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.

The Ducks keep rolling.  Even when they have a hiccup here and there, they manage to regroup, recover and end up with two points at the end of an evening.

The latest two points came in a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  This was their fifth win a row and it did not come easily.

After returning home from a six game road trip, Anaheim had a rough start against Columbus.  Their legs were not there and the Blue Jackets dominated for most of the first period.  Fortunately Jonas Hiller, who was back in net 10 days after having strained his groin against Dallas, was up to the task and kept the Ducks in the game until they could wake up.

Vinny Prospal got the Blue Jackets on the board at 3:30, with an assist to Prospal's face.  It could easily have been a much higher score, but Hiller was motivated to be in top form.  A very successful Viktor Fasth breathing down Hiller's neck is good motivation.

"We could have been down 4-0 after the first 10 minutes, but (Hiller) kept us in there until we battled back," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "His athleticism was great. Some of the saves he made, he shouldn't have made. But he did, and that was what we saw last year from January through March, and that's what makes him a great goaltender."

In the middle of the first period, Peter Holland was called for an interference penalty.  The Blue Jackets got a questionable call as time was winding down on the power play, so both teams spent the last :23 seconds playing 4 on 4. 

When Holland was sprung from the penalty box, Ben Lovejoy and Bobby Ryan did a great job getting the puck to Holland.  Holland took off down the ice and made a beauty of a shot that landed behind Igor Bobrovsky.  Tie game.

:21 seconds later, Ryan Getzlaf got a puck through traffic and through Corey Perry's legs to make it 2-1 at 16:17.

It was clear the Ducks finally woke up.

"They paly a hard game, dump the puck into the zone and get after it," said Perry.  "We weren't ready the first ten minutes, but then we found our legs."

And as usual, the Ducks did not panic.

Holland called it "a quiet confidence."  The kind of confidence that you know that even if you are down, you can still come back and you will come back.  

Columbus gave the Ducks a good run for their money, though.  They continued to push hard and dominate for parts of the remaining game.  Anaheim stood firm, though.

Perry got his third of the year on the power play at 8:44 of the third period to give the Ducks a two goal lead.  They needed it.  Derrick Brassard made it 3-2 at 12:06 and the Ducks could not sit back.

In the end, they held on for the regulation win, despite Perry being in the box late and Columbus having a 6 on 4 advantage with an empty net at the other end. 

"We knew it was going to be a tough test coming off of a successful road trip," said Perry.  "It’s not easy when you come home and you have to play two nights later. We did what we had to do tonight and we got away with two points."

Now after winning five in a row, the Ducks will have five days off to recover a bit before their next game against Colorado on Sunday. 

Hopefully Cam Fowler will be able to rejoin the line up.  Fowler is now skating again with the team after suffering a mild concussion on February 2. 

After an amazing start to his NHL career, Viktor Fasth was named the NHL second star of the week for the week ending February 17. 

In that time, Fasth was 3-0-0 with a 1.89 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.  Those wins against Chicago, Detroit and Nashville, while on the road, have helped the Ducks get to an 11-2-1 start.  Their Pacific Division lead is six points.

Fasth improved to 8-0-0, becoming the third goaltender in League history to win his first eight or more decisions.  Ray Emery went 9-0-0 with Ottawa from 2003-2005 and Philadelphia's Bob Froese was 8-0-0 in 1983.

The 30-year-old native of Kalix, Sweden, signed with the Ducks as a free agent in May 2012 after garnering Swedish Elite League Goaltender of the Year honors the previous two seasons.

He is too old to qualify for the Calder trophy as rookie of the year, but he certainly continues to turn heads and is providing a solid net presence for Anaheim.

John Tavares, who plays for the New York Islanders, got the number one star of week honors.  Jiri Tlusty, with the Carolina Hurricanes, came in third.

It is unknown if Fasth will start in net against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday or if Jonas Hiller will be back in.  The Ducks are finally back at home after a six game road trip that went 5-1-1, their best ever in franchise history. 

Somehow Anaheim keeps finding a way to get the job done and win games.  The persevering Ducks finished up their six game road trip with a 3-2 shootout win over Nashville, giving them a 5-1-0 record on the trip, their best road trip in franchise history.

It was the second of back to back games, and the Ducks were clearly tired.  Nonetheless, they dug deep, got great goaltending from Viktor Fasth (again), and pulled off yet another win in a building that has not been very friendly to the team.

"Finding ways to win," said Nick Bonino, who was successful for the third time in a row during a shootout.   "It's the easiest way to put it."

Doing enough of the good things, was how coach Bruce Boudreau put it.  Enough of those good things paid off.

The Ducks took too many penalties that were an obvious show of fatigue on the road weary team.  They had good enough penalty kill to kill off all five of them.  That included a too many men on the ice penalty with less than a minute remaining in the game that turned into a 4 on 3 in overtime.

Their best penalty killer was Fasth, who stopped 32 shots in his eighth win in eights starts.  He is just one more starting win away from the record of nine wins in nine starts that Ray Emery accomplished in 2005-2007 with Ottawa.   

“It’s the team effort that counts,” said Fasth humbly.  “I’m not going to stand here and just talk about myself. I mean, it’s a team sport. If the guys don’t play good in front of me, I can’t play good. And the other way around. It’s a team game.”

Yes, it is a team game, but there are some nights where your goaltender steals you a couple of points.   Without Fasth, the Ducks would not have fared so well in Nashville.

David Legwand had an easy tap in goal at 13:31 of the first period to put the Predators on the board first. 

Matt Beleskey tied up the game at 17:25 with his second goal in as many games.  Beleskey has been on the top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, and for a guy who was expected to be the forechecker and the guy who did the dirty work, he has been a pleasant scoring surprise.

Beleskey's goal was the first that Pekke Rinne had allowed in 155 minutes.

The Predators took back the lead at 9:31 of the second period.  Shea Weber got his first goal of the season and he looked as happy and relieved as Perry did the night before in Detroit. 

Rookie Patrick Maroon, who was recently called up from Norfolk, got his first ever NHL goal at 16:08 to tie up the game.   Maroon was on the fourth line, which still had a jump in their step, somthing missing from the rest of the Ducks.  Maroon was able to score in front of his family, who came from St. Louis to watch him play in person. 

The Ducks (and Fasth) were able to hold on to the tie and took the game to overtime.  Instead of really attacking the Ducks, the Predators were more cautious and once again the Ducks took a game to overtime and a shootout.

Fasth was able to stop two of Nashville's shooters, while Bonino and Perry got their shots behind Rinne to win the game.

The Ducks now get to come home and rest (a little).  They play Columbus on Monday at the Honda Center and then have five days without a game on the schedule.  That could be good (recover) or they could lose some of the very good momentum that they have built up. 

Jonas Hiller was able to back up Fasth against Nashville and could find himself in net against Columbus. 

With these Anaheim Ducks, apparently all things are possible, even winning at Joe Louis Arena.    The Ducks finally got their fourth regular season win (after a mere 37 attempts) with a 5-2 defeat of the Red Wings.

Red Wings fans were not very happy about that.  They are used to seeing their home team trounce upon the Ducks.    That is to be expected.  The last time Anaheim came into their building and won was February 10, 2008.  Before that?  March 19, 2002.  

"They're a depleted team, so you can't overlook that," said Bobby Ryan. "It's just one of those buildings that sucks the life out of you. It's hard to get ready and the whole building is hot -- you're falling asleep before the game sometimes."

Did it help that the Red Wings no longer have the services of Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom, who both retired?  Or that Pavel Datsyuk was scratched from the line up minutes before the game, adding to the already long list of injured Wings?  Probably.

However, the way these Ducks are playing, they would have gotten a win anyway.  It just would have been a bit closer in the score.

Even though it was scoreless in the first period, Jimmy Howard deserved much of the credit for keeping Anaheim off the board.  Howard was very, very good, stopping 32 shots, half of them in the first period alone.

Detroit managed to get on the board first at 3:01 of the second period.  Joakim Andersson got his first ever NHL goal. 

The joy was short lived as Matt Beleskey firmly answered back just :26 seconds later to tie up the game.  Ryan Getzlaf's no-look pass found Beleskey in front of the net, who happily slammed the puck behind Howard.

Tomas Tatar put the Red Wings back on top at 6:32 with a power play goal, but that was all they could muster against Viktor Fasth.    Fasth got his seventh start in goal and his seventh win, stopping 26 shots.

As it was earlier, the Detroit lead did not last long.  Corey Perry tied things up once again at 7:37 with his second goal of the year.  Perry has been snakebit for the past 13 games, so the relief on his face was evident.

Things finally broke open in the third period.  Both Andrew Cogliano and Ryan took advantage of bad turnovers by Detroit and scored :48 seconds apart.   Ryan did so on his knees.

The Wings could not come back, despite a couple of power plays and good short handed chances.   A bold move by coach Mike Babcock to remove Howard from net for the extra attacker with nearly 2:30 minutes left only yielded an empty net goal from Cogliano at 18:11 to seal the Ducks fate.

"We don't get down on the bench," Perry said. "We stay positive. Guys are still playing the same way. We don't change anything. If we continue to do that, we're going to be successful." 

The Ducks have a 10-2-1 record thus far, and are 4-1-0 on this road trip with one game left against Nashville on Saturday night.  Another difficult building for the Ducks to play in.

Fasth will likely be in net due to Jonas Hiller's extended time off due to a groin injury.  With the way Fasth has been playing, Anaheim has the luxury of making sure Hiller is 100% before returning to his duties.

"(Fasth) has been our most valuable player," Ryan observed. "He has come in and given us a chance to win every game. He's a true professional."

Next chance comes quickly in the back to back and final road game of this trip.  Their chances are getting better with every game.

Although Rickard Rakell impressed the Ducks enough in their mini training camp to stay for a few regular season games, the party is over.  Rakell, 19, was not eligible to be sent to the AHL, so he was sent back to his junior team. 

"Once you get a taste of it here, you always want to stay," said Rakell. "I think this could a be a good way for me. We can have a good run with Plymouth and we‘ll see what happens after that. I’m just going to focus on keep working out, keep trying to get better.  I feel like I’m close. Just little details that I have to work on. I hope I’ll be back soon."

Rakell played in four games and had a -2 rating with no points.  It is a good sign that he made the team at this age and he will only improve.

In other news, the Ducks are happy that goaltender, Jonas Hiller, is rapidly improving from his lower body injury.  He injured himself on Friday against Dallas, lasting only one period in the game before Viktor Fasth took over in relief.

Hiller has been skating and practicing with the team and could be ready to go on Friday against Detroit or Nashville on Saturday.

“I’ll have to see how it feels later today if it starts tightening up again,” said Hiller after the morning practice. “I felt pretty good. I definitely hope I’ll be able to play on the weekend. At the same time, I don’t want to rush it just to be back.  I’m happy so far. It feels better. It’s nice to be back on the ice.”

Finally, the Ducks have recalled Patrick Maroon and Peter Holland from Norfolk.  They join Nate Guenin, who was called up earlier in the week.

On the road, going into Chicago to play a team that remains undefeated in regulation, you would think the Ducks would have been nervous and intimated.  They weren't.   Instead, the Ducks held their own against the best team in the NHL and came out with a 3-2 win in a shootout. 

"It was pretty much a test for us to see where we stand," said goaltender Viktor Fasth. "I think we showed ourselves that we are a really good team and we can beat every team in the league."

Having Fasth in net for the Ducks has certainly helped that endeavor.  Fasth has won all six of his starts and is getting more time in net because Jonas Hiller remains out with a lower body injury.  Even if Hiller were 100%, Fasth has more than earned his net time. 

"His demeanor is so calm and he settles everything down when he's on top of his game," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "He instills confidence in the players in front of him."

There is no question that Anaheim is playing with confidence these days.  They beat the St. Louis Blues in a shootout on Saturday after being down 3-1.  They had to come back in this game as well.  Instead of crumbling or giving in, they have persevered and are being rewarded for their patience and hard work.

After a scoreless first period, the Ducks got on the scoreboard first with a power play goal from Ryan Getzlaf at 3:33.  Technically Brent Seabrook had an assist, but they don't usually credit the other team for the opponent's goal.   It was the first shot that got behind Corey Crawford and was nearly the only shot to make it past the tenacious netminder.

Chicago tied up the game on a power play goal of their own from Nick Leddy at 10:17.  They took the lead thanks to Brandon Saad on a weird goal less than :30 later. 

Saad got the puck on net and as it headed over the goal line, the net was knocked off its moorings.  Fasth was at the bottom of a huge pile up in the crease and it was unclear if the puck actually crossed the line.  The ruling on the ice was no goal.

After a long video review in Toronto, it was determined that the puck actually did cross the line before the net was knocked off the moorings completely.   Although the net was technically still connected to the posts, it was bending backwards, in process of dislodging.  Nonetheless, the goal stood, whether or not Anaheim agreed with or liked the ruling.

"That was a tough pill to swallow," said Andrew Cogliano, who tied up the game with less that three minutes remaining in the third period.  "But the main thing is we kept going and got [the win]."

Kept going they did.  They threw everything on Crawford, but only Cogliano's shot squeaked past. 

The Ducks were kept on their heels when Toni Lydman was assessed a penalty with just :09.8 seconds remaining in the game.  After killing that off as a 4 on 3 in overtime, Lydman almost immediately returned to the box with a high sticking penalty.  The Ducks were able to kill off both penalties successfully (thank you Fasth!) and took the Blackhawks to a shootout. 

It was the second shootout in a row for the Ducks and they were just as successful this time as they were against the Blues.  Nick Bonino, who had the game winner in the shootout on Saturday, got the first nod for the Ducks and is now two for two in the shootout.  Corey Perry also got his shot in over Crawford.  Fasth, who could not stop Jonathan Toews shot, was able to stop the next two shooters and the win was Anaheim's. 

Anaheim is now 3-1-0 on this road trip with two more tough games ahead before they can go home.  Detroit is up next, a building where they have won only a handful of times in the regular season.  Literally.   In 20 years, they are 3-25-8 at Joe Louis Arena.

Maybe having Fasth in net will make it four.  If the Ducks keep playing this well, anything is possible.