The Ducks have placed their captain, Ryan Getzlaf on injured reserve.  Getzlaf was hit in the forehead with a a deflected puck on Tuesday night against Phoenix.  Shane Doan's shot went off Cam Fowler's stick and hit Getzlaf hard, leaving Getzlaf bleeding profusely on the ice.  Getzlaf got 10 stitches to close the gash.

On Wednesday, he was experiencing a significant amount of swelling and nausea from blood flowing into his stomach.  An MRI was scheduled for Thursday and revealed multiple nasal sinus fractures.

Getzlaf will undergo additional tests on Friday and see a specialist to determine how long he will be gone from the line up as well as find out if there are any other required steps for healing.  At a minimum he will be out for the next two games, and likely longer than that. 

Getzlaf, who does not wear a visor, may want to reconsider that position after this latest injury.  He will definitely be wearing one when he gets back to the ice, and hopefully it will remain after an interim healing period.  This is one injury that could have been avoided, or at the very least been reduced had he been wearing that very simple protection.

In other news, the Ducks signed right winger Devante Smith-Pelly to a three year entry level contract.  Smith-Pelly was drafted in June in the second round and had an impressive training camp with Anaheim.  The 18 year old is a physical player who likes to finish his checks, but he also has the ability to score as well.   If he continues to develop, the Ducks will have a very nice addition to their roster in a few short years.

At the end of a seven game road trip, the Ducks needed a decent effort to take them back home again.   After two really poor games against both Buffalo and Los Angeles, the Ducks rebounded to get a 3-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

All of the Ducks players had individual meetings with coach Randy Carlyle after the uninspired loss to the Kings on Sunday night.  Whatever was said in those meetings made a difference, at least for this game.

Phoenix had several good chances early on in the game, but Jonas Hiller came up strong from the very first shot in the very first shift and made 31 saves for the win. 

"The whole team had to play better than in Los Angeles," said Hiller after the game.  "I knew I wanted to play better than my last game, too."

Hiller had a lot of help from his defense in front of him.  In addition to the 31 shots he saved, his teammates blocked 17 additional shots.  Of those, Andreas Lilja took seven for the team. 

"He probably made the difference tonight," Hiller praised.  "He had more saves than myself!"

Lilja, who has been a healthy scratch at times this year, acted as if it was another day at the office.

"Some people score goals, my job is to block shots," said the pragmatic Lilja. "This was a big win for us. We have to realize what time of year it is. We need to put some wins up; otherwise we're not going to be playing come April."

Stopping pucks from going in the net was important, but just as important was putting the puck in the other net.  The Ducks were able to do that as well.

Luca Sbisa got his first ever NHL goal at 4:38 of the first period.  It seemed odd that a guy with 73 NHL games spread over three seasons was just getting his first goal, but it was true.  Assists, yes.  A goal in the NHL?  Now he has one of those as well, and this one was a hard shot from the point and gave the Ducks the boost they needed.

That was followed up by a goal from Joffrey Lupul that went in and out so fast, it took a long video review to conclude it had been there at 8:16. 

Corey Perry finished off the scoring for Anaheim after getting a lovely turnover from Sami Lepisto at 15:20.  The Ducks were able to take a 3-0 lead with them to the locker room.

Some penalty difficulties gave Phoenix not one but two 5 on 3 advantages.  The first one was 1:56 long and it was inevitable that the Coyotes would score.  It took them nearly the entire time, but finally Shane Doan put the puck behind Hiller at 15:39.  The second one did not yield another goal, thanks to Hiller, Lilja and company.

It was a good thing that the Ducks scored in the first period, because Ilya Bryzgalov did not let in anything else.  Bryzgalov was back in net for the first time since being clobbered in the head by Jamie Langenbrunner in New Jersey nearly two weeks ago.  

The Ducks now get to head home to their own beds and a long extended time at the Honda Center, playing the next six games at home and seven of the next eight. 

They will head home with a stitched up Ryan Getzlaf, who took Doan shot to the forehead at the beginning of the second period.   Getzlaf left a huge pool of blood on the ice before being quickly assisted to the locker room.

"He's got an upper-body injury, isn't that what they say?" joked Carlyle.  "He got a puck in the forehead.  I can't tell you how many stitches. He wanted to play, but I thought it was a risk to put him back in. It's always scary when a player takes a puck in the face, but it was just below the helmet-line, so hopefully it was a compression cut."

Hopefully Getzlaf will be ready to go on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers.  That game will help ring in the new year as well as mark the official halfway point of the season for the Ducks. 

Santa apparently left some residual coal in the Ducks stockings as Anaheim lost 4-1 to the Kings on the day after Christmas.   Ho ho ho, bah humbug! 

With four days off after a 5-2 loss in Buffalo, the Ducks looked rusty instead of tired.  No practices were held during that time off, and it showed.  As well as a six-course dinner that Bobby Ryan confessed to devouring on his Twitter account and must have still been digesting because he was virtually non-existent in the game, garnering only one shot on goal.

Technically still on a seven-game road trip, the Ducks had the Kings and Phoenix on Tuesday before coming back to the Honda Center to play on New Year's Eve.   So much for ending the road trip on a high note.

Usually the Ducks and Kings both play their best against each other.  In their first meeting of the year, the Ducks shut out Los Angeles at the Honda Center, but the Kings had the upper hand in their own building, where they have been strong all year, only losing twice in regulation.

Wayne Simmonds got the party started for the Kings scoring just :15 seconds into the second period.   Matt Beleskey, who was just recalled from Syracuse, tied things up quickly for the Ducks at :47 seconds, deflecting Toni Lydman's point shot behind Jonathan Bernier.    If you were still waiting in line for a mid-game snack (and with 18,313 people attending the standing room only game, the odds were good that you were), you would have missed the first two goals. 

After Anze Kopitar knocked in Marco Sturm's rebound behind Jonas Hiller at 9:10, the Kings never looked back.

Jason Williams stole a puck from Joffrey Lupul and extended the Kings lead at 12:55.  Then the final nail in the coffin came when Beleskey was sent to the box for sending the puck over the glass and Dustin Brown put in a power play goal at 17:57 to make it 4-1. 

Goodbye Hiller.  Hello Curtis McElhinney.   At least McElhinney stopped all the rest of the shots, but so did Bernier. 

Then again, Bernier only had to deal with three shots on goal in the final twenty minutes, so it wasn't as if the Ducks went out with a bang, like they did in the Buffalo game.  This one was more like a feisty whimper. 

And so the Ducks continue limp in the standings, dropping down to 10th place in the Western Conference.  However, having played more games than everyone else, the Ducks are in actuality much lower than that.   They need to get their act together by the time Tuesday evening rolls around and they find themselves in Arizona.  The Coyotes are just one point behind the Ducks and would be more than happy to pass them up again in a conference that keeps ping ponging over one another.

All the Ducks want for Christmas is rest.  Anaheim has played more games than any other team in the NHL, as much as seven games more.  Having played five games in seven days on the road, fatigue seemed to finally catch up to the Ducks.

"It was pretty simple," said future Hall of Famer, Teemu Selanne. "We just ran out of gas. Mentally. Physically. Obviously you hate to use that as an excuse. It's a fact. Five games in seven nights? I don't know anybody who can survive from that."

Anaheim did not survive.  Having played the night before in Boston and shutting out the Bruins, there just was no energy left to get it done in Buffalo.  As a result, the Ducks lost 5-2 and head home to a soggy, rainy southern California for Christmas break. 

At least the Ducks will get to be well rested for Christmas.  One of the team presents will be no practices between now and their next game on Sunday.  Four blissful, hockey-less days to enjoy holiday time with family and friends and most importantly, to rest and recover.  

Even though the game was not broadcast on television, you knew right away things were not going to go the Ducks way.  They took an early too many men on the ice penalty that led to the Sabres first goal at 4:43.  Nathan Gerbe extended the lead at 10:05.

A poorly timed and thought out major boarding penalty by Jason Blake late in the first gave Buffalo five more minutes with the extra man and one less body for Anaheim the rest of the game, as he was booted off with a misconduct.   It was no surprise when Tyler Ennis scored at 16:57.

The Sabres took a 3-0 lead into the second period and had outshot their opponent 17 - 4.  It did not improve by much.  A fight with Cody McCormick, started by Ryan Getzlaf right off the face off, did nothing to spark Anaheim.

Buffalo continued to outshoot and outwork the Ducks, making it 4-0 with a second goal from Ennis at 4:40 of the middle frame.   It really was not Curtis McElhinney's fault, who has not had much help from the team in front of him the past two games he has started in relief of Jonas Hiller. 

Ryan Miller, on the other end of the ice, had very little work to do until the end of the third period. 

Determined to go home with their heads held high, even if they could not take two points with them, the Ducks finally put a puck behind Miller, who made 21 saves for the victory.   Corey Perry scored on the power play at 15:36 and again at 19:51, also on the power play. 

Never mind that the Sabres got another goal in between Perry's two markers from Craig Rivet (helped out by former Duck, Rob Niedermayer, who happens to live in Todd Marchant's Buffalo home.) 

You win some.  You lose some.  The problem with the Ducks lately is the ones that they are losing leave you scratching your head in bewilderment.  How can a team be so Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?  Great play against one team can be followed up by a lackluster, boring effort. 

Until the Ducks figure out how to be consistent, they will continue yo-yoing throughout the season and run the risk of missing the playoffs once again. 

For now, they can just put this part of the five game trip behind them and focus on Christmas. 

In other notes:  Josh Green was recalled from Syracuse earlier today.

Two games, two losses, and the Ducks were not happy with their play.  They quickly pulled it together in Boston and had a solid team effort for a 3-0 shut out of the Bruins. 

For once, the rest of the country got to watch, as the game was broadcast on Versus, the one and only time this season.  Thank goodness the Ducks did not embarrass themselves with another so-so effort.

Coach Randy Carlyle got the spark he needed from the second line by moving Brandon McMillan alongside Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.  McMillan put the Ducks on the board at 5:57 of the first period, finishing off a great pass from Luca Sbisa at the blue line.  The Bruins left McMillan open and he had no trouble putting the puck in the net behind Tim Thomas.

The Ducks continue to play well in the second period.  Although Selanne missed his own rebound, Lubomir Visnovsky came in and deposited another goal at 4:45. 

The killer for the Bruins was giving up a short handed goal.  With Ryan Getzlaf in the penalty box for tripping, the Ducks were allowed several good chances in the Bruins end.   McMillan had a good opportunity which was followed up by Corey Perry taking a couple of shots at the puck, eventually putting it underneath Thomas and into the goal at 15:05. 

3-0 Ducks and things were looking pretty good for a team that had lost their previous two.

The Bruins threw everything they had at Hiller, landing 45 shots on goal, but nothing went in.   Another 23 attempts were blocked by the Ducks, who were working as a cohesive team the entire evening. 

"If we play like that every single game, with guys out there blocking shots, we've got a good chance to win," said Hiller after the game.

The important thing was not the shutout, but the two points for the team.  Anaheim has played 37 games, the most of any team in the NHL.   The wide discrepancy in games played leaves the Ducks in need for all the points they can get because other teams can and will play catch up.

Tomorrow the Ducks will try to take their momentum with them to Buffalo to play the Sabres and end the first part of their seven game road trip on a high note.  A Christmas break will be followed with two more games on the road before coming home on December 31 to have their midway point game #41 at the Honda Center.

In other notes:  Toni Lydman was hit in the mouth with a deflected puck in the first period.  Lydman returned later in the game with quite a few stitches and still managed over 21 minutes of ice time.   Andreas Lilja played in his 500th NHL game. 

Sometimes you win.  Sometimes you lose.  Sometimes you come up against an immovable force. 

The Ducks came up against Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening.  Both Staal and goaltender Cam Ward were immovable and the Ducks lost 4-2 in their third game of a seven game road trip.

Ryan Getzlaf put the Ducks on the board at 2:39 but after that it was the Staal show. 

Staal scored two power play goals at 7:27 and 19:33 of the first period.  After getting burned two for two, common sense should have told the Ducks to stay out of the penalty box.  Then again, when have the Ducks used common sense?

Staal, who had 10 of the Hurricanes 32 shots on goal, continued to blitz through everything and everyone on the ice.  Goal number three came at 1:41 of the second period and did not need a power play to do it.  The natural hat trick seemed inevitable after his first goal. 

Once again, the Ducks were behind and had to catch up.  They did not come close until the end of the hockey game when Getzlaf got his second goal of the game at 18:12.   Staal happened to be in the penalty box, about the only time he was not a threat during the game.

Further power plays for the Ducks and Jonas Hiller pulled for yet another attacker gave the Ducks a 6 on 3 opportunity.  It did not yield anything but an empty net goal for Carolina with just five seconds left in the game.  

Ward stopped 43 shots, most of them coming in the final period, and could easily have earned the game's first star were it not for Staal. 

"When we have needed (Ward) to make the saves, he has," said Staal. "He's one of the best in the league, and we expect that every night, and take it for granted some nights. But he was big for us, especially at the end."

Ward was equally full of praise for Staal.

"Staal has the ability to take the game over," praised Ward. "He really picked up his play when we were down one goal and put the team on his shoulders. There's a reason why he's one of the more dominant players in the league."

The Ducks will continue to plow through this road trip, with the next two coming back to back in Boston and Buffalo on Monday and Tuesday. 

In other notes:  Teemu Selanne returned to the line-up after missing four games with a strained groin.  Dan Sexton was returned to Syracuse, even though there is room on the roster for him.

Ho ho ho!  Merry Christmas early!  In the spirit of giving, the Ducks decided to not show up for 20 minutes in the game against the Islanders and gave them three goals in a 99 second time span.  That was enough for the Islanders, who defeated the Ducks 3-2.  It was just the sixth win for the Islanders on the season and their first since November 26. 

Not to be Scrooge-like, but is it always necessary for the Ducks to be so generous and giving with teams that are below them in the standings, especially bottom dwelling teams? 

"They're obviously not a great hockey team," said Joffrey Lupul, who had one of the Ducks two goals. "This year, they have five or six wins but they came out and played hard. And we just weren't ready to go to match it. I don't know if we thought if it wasn't going to be that hard."

You don't know?  It was pretty obvious to Ducks fans, who have had to watch their team, one that is capable of playing with and beating the best teams in the league, underestimate their opponents over and over and over again.  Last season there was that incident with a winless Toronto Maple Leafs team that were granted their first win of the season thanks to the Ducks crappy play.  

This is not the first time the Ducks have hit the snooze button and woken up only to find themselves in a heap load of trouble that they cannot redeem.

The Ducks played the night before, defeating the Washington Capitals in overtime.  The Capitals coach described the Ducks as a team that knew what they needed to do and had the heart to get things done.

Apparently the Ducks did not leave their heart in San Francisco.  They left it in Washington.

Then they left Curtis McElhinney high and dry.  McElhinney did not have much support from his teammates, who looked grossly overmatched by a determined and gutsy Islanders team. 

P.A. Parenteau got a power play goal at 15:06 of the first period that boosted the Isles confidence in a big way.  Previously one for 48 tries on the power play, they finally got one with the extra man. 

That boost in morale gave them the oomph on the next shift with Blake Comeau making it 2-0 just :28 seconds later. 

Did Anaheim wake up after that one, two punch?  Nope.  Parenteau forced a turnover and Matt Moulson happily put it behind McElhinney to make it 3-0 in a span of 1:39.  Goodbye McElhinney, hello Jonas Hiller.  

Apparently coach Randy Carlyle put his team through electro shock therapy between periods, because his team came out flying in the second period.  Can you say too little, too late?

Finally on their fourth power play opportunity, Lupul put the Ducks on the board at 10:35.  Lupul also scored a power play goal the night before in Washington, which helped the Ducks get to overtime.

The third period also started well for Anaheim, who came within one goal thanks to Jason Blake's tally at 1:30.  But that was as close as they came. 

Rick DiPietro stopped everything else, for a total of 30 saves, helping his team earn two points, a rare thing for them indeed this year.

"It's wasted points as far as I'm concerned,"  Carlyle commented. "We had an emotional win last night in Washington. And we have an opportunity to come in and we didn't play 60 minutes of hockey. That's the disappointing part."

Disappointing is an understatement.  Frustrating.  Annoying.  Bothersome.  Inexcusable.   

How long have these guys been playing hockey?  Since they could put on skates in childhood.  They know a game is 60 minutes long and you have to show for every second.  That 99 second span proved that point. 

The question is when will the Ducks learn this lesson?  It continues to be a thorn in their side and something that needs to be addressed.   In this day and age, this is unacceptable from a team that should know better.

The Ducks got the privilege of starting off a seven game road trip against a cranky Washington Capitals team who are struggling of late.  The Capitals had lost six in a row prior to taking on Anaheim, including a 7-0 blowout at the hands of the New York Rangers on Sunday.   Anaheim was well aware that Washington wanted to right their listing ship and did not care who the opponent was.

Despite their efforts, Anaheim stuck in there with very good goaltending from Jonas Hiller, who made 31 saves, and a little bit of luck coupled with perseverence.  They were rewarded with a 2-1 overtime win and two points to start the road trip on the right foot.

The Ducks were not at their best in the first period and were outshot 17 - 7 by the Capitals.  All the Capitals had to show for their efforts was a 1-0 lead going into the second. 

Brooks Laich got a rebound behind Hiller at 14:22, the only puck that made it across the line.  Laich could have made it 2-0 just a few minutes later as his shot managed to get between Hiller's legs.  Ryan Getzlaf made it to the crease just in time to clear the puck before it could cross the line.

"We won't be able to win any games if we play like we did in the first period," commented coach Randy Carlyle, who was clearly relieved that his team did not play like that for the rest of the game.

In the second period Washington had several opportunities to further their lead.  Alexander Ovechkin got a breakaway and clanged the puck off the post.   Later, there was a beautiful tic tac toe play that should have been in the net.  Instead, Hiller got a piece of Nicklas Backstrom's puck that got behind him, managing to again keep it from crossing the line.

"Our goaltender gave us a chance," said Carlyle.  "He did more than his fair share of that."

The Ducks were able to get back into the game on a power play goal from Joffrey Lupul at 12:47 of the middle period.  Once the Ducks got even, they knew they had a chance and that was all the momentum that they needed to carry them through the rest of the game.

Things remained even through regulation, sending the game to overtime, something the Ducks have seen plenty of lately.  Rather than wait for a shootout, Getzlaf finished the game with just :56.6 seconds remaining. 

"We'd like to see him shoot the puck a lot more," Carlyle stated. 

Whether it was playing "back-up" to Hiller or scoring the game winner, either way, Getzlaf's contributions were huge.

Now the Ducks can take the win into tomorrow night's game against the New York Islanders.  Sort of a scenario from one extreme to the other.  While the Capitals have high expectations to be a potential Stanley Cup winner this season and are still in second place in the Eastern Conference, despite a seven-game losing streak, the Islanders are at the bottom of everyone.  They have only five wins this season and continue to struggle. 

The danger for the Ducks is not going for the jugular when they play their second of back to back games and keeping their game elevated, regardless of their opponent.  This is something they have struggled with mightily over the years.   Time to figure it out and add two more points to their total and two points closer to their goal of reaching the playoffs once again.

Three games blowing two goal leads and three games in a shootout, but against the Minnesota Wild, the Ducks learned their lesson.  Instead of screwing up, the top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan led Anaheim to a 6-2 victory that did not let off the gas.

Perry had his first career hat trick.  Getzlaf had two goals.  Ryan had a single.   The Wild could only muster two.

Perry led the way by scoring on the first shift and first shot of the game, just :19 seconds in.  It was a sign of things to come.

Brent Burns tied up the game at 6:36.  Jonas Hiller was caught on one side of the net and Burns put it in to the right of him.  Hiller could not move fast enough to cover the gaping opening in the net.

The game did not remain tied for long.  Getzlaf put the Ducks back ahead at 7:08.  Bobby Ryan took a couple of Minnesota players crashing behind the net, which left Getzlaf wide open.  While the Wild players entangled with Ryan watched helplessly, Getzlaf put the puck behind Niklas Backstrom.

The Wild, who defeated the Los Angeles Kings in overtime the night before, started the second period on the wrong foot.  With Marek Zidlicky in the box for hooking, the Wild then proceeded to get caught with too many men on the ice just :39 seconds later. 

With a gloriously long 5 on 3 opportunity, Getzlaf got his second goal of the game at 2:51. 

The Ducks took a couple of successive penalties of their own and the Wild capitalized with Zidlicky bringing the team back within a goal at 9:49.  That was as close as the Wild got.

Another penalty, Andreas Lilja's second of the game, seemed to give Minnesota a little needed momentum.  And then it turned around and the Wild were unable to recover. 

Perry stole the puck during the penalty kill and took off to the Minnesota end, just barely ahead of the Wild defenders.  Cam Barker had no choice but to hook Perry, which led to a penalty shot.  Perry made it look easy and converted at 14:19, giving the Ducks a 4-2 lead with a short-handed penalty shot goal. 

It got stranger.  As the period progressed, Ryan lost his stick in a scrum to Mikko Koivu.  Ryan, who felt there should have been a holding the stick penalty, took the available stick on the ice - Koivu's.   Then he proceeded to score with it at 17:26 and appeared to show Koivu the stick and thanked him for the use of it.  

Some confusion reigned at that point.  Was it a valid goal because Ryan had scored with Koivu's stick?  It was determined that had Ryan's stick broken, he would not have been able to use Koivu's stick (unless that Koivu happened to be Saku, who was out with the flu anyway.)  The circumstances did not overrule the use of the opposing team stick and the goal stood.  Wings at Hooters!

"Same number, different hands," explained the right shooting Ryan after the game. "There was some kind of tangle-up in the corner. I looked down and saw my own stick, and I knew I wasn't holding it, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. Then he started skating off with it, so I just picked up the first thing that was there, and it was his. It was just very lucky that there was another one falling at my feet, and then the puck came right to me. It's been a while, so I'll take them any way they can come right now. I was even thinking about getting a couple of left-handed sticks and finish it out."

There was no need for that. 

The Wild just looked like a tired team that had no gas left in the tank from that point on.  A careless high sticking penalty on Nick Schultz gave the Ducks a four minute power play that transferred over to the third period.  There was no question about Schultz' penalty, which knocked the helmet right off of Perry.  It left him with a gash in his right cheek and swelling that required him to keep an ice pack on it every time he got to the bench.

The Wild had enough energy to kill the penalty, but not enough to avoid staying out of the penalty box.  Cal Clutterbuck (a man who can grow an impressive mustache) was sent to the box, followed by Jared Spurgeon with less than 5:30 minutes to go.    You can't kill all of them, especially when you are that tired, and more so playing down a man.

Perry made it a hat trick at 15:47, his first career hat trick and the 10th Duck in franchise history to complete the feat.  It was Perry's 401st game.

"It's been a long time coming," said Perry after the game. "Before the power play, I asked Getz who was going to get it. And he said: `It doesn't matter, as long as somebody does.' Neither one of us had had one, so it's a special moment and something that I won't forget."

While in the previous three games the Ducks had blown leads, this time they made sure the lead stuck.  The Wild had only one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes of the period.  They summoned enough energy for three more to end the period, but Anaheim kept pressing and did not let up.

It was a good win to set them off on a seven game road trip with the right momentum.  

In other notes:  Teemu Selanne missed another game with a groin strain and Saku Koivu was out with the flu.  Koivu's absence forced a bit of line shuffling by coach Randy Carlyle, who used Andy Sutton as a forward on the fourth line, in addition to using him as a defenseman in certain situations.    Aaron Voros will miss 3 - 4 weeks with his broken orbital bone, but will not require surgery.

Maybe the Ducks feel that the new CHOC plaza needs more trees.  Maybe they enjoy blowing two goal leads and living on the edge.   Maybe they are just slow learners.   Whatever the reason, the Ducks went to their third shootout in as many games. 

In a scenario that is beginning to feel like the movie, "Groundhog Day," the Ducks once again had a two goal lead going into the third period against the Calgary Flames.   Just like the two prior games, the Ducks allowed the opposition to get back into the game, tie it up and go to overtime.  And just like the two prior games, the Ducks needed a shootout to decide the final outcome.  In this case, it went Anaheim's way, with a 3-2 win.

“It’s not the typical way you want to win hockey games,” said captain Ryan Getzlaf.  "We did get the points that we needed here."

Even though Calgary had played the night before, the Ducks seemed like the tired team for much of the game.  Despite being outshot, the Ducks managed to capitalize on their chances.  

Lubomir Visnovsky scored at 12:46 of the first period.  When he put the puck behind Henrik Karlsson (giving Miikka Kiprusoff a rare night off), it was the first shot on goal in the past 10 minutes.  No wonder Karlsson was caught unaware, but the resounding clang off the post and in woke him up.

The Ducks continued to be outworked and outshot in the second period as well.  Nonetheless, Dan Sexton finished off a nice pass from Brandon McMillan at 16:29, careening into the end boards and celebrating from his back.  Sexton had a busy day that began in Syracuse.  After being recalled in the morning, he landed in Anaheim in the afternoon in time for the game.   Scoring a goal is a nice way to forget the hassles of air travel these days.

The third period should have shown signs of fatigue on the Flames.  Instead, they were the perky ones on the ice and kept Jonas Hiller hopping.  Hiller made a total of 37 saves in the game, but the biggest save was the Ducks butts, as Hiller bailed them out time and time again.

"The problem is we start thinking too much about it," Hiller said. "We're thinking about what could happen instead of just keeping going and wanting to score the next one."

Calgary, who has not won a regular season game in Anaheim since January 19, 2004, came really close to breaking that streak.  Olli Jokinen got a power play goal, his second in as many nights, just 6:58 into the period.  That gave the Flames plenty of time left to even things up or even go ahead.  Mark Giordano had a wicked shot from the point that was deflected in by David Moss at 13:25 and the game was tied. 

At that point the Flames had outshot the Ducks 37 - 18, but the Ducks woke up long enough to keep the game tied.  Their efforts in the overtime period should have been on display in regulation. 

Hiller continued strong in the shootout, with only Alex Tanguay's shot trickling past his pads.  Getzlaf and Corey Perry put their pucks behind Karlsson and the Ducks walked away with another squeaker of a win and Pinnacle Landscaping had another tree to donate to CHOC for their efforts. 

The Flames?  Got to go home with another loss and feeling exactly like the Ducks do whenever they visit Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. 

The Ducks now have one more game at home on Sunday before taking their show on the road for seven games.  While winning in the shootout is good, because they are getting points, keeping a lead and finishing off an opponent would be even better.  Maybe they should try that on Sunday.