After a busy and momentous weekend that saw the Ducks trade Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto, the game against Florida sort of felt like an afterthought.  At least it felt that way for fans.  For the team, they got the job done and Jonas Hiller earned his first shut-out (second of the year) since being handed a new contract and the clear number one spot in net.

It took a while for the Ducks to get anything past Tomas Vokoun, but in the second period, Ryan Getzlaf took advantage of a perfectly placed turnover that landed right at his feet.  Getzlaf was more than happy to put the puck in the net, getting the Ducks on the board at 15:17.

Late in the period, Keith Ballard was in the box for accidentally high sticking George Parros.  Teemu Selanne, who had missed the past two and a half weeks with a broken jaw, picked up where he left off and got a power play goal with less than :01 second remaining.   That makes goal number 596, four away from 600.  Selanne is tied with Bobby Ryan for most power play goals on the team, 8, even though Selanne has only played slightly more than half the season.

The second goal seemed to crush the Panthers and they never recovered.  Corey Perry extended the score to 3-0 at 17:18 and Hiller stopped 33 shots to get the win.

The Ducks finished the road trip 3-3 and now head back to California for games against Detroit on Wednesday and the Kings on Thursday (that one on LA).  How huge will the game be against Detroit?  Gigantic.  Only three points separate the Ducks and Red Wings in the standings and the Red Wings are tenuously holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Ducks have learned on this road trip that a couple of wins can edge you closer to your goal, but a couple of losses to quickly drop you down the standings ladder.  The Ducks want to continue to move up, not down, and still cannot afford to miss any points that are up for grabs.

In other notes: Matt Beleskey was sent back to Bakersfield in order to make room on the roster for incoming players.

Although not a trade deadline, the Ducks have been keeping busy, busy, busy this weekend.  In addition to re-signing Jonas Hiller to a four year contract, the Ducks also traded Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake.

Toskala apparently has been having difficulty getting his visa, delaying him from joining the Ducks, who are currently in Florida getting ready to play the Panthers this evening.  Toskala will be the fourth Finn on the team.

In light of Toskala's visa issues, Justin Pogge was called up from San Antonio of the AHL to back up Hiller in tonight's game.  Once Toskala joins the team, Pogge will go right back down.

The addition of Blake added to a glut of forwards for the Ducks.  Current lines include Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey on the top line.  Saku Koivu, Bobby Ryan and Dan Sexton on the second line.  Kyle Chipchura, Todd Marchant and Troy Bodie on the third line.  George Parros, Ryan Carter, Petteri Nokelainen and Mike Brown rotate on the fourth line.  In addition, Teemu Selanne should be coming off the IR (broken jaw) and returning to the line up this evening.  Add Joffrey Lupul to the mix, who is still recovering from back surgery and is nowhere close to returning.

Somebody had to go to make room, and Dan Sexton apparently pulled the short straw (no offense to his stature intended).  Sexton, despite having 9 goals and 18 points in 28 games and amazing chemistry with Koivu and Ryan, was the sacrificial lamb for GM Bob Murray.  Sexton was sent back to Manitoba, where he only spent a few short days before being called up to the Ducks. Clearly Sexton will be back, even Murray stated that, but for now, he can talk with Bobby Ryan and commiserate about being stuck in the AHL unjustly.

Further news from the Ducks included defenseman Nick Boynton being put on waivers this morning.  If he clears, it is unknown where the 31-year-old will end up.

Are the Ducks done for now?  Doubtful.  But it is all the news for now, and that is more than enough.

A weekend with the Ducks on the road and no games being played would normally be a quiet one.  Not this weekend.  First Jonas Hiller was signed to a four year deal worth $18 million.  The contract extension will keep him with the Ducks through the 2013-2014 season.

Since joining the Ducks in the 2007-2008 season, Hiller has continued to improve as a goaltender.  At 27, he has posted a 54-37-5 record with a 2.46 goals-against average (GAA) and .919 save percentage (SV%) in 108 career NHL appearances with the Ducks.

“Jonas has proved himself as a starting NHL goaltender,” GM Bob Murray stated. “We expect him to only get better and are pleased he’s committed to us for four more seasons.”

For much of his time with the Ducks he was the 1B to Jean-Sebastien Giguere's 1A.  Last season Giguere stumbled in net and Hiller took over.  While Giguere was back on track this year, the Ducks themselves stumbled around and by the time they figured things out, Hiller had already taken over the reins from Giguere.

After the signing of Hiller, the Ducks could then focus on a place for Giguere, who had a no trade clause in his contract that runs through the 2010-2011 season.

This morning the Ducks announced that Giguere would be heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a trade he readily agreed to as it reunites him with his goaltending coach, friend and mentor, Francois Allaire.  It also reunites him with GM Brian Burke.

In exchange, the Ducks received goaltender Vesa Toskala and left wing Jason Blake.  Toskala is a free agent at the end of this season and Blake is signed through 2012.

Giguere was clearly unhappy as his playing time decreased this year and losing Allaire as goaltending coach to the Ducks did not make things any better for the All-Star netminder.

Time for a fresh start and a new perspective and amongst his (now former) teammates, coaching staff and management, all wish him well in his new home.

“J.S. is as classy and professional as they come,” said Murray. “On behalf of the organization, we thank him for his tremendous contributions to the franchise both on and off the ice, not the least of which were two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and one championship. We wish him well in Toronto.”

Giguere played in 447 career games for Anaheim, posting a 206-163-54 record with 32 shutouts, a 2.47 GAA and .914 SV%. He ranks among Anaheim’s all-time franchise leaders in numerous categories, including wins (first), shutouts (first), GAA (fourth), saves (second with 11,290), appearances (first), starts (first with 432), minutes played (first with 25,646) and shots against (second with 12,347).

He has been a mainstay for the Ducks since being acquired from Calgary on June 10, 2000.  Giguere helped lead Anaheim to the 2007 Stanley Cup Championship and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP in 2003, taking the Ducks all the way to a game seven in the finals. In 52 career playoff appearances with Anaheim, Giguere compiled a 33-17 record with six shutouts, a 2.08 GAA and .925 SV%.

Giguere will be missed.

The Ducks finally got another win on the road, this time a 2-1 shootout victory over Tampa Bay.  Having gone 1-3 on a crucial road trip, two points over the Lightning was critical.

As has been their modus operandi in the past, the Ducks allowed the first goal against them in the game.  While playing 4-on-4 midway through the first period, Steve Stamkos and Martin St. Louis took off down the ice with only Ryan Whitney to defend.  Stamkos made a quick pass and St. Louis wasted no time putting it behind Jonas Hiller, who was back in goal for the Ducks.

Miraculously, the Ducks tied up the game in the second period on the power play.  On their first power play attempt, James Wisniewski landed his shot behind Antero Nittymaki at 6:36.   When was the last time the Ducks got a power play goal on the road?  Longer than they would like to count.

Going into the third period, the game was tied at 1-1, same as it had been in Atlanta and against Washington.  Nittymaki stopped everything else the Ducks threw at him, making 31 saves on the night.  Hiller also stepped up, stopping 30 shots.  As a result, the game went into overtime and then a shootout.

Were it not for the power play goal, the Ducks would have been on the losing end once again.

Instead, things changed as they found themselves on the winning end of the shootout thanks to Wisniewski.  The defenseman once again used his puck-handling and shooting skills to win the second shootout in a row.  On Saturday, against the St. Louis Blues, Wisniewski was the shooter in the seventh round and made some nice moves to beat Chris Mason.  Tonight, coach Randy Carlyle went with the hot hand and used Wisniewski as the third shooter.  With a totally different move, Wisniewski nailed it again, giving him a perfect 2 for 2 record in the shootout.

The most important "two" was the two points the Ducks earned.   Did it help that Tampa sent out some unlikely shooters in Jeff Halpern and Brandon Bochenski, rather than use some of his more predictable choices?  Sure, but regardless of the reasons, Hiller stayed firm, only letting in Stamkos' shot, and Ryan Getzlaf and Wisniewski did their part.

Now the Ducks hang out in Tampa Bay for a little while longer to enjoy the sun and good weather before going a little further south in Florida to meet up with the Panthers on Monday night.  They can go into their final game of the road trip with a little momentum and more confidence.  They might also be able to enjoy the return of Teemu Selanne, who joined the team in Tampa and is still getting back up to speed since breaking his jaw on January 13.

The Ducks have a chance to end the road trip at .500 if they can defeat the Panthers.

The Ducks were happy to have Teemu Selanne join them in Tampa Bay.  After being out a couple weeks with a broken jaw (following missing 17 games with a broken hand), Selanne is skating with the team once again.  He is also eating again, a task that was difficult to do with his jaw wired shut.

Will he be able to play in the final two road games in Tampa Bay and Florida?  Probably not.  But is his always positive and upbeat personality a welcome breath of fresh air to a team that has lost three of their last four games?  Absolutely.

If the Ducks have taken a close look at the standings, they will need someone to remind them of the positive.  It looks bleak.

The Ducks are in 12th place, having slipped two notches in just a couple of days.  They have 55 points and it is reasonable to assume that they will need at least 95 to obtain a playoff spot.

There are 28 games remaining on the Ducks schedule.  The reality check is that the Ducks will still need 40 of those 56 points in order to have a glimmer of chance at the playoffs.  20 out of 28 wins.  Or more importantly - they can only lose 8 more games the rest of the season.

Yes, there are more permutations if you want to factor in the extra point for an overtime loss, but how about we just keep it simple, hmm?

Of the remaining games, 15 are at home.  13 are on the road.

At home the Ducks are 16-8-2.  They are winning 2 out of 3 games there.  If you continue to win 2 out of 3 games, the Ducks should get 10 more wins at home, which is 20 points.  Better case scenario would be for the Ducks to win 3 out of every 4 home games, which would translate to just over 11 wins and 22 points.

The problem is that the Ducks are downright bad on the road.  With the exception of the St. Louis Blues, every single team in a playoff spot in the Western Conference has a winning record on the road.  The Ducks are 8-15-5.  That means they are losing nearly half the games that they are playing.  If they keep going that way, they will likely pick up points in only 7 of the remaining 13 games.  That would translate to 14 points.

Keeping the math simple and assuming continued numbers, that would only be 34 points more that the Ducks can reasonably project in their final 28 games.

You don't have to be a math major to know that won't be enough.  Unless the Ducks can turn around their fortunes while on the road, the Ducks will merely be road kill.  And Selanne will have plenty of time to play golf and muse about his likely retirement.

Last night was the Thrashers.  Tonight was the the thrashing.   Anaheim looked the worse for wear in the third period when the Washington Capitals danced circles around the Ducks to come out with a 5-1 victory, the eighth in a row for the Capitals and their longest winning streak in 26 years.

It was the second of back-to-back games for both teams, but as soon as the game began, there was foreshadowing of what was to come later.  :36 seconds in, Alexander Ovechkin scored.  For a brief moment, that sick feeling in the pit of the stomach had to wonder if the game would be a completely one-sided mugging in the nation's capital.

For two periods, things actually looked hopeful.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has been putting down roots on the bench backing-up Jonas Hiller, actually got the nod in goal.  He had not started since January 1, but he played with a vengeance and gave the Ducks a chance, despite the lopsided looking results.

In the first two periods alone, Giguere stopped 34 shots, and 44 overall because the Capitals could not find one last shot on goal to make it an even 50.

Dan Sexton did his part to tie up the game in the second period.  Sheldon Brookbank's shot caromed juicily off Michal Neuvirth's pads and Sexton was in the perfect position to put it past the goaltender for his ninth of the year.  That was the only thing Neuvirth let in behind him.

Going into the third period, the game remained tied 1-1 and then came the mugging.  Shaone Morrisonn broke the tie with an unassisted goal at 1:45.  Mike Knuble had a two on one with Ovechkin.  Giguere played Ovechkin and Knuble took the quick pass and shot it into the gaping net at 2:39.

But wait!  There's more!  Alexander Semin made it a stifling 4-1 at 4:15 to make sure that the Ducks weren't going anywhere.  2:30 minutes, three goals, bye-bye two points that the Ducks had a chance of obtaining just a short while prior.

Semin's second goal of the game at 11:47 was just extra icing for the Capitals.  The Ducks showed nothing but frustration for the majority of the third period, taking a few questionable penalties and letting emotions boil over.

The Ducks would have been better served to figure out a way to score on Neuvirth and take those positives with them to Tampa Bay for Friday night's game.

Instead, the Ducks take a 1-3 road trip to two final teams that have as good a record as Anaheim and will not be any easier than what they have already encountered on this journey.  The Ducks also have slipped back down to 12th place in the standings due to an inability to produce points when needed.

There are 28 games remaining in the Ducks season.  In order to reach the magic 95 points likely needed to earn an 8th seed in the playoffs, the Ducks will need to win 20 games.  Or any combination that produces 40 points out of only 56 points remaining.  26 of those points (13 games) will be on the road.  You do the math.

The Anaheim Ducks had a couple days off between games to get used to the Eastern time zone and prepare for the game against the Atlanta Thrashers.  In the end, it was the Thrashers that bested the Ducks, 2-1.

Despite the return of Saku Koivu, who missed four games with a sprained knee, the Ducks were unable to take advantage of four power plays.  They are still struggling with the man advantage, a problem that has to be resolved sooner rather than later.

The game remained tied going into the second period.  Colby Armstrong took advantage of plenty of traffic in front of the net and cleaned up the rebound that popped his way at 4:32.  Jonas Hiller, who was getting his 11th start in a row, left plenty of rebounds lying around all evening, something that would eventually do the Ducks in.   

The Ducks finally got some traffic in front of Johan Hedberg and Steve Eminger got his second goal of the year at 17:58.  Hedberg, who had complained that he was interfered with, further lost his cool by taking a blatant cross-checking penalty a minute and a half later, getting his frustrations out on Matt Beleskey. 

After that, Hedberg was his usual cool, calm, collected self, stopping everything else he saw, including 15 shots in the third period alone.

While the Ducks could not get a power play goal if their lives depended on it, Atlanta did.  Maxim Afinogenov scored at 4:03 of the third to give the Thrashers the 2-1 lead.  It was the game winner and the difference maker.

Anaheim has been a very good team in the third period, but continually waiting until the third period to pour things on and make up a deficit is not a good strategy for a team that needs points.   I suggest another tactic - try having a lead going into the third and maintaining it!

In the meantime, the Ducks get no rest between this game and the next.  They go right at it again with the Washington Capitals, a team that will absolutely smoke you in the offense department.  They won their 7th game in a row against the New York Islanders this evening and the Ducks can only hope that the Capitals are just a little bit tired for the game tomorrow night. 

So far the Ducks are 1-2 halfway through their road trip and won't get any easier.  The Ducks are still four points out of a playoff spot and it does not take much to slip further in the standings.  Maybe someone in Anaheim can Federal Express the power play so it gets there in time for the game in D.C.  They are going to need it.

The Anaheim Ducks could not be more Jekyll and Hyde on the power play if they tried.  At home they dominate.  On the road?  It's as if they neglected to pack it in their suitcase and take it with them.  No other team has that much disparity between their home and road stats. 

Overall the Ducks rank 10th in the NHL, but that does not truly reflect how mismatched the home and road stats vary.  The Ducks are the best team in the league when they are at the Honda Center, with a 25.8% success rate.  Away from home?  They are 29th, second to last, with a measly success rate of 12.2%. 

The Ducks have had a virtual equal number of chances at home and away (97 and 90 respectively), so that isn't the problem. 

They are certainly missing key personnel, especially Teemu Selanne, who leads the Ducks in power play goals.  Selanne, who was hit by a fluke puck that broke his hand, returned to the ice for three games, only to be hit by a fluke puck that broke his jaw in two places.  Saku Koivu is also out with a sprained knee, although he has been skating on his own for the past week and has joined the Ducks in Atlanta on their current road trip.  It is expected that he will practice with the team for two days and could be ready to go in Atlanta on Tuesday.  That should give them a boost. 

Yet the Ducks have still managed to get things done at home, even with the same missing personnel. 

What is it that they don't understand about the term "man advantage."  It is supposed to be an advantage, not an opportunity for the hosting team to improve their penalty killing statistics. 

Coach Randy Carlyle has described specialty teams as "the game within the game."  If you can be better than the other team on the power play and the penalty kill, you can give yourself a better chance to win the game. 

Believe me, a power play goal here and there could make the difference between a win and a loss for the Ducks.  10th in the Western Conference and just three points out of a playoff spot, every single point matters, and those final three points will be the most difficult to make up.

Two games into a six-game road trip and the Ducks still have to face Atlanta, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida.  A power play goal here or there could be the difference in those games.

Welcome to On the Duck Pond!  While I am new to Bloguin, I am not new to covering the Anaheim Ducks.  I have covered Ducks hockey for the past three years, primarily on a now-defunct site.

I have been a die-hard Ducks and hockey fan since 1995, through thick and thin, good and bad, and best of all, the Stanley Cup in 2007.  Being credentialed since 2007 has enabled me to provide both a personal, fan perspective as well as a professional perspective of the team.

I will provide my insights and observations, whether it be game recaps, daily looks at practice, player interviews or stats.

I am looking forward to hearing your feedback and comments and hope that you have a swimmingly good time while you are here, no matter how the team is doing!