 thanks to Corey Perry's power play goal.  It was the first power play opportunity for the Ducks in the game and they capitalized on it. 

Shane Doan took the lead right back :11 seconds later.  To continue the ping pong quality of the third period, Bobby Ryan scored at 6:31.   Matthew Lombardi tied it up once more at 7:49.

"Two, three goals were kind of like bad goals," reflected Hiller, who made 36 saves in the game. "Ones I want to get them back."

Unfortunately the new collective bargaining agreement nor any other NHL rule allows for a return of goals.   You let them in, they count.

The Ducks had no chance of winning in overtime, as they could not muster a shot on goal, so a shootout it had to be.  Again.

This one took until round five, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson got the decisive goal.  5-4 Phoenix.  Game over.  Fly home and get ready to play.....dammit.....Phoenix again on Wednesday.

Perhaps a change of venue will change the results for the Ducks?

"We've got a little work to do," Getzlaf said. 

Better get cracking.

In other notes:  Brandon McMillan was called up from Norfolk due to the injury to Kyle Palmieri.  McMillan had not made an appearance with the Ducks since December 2011.

One game down, two to go.   Clearly the Ducks will need to do better than their first effort that ended up in a 5-4 loss in shootout to the Phoenix Coyotes.

You would think a hat trick from Andrew Cogliano would have propelled the team forward to another win, but no such luck.  Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith had a lot to do with the Phoenix win, as well.  Smith stopped 31 shots including all three Anaheim shots in the shootout.

Cogliano caught Smith just :21 seconds into the game to make it 1-0.   A power play saw Anaheim spend the entire two minutes in the Coyotes zone.  They garnered eight shots on goal, but Smith refused to yield.  

The momentum from that penalty kill carried over and Phoenix tied up the game at 10:30.  Matthew Lombardi was the beneficiary of a weird bounce off the boards.  The puck went straight to his stick and then he put it behind Viktor Fasth. 

For a long time neither side looked like they were going to budge or give up any goals.  Then that changed quickly.

Lauri Korpikoski got the first of two goals at 12:32 of the second period.  The puck hit the crossbar and went in behind Fasth.  Cogliano tied up the game again just :27 seconds later.

The hat trick happened at 17:26 and Cogliano looked like a one man wrecking crew.  It was Cogliano's second hat trick.  His first came against Phoenix last season.

"I can't really explain it," said Cogliano.  "I felt like our line was playing well and I was shooting the puck and finding the net.  One was a pretty nice shot and then I was in the right spot found a way under (Smith) twice."

As much as Cogliano enjoys playing against Phoenix, Korpikoski enjoys playing against Anaheim. 

The Ducks were not ready to start the third period, clearly evidence that they were tired playing the second of back to back games.  Korpikoski got his second of the night just :15 seconds in.  Tie game again.

Saku Koivu scored a power play goal at 6:25 to give the Ducks back the lead, but Phoenix was relentless.  They outshot Anaheim 17-7 in the third and were rewarded for their perseverence.

Steve Sullivan tied up the game at 4-4, forcing the game into overtime.  The Ducks could not convert on a power play opportunity in the extra period and in the shootout Smith clamped down hard for the extra point.

Sullivan was the only scorer for Phoenix, but that was enough to win the game with Smith stopping everything else. 

"We want to be greedy and get the two points every chance you get, but in the last 10 minutes they were the better team," coach Bruce Boudreau conceded. "It was an entertaining game, just a little sloppy."

The Ducks cannot be that sloppy or tired in their next two games against the Coyotes.  Otherwise Phoenix will happily gobble up those precious points in the Pacific Division. 

In other notes:  Kyle Palmieri, who had a hat trick a couple games ago, was lost from the line up in the first period after suffering an upper body injury. 

The wins keep coming for the Ducks.  Some have been come from behind.  Some have been dominant games.  The one against Minnesota on Friday night was hang on by a thread.

It matters not how they were won, but that they were won at all and Anaheim's 15-3-1 record is the second best in the NHL behind only Chicago (who appears incapable of losing in regulation ever this season).

"I think the biggest thing is the team confidence," said Teemu Selanne, who scored goal #669 of his career.  "It doesn't matter if we're down two goals or you're up 3-0, we know we're going to win the game. You don't have to change much, you don't have to really panic or anything. Just stay with the plan."

At least the plan seems to be "score first" rather than "let the other guy score and then catch up."  The Ducks tried the latter plan for six games, with much success, but they are finding the former plan just as rewarding. 

"Now you want me to explain those?" Ryan Getzlaf joked with the media. "Before I had to explain the slow starts. Nobody's ever happy. Those are obviously something we consciously talked about and having to come back in games. But at the same time, we've got to play a complete 60 minutes as well."

Getzlaf had an easy tap in from Corey Perry at 4:45 of the first period to get the scoring started.  Selanne added another goal that he has scored on in Darcy Kuemper, who got the nod in net after the Wild had played the night before.  Selanne's goal at 11:21 bumped him past Luc Robitaille on the all time list into 11th place. 

"Luc is a friend of mine," said Selanne.  "t's a big honor, obviously. The way he played, it's fun to watch. It's overwhelming. When you look at all the names, it's hard to believe it's happening. But it's fun. It's a fun journey for myself, too. Most nights I still feel good."

If he still feels good to add one more year, he can take a stab at the 700 club, which has even fewer members than the 600 club.    Heck, Ducks fans would be more than happy to see Selanne in the 800 club and top three all time.

Matt Beleskey made it 3-0 at 11:26 of the second period.  Daniel Winnik shot the puck and Kuemper thought it was under his pads.  It was not.  It was exposed and Beleskey merely had to poke it in over the line, much to Kuemper's surprise.

From there on out, the Wild continued to pour it on.  Kyle Brodziak got a weird bounce off a stanchion right to his stick.  The puck made a resounding clank off the post and in behind Jonas Hiller just :25 seconds into the third period. 

Devin Setoguchi brought the Wild within one goal at 10:37 with a perfectly placed shot to the top right corner. 

A late power play for Minnesota and an empty net to make it 6 on 4 still proved fruitless as Anaheim hung on for the win. 

Hiller made 31 saves, a performance that gave him the NHL's second star of the evening.

"We needed him tonight," said Getzlaf, appreciative of the Hiller holding down the net to help them earn two points.

The Ducks now go to Phoenix to play another back to back game.  Instead of coming home again, they can settle into the hotel a bit and remember what the playoffs feel like because they will also play the Coyotes on Monday night as well.  Then they come back home to face them again on Wednesday.      They will do the same thing with Dallas at the beginning of April. 

Those points will either help further the distance between Anaheim and their Pacific Division rivals, or tighten up the race.  You can bet that Los Angeles, Dallas and San Jose are hoping the latter.  Hope they don't bet too much.

For Anaheim, who are 14-3-1 to lead the Pacific Division, the losses have been few and far between.  How do you recover from a loss to your hated division rivals on Monday night?  Follow it up with a resounding 5-1 victory against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

Nashville, a team that has tripped the Ducks up in the past, seemed like easy pickings.  Pekke Rinne, a Vezina finalist for the past two seasons, was relieved from his duties in net after two periods and all five Ducks goals.

The Ducks were firing on all cylinders, especially in the first period, and scored first for the second game in a row.  They also scored second, third, fourth......

Nick Bonino took advantage of Rinne being caught behind the net at 2:48 to put Anaheim on the board.  Then it was the Kyle Palmieri show. 

Palmieri got a natural hat trick, the first of his career.  The first goal came at 3:49, the next at 16:56.  The piece de resistance was on the power play at 1:06 of the second period.  

"It was an awesome feeling," said Palmieri, still grinning from ear to ear.  "I couldn't believe it at first.  I wasn't actually sure if it went in."

Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf got assists on all three goals.

"He's a shooter," said Getzlaf.  "Kyle does a great job finding the areas.  He's got the speed on the outside.  That's what we need."

After a performance like that, it is reasonable to assume Palmieri will remain on the top line for at least the next game before coach Bruce Boudreau shuffles the deck again.

Craig Smith scored the lone goal for Nashville at 9:27 of the middle frame.  It was the only shot that Viktor Fasth allowed in.   He stopped 20 shots for his ninth win in ten starts.

Saku Koivu's power play goal at 19:20 of the second period just added the exclamation point. 

Chris Mason, who took over for Rinne at the start of the third period, did not allow any more damage by the Ducks. 

The Ducks hopefully took advantage of the rest they had last week because they meet up with Minnesota on Friday night and then face the Phoenix Coyotes for the next three games, the first one as the second of back to back games on Saturday night.

If the Ducks can be as successful in March as they were in February (11-2-0), they should not have any problem seeing the post season this year.  That would be a nice change from last year, for sure.

All good things must come to an end and that includes the Ducks six game winning streak and Viktor Fasth being unbeaten in eight starts.

The Kings put an end to all that on Tuesday night in a 5-2 victory.  

"It had to come at some point," said Fasth. "For every win you have, you get closer to a [loss]. Just start over, and work hard in practice … we have to forget this and move on. I felt like that during the whole game that I had to work really hard to see the pucks and to keep them to me. It's one of those games."

It was also one of those rare games when the Ducks scored first, something they had not done since February 12 against Chicago.    Andrew Cogliano got the Ducks on the board at :13 seconds of the second period.

Dustin Penner tied up the game at 3:16 with his first goal of the year.  Then again, it is tough to score goals when you have been a healthy scratch for most of the season.   Jarrett Stoll knocked over Saku Koivu, who was not eligible to be hit, and then turned around to make the play to Penner.

It was ok, because Koivu made it 2-1 on the power play at 5:51.  Karma turned around and saw Rob Scuderi pass direct to Koivu instead of clearing the puck from the zone. 

But that was all the good karma that the Ducks could muster on their second of back to back games.

Dustin Brown got a late goal to tie up the game at 17:53 and things were never the same again.  Brown's flukey goal hit Fasth's glove, then the cross bar and in. 

"Once they scored that third goal it didn't seem like we had the push to sustain any rushes against," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "It was a tough situation for us. We didn't get a chance to breathe. Basically, every time we touched the puck they were on us. Especially after they scored and the crowd was energized and they were energized."

The crowd certainly helped motivate Slava Voynov, who gave the Kings the lead at 4:52 in the third with a puck that barely wobbled across the blue line.   It was quickly 4-2 with a power play goal from Jake Muzzin at 6:25.

Anaheim looked tired, took several penalties and could barely manage more than a single shot on Jonathan Quick until late in the game.   It was nowhere near enough and Jeff Carter happily put the puck in the empty net with :20.8 seconds remaining. 

Game over.  Streaks over.  Except for the Kings.  They now have a four game streak and have climbed up to 7th place in the Western Conference after languishing at the bottom for most of the season.

The Ducks still have a seven point lead in the Pacific Division, but in this shortened season, every game and point counts.

"We constantly kept saying how important these two points were – a division game, a team that's hot right now," said defenseman Drew Doughty.  "For us to win that and come out and win that third period, that was the first time I felt we were clicking like we had last year. The crowd was going nuts. We just had all the momentum that third and they had no chance."

Well, you can't win them all.  But the Ducks get a chance to regroup on Wednesday against Nashville at home.  Time to start a new winning streak.

In other notes:  Peter Holland was reassigned to Norfolk of the AHL and Emerson Etem was called back up.

The big question for the Ducks after their five day break from games is would they be ready or rusty?  The answer was both in a game that would take overtime to be decided in the Ducks favor, 4-3.

Anaheim was clearly rusty in the first period against Colorado.  They did not register a single shot on goal until seven minutes in to the period and Colorado spent the majority of the time in Anaheim's end.  

The Avalanche were rewarded for their hard work with a 2-0 lead by the end of the period.  Cody McLeod put them on the board at 2:28 and PA Parenteau added a power play goal at 12:54.   Jonas Hiller, getting his second start in a row, kept things from getting completely out of hand.

The modus operandi for the Ducks has been to give up the first goal in the game and then come from behind.  But they don't usually give up the first two goals.   Fortunately for the Ducks, the rust came off between the first and second periods.  

"We don’t want to be down two goals every game," said Francois Beauchemin.  "I don’t think anybody wants that.  We have to focus on trying to be ready right off the bat and get a couple of goals ourselves right away."

Corey Perry halved the deficit at 6:59 with a goal that clearly beat former Ducks netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere.  Giguere got the nod in net with the Avs playing the second of back to back games. 

Teemu Selanne tied up the game with his 250th power play goal at 9:24.  That puts him in third place all time, just ahead of Phil Esposito.   Brett Hull is in second place with 265 goals and if Selanne keeps playing, that is certainly within reach.

The tie did not last long.  John Mitchell took the lead back for the Avalanche once again at 10:04.

In the third period, the Ducks held Colorado to just one shot on goal, which made it difficult for them to get any more goals and it certainly gave Hiller a bit of a break.

Instead, the Ducks kept persevering.  Ryan Getzlaf tied up the game at 8:49 on the power play.  Seeing the puck sitting behind Giguere, who thought the puck was underneath his pads, Getzlaf skated speedily to the net and got the puck behind the blue line before anyone could react.

The Ducks could not get anything else past Giguere in regulation and it took a 4 on 3 power play towards the end of the extra time to be the deciding factor.

Perry got his second goal of the game with :46 left before another shootout. 

Six comebacks in a row for six wins a row.    The last time they won six games in a row was in November of 2010. 

"We have that feeling we can go out and win every night, in every situation," said Perry after the game.  "We win the little battles it taks to come back from, and everyone's contributing.  That's why it's happening."

Beauchemin was one of those contributors, assisting on every single Ducks goal for the evening, a career high four point game.

The Ducks now face a tougher challenge in the Los Angeles Kings, their second meeting of the season.  The Kings have finally warmed up after a sluggish start to their season, and games are always lively between these two clubs.  It won't be any different  in this one either.

One thing is certain.  The rust is off for the Ducks.  But can they manage to score first in the next game?

In other notes:  Cam Fowler returned to the Ducks line up after missing eight games due to a concussion.  His injury came against the Kings, so he should be revved up and ready to go.

Viktor Fasth has made a very quick impression on the Ducks in a very short period of time.  Fasth, who has won in all eight of his consecutive starts, was given a two year contract extension worth $5.8 million.

Fasth was signed last May by the Ducks.  He was relatively unknown here, but at age 30, he had proven himself a solid goaltender in Sweden.

"Viktor has proven himself not only this year in the NHL but the previous two seasons as the top goaltender in Sweden," said Ducks GM Bob Murray.  "We are pleased to be able to keep him and feel fortunate to have two top NHL goaltenders going forward."

While it was initially thought that Fasth would be a capable back up for Jonas Hiller, it appears that they are more of a 1A and 1B tandem. 

With Hiller back in net, the Ducks sent Jeff Deslauriers to the Fort Wayne Comets (ECHL) so that he could get some playing time.  Norfolk currently has Fredrik Andersen and Igor Bobkov sharing netminding responsibilities.  Deslauriers backed up Fasth for a few games while Hiller was recovering from a groin strain. 

Also getting reassigned was Nate Guenin.  Guenin was sent back to Norfolk.  He was called up last week, but did not see playing time with the Ducks during that period.

Hampus Lindholm also took the flight to Norfolk.  The 2012 first round draft pick had been suffering from a concussion and was recuperating with the Ducks.  Now that he is will enough, he goes back to the Ducks AHL affiliate.