Apparently Ducks fans have gotten spoiled of late with all the offense coming from their team.  Some of the natives were a little restless when Anaheim only scored two goals in their victory over Ottawa.  If fans wanted wings at Hooters, they would have to pay for them on their own, but who cares when you have another notch in the win column?

Both the Ducks and Senators have been doing well of late.  Both teams had won six of the past seven games.  The Saturday matinee match up reflected how relatively even the teams were.

Neither team got a shot on goal for quite a while in the first period.  The Ducks got their first shot at 6:46 from Jason Blake, who was in the line up after missing a couple days of practice nursing a sore ankle that had deflected a shot in Wednesday's game against Phoenix. 

The Senators, despite an early power play spent mostly in the Ducks zone, did not get their first shot until a couple minutes later.  Part of Ottawa's problem was Francois Beauchemin.  Beauchemin, who just signed a three year contract extension, blocked nine shots in the game, including one during the early power play that sent him to the locker room hobbling.

Beauchemin was not the only one blocking shots.  Toni Lydman handled five and the rest of the team pitched in for a total of 22 blocks.   Ice bags for everyone!

The whole team pitched in to make sure that the score was still tied at 0-0 at the end of the first period.

"Everybody was sacrificing and playing for the team, and that's the way you win," said goaltender Jonas Hiller. "It's a lot of fun to play like that."

In the second period, the Ducks were finally rewarded for their hard work.  Corey Perry was perched right in front of Craig Anderson and he was finally able to put one behind him at 6:15.  The crowd erupted, worried it might go to a 1-0 shootout.

At 17:00, the score extended to 2-0 with a goal from Lubomir Visnovsky.  It was unclear who had the goal, but no one on the ice or in the stands seemed to care.   Visnovsky's shot from the top of the face off circle sprang up in front of the net where Erik Karlsson tried to bat it out of harm's way.  Instead, the puck trickled down Anderson's back and into the net.  Saku Koivu had tried to reach the puck and there were other Ducks in the vicinity, which is what led to the confusion.  In the end, it was Lubo's goal.

The Senators finally put one behind Hiller at 9:51 of the third period.  Chris Neil got a nice juicy rebound to put Ottawa back in the game and make it tense going for the remaining 10 minutes. 

Hiller would not let another in, stopping 31 of 32 shots.

"Quite frankly, I couldn't care less if we were picking off (the) Mickey Mouse club," said coach Bruce Boudreau.  "Two points is two points. But it's nice. You look at the schedule and you go, ‘Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.' And you start to beat them. It makes your guys more believing that what you're preaching is true. You (start) to say you are a good team. You just have to start believing in yourself."

Boudreau now finds himself at the .500 mark as a coach since coming behind the bench in late November with a 10-9-3 record.

"It’s what wins you championships, defense and goaltending," Boudreau continued. "Offense will come. You’re not going to score five goals every night. To defend a team like that, when they are playing like that, it was pretty special I thought. It was a great game by both teams."

The Ducks get no rest before taking on the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.  The Avs beat the Kings on Saturday night, so neither team will be particularly well rested.

In other notes:  Mark Bell was inserted into the line up in place of Matt Beleskey, who was out with a sore hand.  Bell had not played an NHL game since April 2008.  He added energy to the fourth line with Rod Pelley and George Parros and they had several good and noticeable shifts against Ottawa.   Also, Kyle Palmieri got a call up from Syracuse.

The Ducks decided against allowing defenseman Francois Beauchemin the chance to be a free agent.  The last time that happened, Beauchemin, who was a key member of the 2007 Stanley Cup championship team, ended up going to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Anaheim missed him dearly and ended up re-acquiring him last season at the trade deadline.

So on Friday, Anaheim signed Beauchemin to a three-year contract extension through the 2014-15 NHL season.   The contract extension pays $10.5 million, or $3.5 per year.

“Francois is a dedicated, versatile and hard-working defenseman who is committed to our organization,” GM Bob Murray said.  “We are extremely pleased to have him under contract for the next three years.”

This is certainly a win/win situation for everyone involved.

"I'm really excited to be here another three years," said Beauchemin. "We have a great group of guys and good young players. We're going to have a good team for awhile. It's just a matter of us keeping playing the way we've been playing lately.   People don't know this, but it is a lot of stress on the players and their families to not know what's going to happen in the future. When you get those extensions, it just feels great. Everyone is a lot more relaxed at home and we can move on and think about the future."

Part of that future involves back to back games at home against Ottawa on Saturday and Colorado on Sunday.  But it sure will be nice to have "Boom Boom" on the blue line for the next three years as well.

IN OTHER NOTES:  Center Mark Bell was recalled from Syracuse.  Jason Blake sat out of practice on Friday with a sore ankle.  He was hit hard by a puck on Wednesday night and suffered bruising, swelling and tenderness.  He should be available for the game against Ottawa, but if not, Bell will be there.

No doubt about it - winning feels much better than losing.   The Ducks have won three in a row and six of their last seven games.  Who would have thought it possible just a few short weeks ago when they were mired in despair?

Well, the sun has come out and things look much cheerier now.  Until you look at the standings and remind yourself that no, this team is still lingering at the bottom of the heap.  But miracles have happened before.  Parting of the Red Sea comes to mind, because that is the level of epicness it would take for the Ducks to keep winning and get into the playoffs.  

One game at a time....

The Ducks continued their offense against the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night at home.  After a gross inability to find the back of the net, the puck has apparently acquired laser vision accuracy and jumped in willingly for 31 times in the past seven games.  Technically in six games, because one of them was a 1-0 loss to Calgary in overtime. 

It is not the usual suspects scoring goals, either.  As it was in the Vancouver game on Sunday, the third line shone again.  Jason Blake, Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano are clicking, which is a very good thing for Anaheim.

"I think they were probably are best line," said Francois Beauchemin, who had two goals in the 6-2 victory over the Coyotes.  "They were really hard on their team. They did the little things to create stuff offensively. I think that's just the key to it."

Even though Phoenix got the first goal, a rebound finished off by former Duck Kyle Chipchura at 8:33 of the first period, the Ducks stuck to their game plan. 

Niklas Hagman redirected Lubomir Visnovsky's shot at 13:49 to tie up the game.  Beauchemin got his first of the game at 15:43 on the power play to give the Ducks their first lead.   The puck was shot by Visnovsky, who ping ponged it off of Blake's knee and right to Beauchemin, who finished it off.  Hard way to get an assist, but Blake was happy to have the pain.

Jonas Hiller yielded a goal to Daymond Langkow at 9:32 of the second period to tie up the game once more.   Hiller did not let any more get past him and went on to make 25 saves for the win.

Beauchemin took the lead back once and for all at 14:51, tipping in Cogliano's shot. 

The third line continued to do their damage with Blake getting a goal at 18:54 to extend the lead. 

"They are just so fast," Bonino said of Blake and Cogliano. "My game is to move the puck and play down low. With those two guys, if I get them the puck in open ice they are going to get in the zone and make plays. They are so quick on the puck, hounding the other team in the neutral zone and the offensive zone, and create turnovers."

It worked. 

A goal from Matt Beleskey at 3:09 of the third period earned fans another set of free wings at Hooters.  Fans have been going there a lot lately. 

The final piece de resistance was a short handed goal from Corey Perry at 16:23 to make it 6-2.  Game long since clearly over.

The Ducks are undoubtedly a different team.  Something that is getting a bit of notice by their opponents, who at one point saw "Anaheim Ducks" on the schedule and figured "easy win."

"They seemed to be into it a lot more," said Langkow. "They just kept coming at us. I don't think they outplayed us a ton but they got chances and they capitalized."

Cogliano had a different perspective.

"I think we've matured as the season has gone on here," Cogliano said. "In the beginning of the season when teams would score, you could see things bad happening right after. And now, with guys scoring and just us playing better defensively all around, you can tell that we're more confident. I think that's the main thing. Confidence is in play."

The Ducks can now take their confident selves on a two day break that includes their annual Casino Night on Thursday evening.  They next face an unusual back to back at home with a game against Ottawa on Saturday and then Colorado on Sunday. 

With any luck, they will continue scoring, but more importantly, winning.

The Ducks finished up a three game Canadian jaunt with a 4-2 win over the Canucks.  That gives Anaheim a total of 11 out of 12 points in their past six games.

Not bad for a team that could not string together more than a win every couple of weeks.  Still not good enough to climb out of 29th in the NHL.  But it certainly is progress.

The Ducks third line was huge in the defeat of Vancouver. 

Jason Blake scored two goals and added an assist as well.  Having missed the majority of the season with a lacerated forearm, he has clearly recovered well enough to be pitching in.   Blake has now scored in two games in a row since returning the line up on January 4.

Blake had previously been with the second line alongside Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, but his injury forced a change to the line combinations.  When Niklas Hagman was acquired, the second line eventually became an all Finn line. 

After Blake's return, he was placed on the third line and with Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino, there are the beginnings of good chemistry and a potential for depth scoring.  The Ducks have not had that kind of depth in a long time and if it continues, it can only bode more good things for the team.

Bonino got the scoring going at 6:48 of the first period.  Cory Hodgson tied up the game at 10:48.  The rest of the way, Anaheim seemed to be in control.

The Ducks limited Vancouver to five shots on goal through the second period, although the Canucks made up for it in the third period.   Jonas Hiller made 21 saves on the evening, not a particularly taxing one.  Even more amazing was that no one named Sedin scored any points.

Bobby Ryan extended Anaheim's lead at 2:21 of the second period, just after a power play had expired. 

Blake finally was rewarded with his first of the evening at 13:08 to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead.   He then sealed the deal for his team with his second goal of the night at 12:40 of the third period. 

Mason Raymond made it 4-2 at 17:04, but despite pulling Roberto Luongo, it was as close as the Canucks could come. 

Blake could not have been happier at the outcome, considering the severity of his injury.

"They doctors did a hell of a job," Blake said.  "Obviously the stage of my career and my age (38), it was tough. "You don't wish this on anyone. You wanted to go out there and participate and contribute and help the team and you had to sit by the sidelines. There were a lot of days it was frustrating."

Now Blake can get his frustrations out on the ice and help contribute to a team that struggled mightily for most of the season. 

The Ducks are now back home for a game against Phoenix on Wednesday night.  They will hope to continue earning points and if not digging themselves out of a hole, at least prevent themselves from sinking any further in it.

Apparently the Ducks arrived in Canada sooner than their offense.  While they were unable to generate any goals in a 1-0 overtime loss to Calgary, the offense finally caught up with the team in Edmonton. 

It was worth the wait. 

Facing an Oilers team that has been burdened with injuries to young, productive players, the Ducks happily trounced on them with a 5-0 shut out. 

The shut out was also Jonas Hiller's 100th NHL win, and a nice milestone for the netminder, who has had his struggles this season.   Hiller made 33 saves in the performance.

"That probably means more than the shutout tonight," said Hiller of the win. "It's great to get up to 100 wins. I always said I don't want to just be here to be here -- I want to be part of the team and do what I can do. I think 100 wins definitely helps that."

Jason Blake got his first goal of the season at 8:00 in the first period.  He missed the majority of the first three months with a lacerated arm.  While his hand is still numb from the nerve damage, the rest of him felt pretty good at putting the puck in the net behind Nikolai Khabibulin.

Khabibulin was celebrating his 39th birthday, but the Bulin Wall he was not.

The other old man in the building, Teemu Selanne, made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 1:46 of the second period.  Selanne became only the third person after age 35 to score more than 200 points.  He makes it look easy.

When Bobby Ryan made it 3-0 at 10:54, coach Tom Renney had seen enough and Khabibulin got to sit down on the bench for the remainder of his birthday game.   Devan Dubnyk stepped in.

Edmonton nearly got on the board after Selanne's goal, but the ref had a case of premature whistle.  The puck did go in behind Hiller, who had not covered up the puck.  However, because the ref lost sight of the puck and thought it was covered, there was no goal.  To the Oilers credit, it should have been, and they had every right to be frustrated.

That was as close as Edmonton would come. 

Corey Perry added two more goals to give him an even 20 on the season.  The first came at 13:36 of the second and the next one at 17:18 of the third.  Perry's second goal, on the power play, was originally credited to Selanne, but Perry managed to get a stick on it.

Ryan Getzlaf finished the evening with no goals, but assisted on four of the tallies, so not a bad evening for the captain, either.

"Points have been tough to come by for everybody," said Getzlaf. "The more scoring we can have in games like this, the better. It adds a little bit of confidence to our group.  We've worked really hard and the numbers have shown it. We haven't allowed many goals against, and the wins have come. We have to go out there and outwork the opposition, and we've been doing that as of late."

The Ducks get to try to add more points on Sunday when they face the Vancouver Canucks, the final game of their Canadian jaunt.  Anaheim has earned gone 4-0-1 in the past five games, earning nine out of ten possible points.  Certainly something to build on. 

Let's just hope that the offense in Edmonton gets on the plane with them to Vancouver.

The Ducks were on a scoring and winning streak, having won three in a row and scoring 16 goals in the process.  The game against the Calgary Flames did not highlight more offense.  It highlighted goaltending.

Jonas Hiller, who came back after missing a game and a half with a lower body injury, was impressive in net for Anaheim, although he did not have many shots to face, especially the first two periods.  Miikka Kiprusoff was equally impressive at his end, edging out Hiller by gaining the shut out.

It would be lovely to report all the scoring and highlights of the first three periods, but there were none.  There were a couple close calls, however.

At 9:32 of the third period, Saku Koivu came this close to adding another goal to the bevy he scored on Tuesday night.  The puck went through Kiprusoff's legs, but the goalie was able to cover it up before it crossed the goal line.  At least that is what the review determined.  It could have gone in.  It might have stayed out. 

"They went upstairs," said Koivu. "Someone said they didn't have a good view from up top because Kiprusoff's pad was on top of it. The puck was in the net, but did the puck cross the line afterwards? No one could really tell."

When you need "definitive" to make the call, it was no goal.

Corey Perry, who had a hat trick on Sunday, came close with 3:07 left in regulation.  Kipper denied him, barely, but close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes. 

Perry could not settle for a game winning goal, but instead had to be happy at being named to the All Star Game earlier in the day.  Teemu Selanne, the ageless wonder, was going to get the nod, but he conceded to the young 'uns and said the reigning MVP should be there instead.  Selanne felt he'd been to more than enough of those things (he was All Star MVP one year). 

The game did not need a shootout to decide the outcome, although that would have been ok.  Instead, Blair Jones, newly acquired from Tampa Bay (January 6), got the game winner in overtime. 

At 1:51, Jones recovered his own rebound and finished off the puck behind Hiller after the Flames took advantage of the Ducks, who were out of position.

The Ducks now head to Edmonton with a point, but still having difficulties on the road.  The Oilers have been struggling for a while, winning only once in their last eight games.  If Anaheim can take advantage, they can continue earning precious points.  They would still be in 29th place in the NHL, but at least they would be digging themselves closer to 28th. 

It's the little things in life....

Will the real Ducks please stand up?  

With three wins in a row and about as many goals as hats falling to the ice, you have to wonder, where have these guys been?  This is the team that should have been playing all along.  Confident.  Resilient. 

At least they have finally shown up.  There is still half a season left to be played.  Granted, a 13-22-6 record that has the team 29th out of 30 in the NHL does not bode well for playoffs in the springtime.  But if the Ducks continue to play well, winning more than losing, they can at least finish the season with their heads held high and dignity intact once again.

While wins over the New York Islanders (28th place) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (last place), are nothing to brag about, defeating Dallas 5-2, the first time this year, is definitive progress.

If the first two wins gave them confidence, this one should give them something to build on while going on a three game road trip to western Canada.

Getting 16 goals in three games, including two hat tricks in two games, feels like a breath of fresh air for a team that is still third lowest in goals for in the NHL.  The ketchup is flowing.

Saku Koivu, who had his second career hat trick, summed up the changes to this formerly hapless Anaheim team.

"Right now the feeling in the room is different," said Koivu. "Even if, three weeks ago, we didn't win some games, there's been a lot of good things, and we've been able to build on those things. Little by little, it's been building and you can see that by our confidence."

Koivu got the ball rolling at 1:30 of the first period and Luca Sbisa helped the Ducks take a two goal lead at 9:22 of the second period. 

The Stars would not remain dormant forever.  Steve Ott, who had been rallying his team all game long, got rewarded with a goal at 1:39 of the third period.  Alex Goligoski tied things up just 1:04 later.

What would normally be an "uh oh" moment.

"A month, six weeks ago, I think we would have been done," observed Koivu.  (Heck a week or two ago....)  "But now we were able to bounce back and got the third goal and then the fourth one, and those are huge goals and really brought the momentum back to our team."

That third one came from Koivu, but the work was all Teemu Selanne.  Playing in his 1300th NHL game, Selanne got the puck and a burst of speed and blew by the defense to head in towards Kari Lehtonen.  Drawing more defenders, Koivu was left open and finished things off at 9:32. 

Matt Beleskey, who had not scored all season, made it 4-2 at 14:43.  To say he was ecstatic after the goal would be an understatement.  The last goal he had scored came April 17, 2011 during the playoffs.  During the regular season?  Nearly a year - January 15, 2011.  He was overdue.

The piece de resistance was an empty net goal for Koivu at 19:06, unselfishly handed to him by Selanne.  Those fans who lost hats the game before due to Corey Perry's hat trick, lost another one.  Not one single person complained, including Selanne.

"There's no way I would take the shot myself," Selanne said. "I knew Saku had a chance to score a hat trick. I'm so happy for him. You don't see that very often. Usually, he's the passer."

Jeff Deslauriers, who was called up from Syracuse, due to injuries to both Jonas Hiller and Dan Ellis, got his first NHL start since April 11, 2010.  Ironically, it was against the Ducks while he was still playing for Edmonton. 

The Ducks now face the second half of the season on a positive note.

Let's keep it rolling, boys. 

JF Jacques is stuck in a permanently revolving door between Anaheim and Syracuse. He has made more trips between the NHL and AHL than one can count.  This last call up to Anaheim could be his last.

Jacques was suspended for three games on Monday afternoon for an illegal hit to RJ Umberger's head on Sunday evening. 

This was not Jacques first offense.  He got five games in the pre-season as well for coming off the bench with the express purpose of starting a fight with Mike Duco of the Vancouver Canucks.

In response, the Ducks have sent Jacques back to Syracuse, where one can only hope he will stay for a long time.  His penalty for hitting Umberger drew a five minute major penalty at the end of the third period that could have cost the Ducks the game.   Coach Bruce Boudreau was not amused.  Not the way to stop your frequent flyer miles.

Francois Beauchemin's hit on Jeff Carter during the same game was also reviewed, but no fines or suspensions were handed out in response.  Carter suffered a separated shoulder in the hit.

Jonas Hiller, also injured in the Columbus game, remains day to day.  Jeff Deslauriers was recalled from Syracuse in response.  The Ducks will have the AHL tandem of Deslauriers and Iiro Tarkki to face the Dallas Stars on Tuesday evening.

The Syracuse to Anaheim express seems to be making daily trips.  Late last week, defenseman Mark Fraser was put on waivers and reassigned to Syracuse.  Kyle Cumiskey received the call up in his place.

Andrew Gordon was reassigned to Syracuse on Saturday after clearing waivers previously.
 

The Ducks have won two games in a row.  Normally, that should not be big news, but for Anaheim, it is significant.  They have not put together more than one win at a time since October.

Do not burst my bubble of happiness by pointing out that the wins came against the third worst team in the NHL and the worst team in the NHL.  For the Ducks (still second worst in the NHL), two wins are two wins.

The Blue Jackets played the day before, defeating the Kings 1-0.  They decided to give Curtis Sanford a rest and put in Steve Mason, the former Calder award winner.  After a 4-1 period, Mason was clearly not up to snuff and Sanford filled the net for the final two periods.

Andrew Cogliano got the ball rollling by converting a juicy rebound at 2:14.  Corey Perry got the first goal of his fourth career hat trick at 13:02 by ringing the puck off the post and in.

Rick Nash got a flukey looking goal at 17:31 that pingponged off Francois Beauchemin and behind Jonas Hiller.  That put Columbus in the game, but the Ducks were not done scoring in the period. 

A power play goal from the power play king, Teemu Selanne, made it 3-1 at 18:24.  It was Selanne's 650th goal and 242nd power play goal.   Five more and he will be tied for fourth all time for power play goals.  Seven more and he'll be tied for third all time.  

Saku Koivu, wanting more than just a couple of assists, extended the Ducks lead to 4-1 at 18:59.  Just seconds before Koivu scored, Hiller went to make a save on Nash and appeared to have overextended his leg.  Good news, the Ducks scored.  Bad news, Hiller went to the locker room with a "lower body injury."  He is listed as day to day.

Instead of Dan Ellis taking over, it was Iiro Tarkki, a 26 year old Finn who had just arrived that morning from Syracuse.  Tarkki was called up (along with J.F. Jacques and Kyle Palmieri) because Ellis injured his groin on Saturday during practice and will be out for four weeks. 

Tarkki's first shot on goal came in the second period, and it was a rocket of a shot from Derick Brassard.  Goal at 4:11.  Not the way you want to make your NHL debut, but Tarkki recovered. 

The Ducks got back the three goal lead at 18:24 with Perry's second of the evening.  The tap in came while the Ducks had a 5 on 3 advantage.  Hooters chicken wings, and breathing room to boot.

The third period got a little dicey.  First Selanne added another goal to the growing list just :27 seconds in.   Then it appeared that Perry got his hat trick :21 seconds later, but Beauchemin and Derek Dorsett who were fighting with each other at the other end.  Both got a 10 minute misconduct and Perry's hat trick would have to wait.

The reason for the yelling and fighting was Dorsett being upset at Beauchemin's hit on Jeff Carter.  Carter left the game and it was announced later that he had a separated shoulder.  A disciplinary hearing was held by Sheriff Shanahan to look at what they deemed to be a blindside hit on Carter.

Nash took advantage of an ill timed turnover at 4:27 to make it 6-3.  Vinny Prospal got credit for a goal that was Dorsett's work, but his stick never touched the puck.  That brought the Blue Jackets back to within two at 14:06.

To make things more interesting Jacques decides to cream RJ Umberger on the next shift and earns a five minute major for doing so.  As well as a two for one special with Shanahan and the NHL review board.  Jacques has already served a five game suspension earlier in the year for a hit during the pre-season.  Some people are slow learners.

Fortunately the penalty killers did their job and did not allow even a shot on goal during those final five minutes.  With an empty net at the other end, finally Perry got his hat trick at 19:17, and the Ducks sealed the deal.

"It's been a long time," said Perry after the game.  We got on 'em early and never looked back.  Shoot the puck and good things are going to happen."

IN OTHER NOTES:  Randy Carlyle watched the game from the pressbox.  Perhaps he knew that Scott Arniel would need some sympathy after the game.  The Blue Jackets fired Arniel as their coach, something Carlyle can understand. 

Winning sure feels good.  Especially when wins are so few and far between for the Ducks. 

It was a 4-2 defeat of the New York Islanders, second worst team in the Eastern Conference and third worst in the NHL.  But a win is a win and the Ducks desperately needed one for their psyche. 

After GM Bob Murray told the media that everyone on the team was for sale (except Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, who both have no trade clauses), apparently the guys got the message.  Start playing to your abilities or start packing your bags for another city.

The "motivational" speech worked.

The Ducks might have started off the game against the Islanders flatter than a pancake, but they figured it out by the middle of the second period.  Any other team, and they might have been sunk by then, but the Islanders did not look any sharper than the Ducks.

The sparse and sarcastic crowd applauded the first shot on goal by the Ducks, which did not come until 11 minutes into the first period.   Never a good sign.  

After a boring and scoreless first period, the Islanders decided to put a Duck in the net.  Clearly the coach did not enunciate when he told his team to put a PUCK in the net. 

The first penalty of the came did not come until after the midway point of the second.  The Ducks had some good opportunities on the power play, but could not put one past Evgeni Nabokov.  Nabokov, who played for a long time in San Jose, certainly knows the Ducks well.

After the penalty expired, Nabokov could not prevent a juicy rebound that went straight to Bobby Ryan.  Ryan, who was in front of the net, finished it off, giving the Ducks their first lead of the evening at 14:18.

Ryan was clearly pumped up and getting his teammates excited, too.

Too bad some of that momentum got sucked out. 

Less than two minutes later, Jonas Hiller had a puck behind him lying on the goal line.  Reaching behind him, instead of clearing the puck, he pushed it into his own net.   File that under dumb things goalies should not do, but probably do at least once in their careers.

Matt Martin was credited with the goal at 16:04 and the game was tied once more. 

In the third period, Kyle Okposo had a beautiful chance early on to give the Islanders a lead, but he whiffed on the pass that came to him.  Good thing, because it would have gone in the gaping opening in the net as Hiller was caught out of position.

Okposo got his goal a little later at 6:20, putting the puck up and over Hiller's shoulder.  Now the Islanders did have a 2-1 lead and with the way things have gone for Anaheim lately, that sinking feeling appeared.

With Francois Beauchemin in the penalty box for a tripping call he clearly disputed, it really seemed like things were turning New York's way.   Instead, the Ducks held steady and had a turning point of their own.

Getting his second goal of the game, Ryan tied things up at 9:22 while shorthanded in a move that has already been discussed as "goal of the year" material.  It was definitely a thing of beauty and Corey Perry's assist earned him his 400th NHL point.

After that, the Ducks played like a totally different team. 

While 4 on 4 with two players in the penalty box, Ryan Getzlaf made it 3-2 at 12:25.  Getzlaf had not scored in over a month.   The relief on his face and high level of emotion upon scoring spoke volumes.

"You don't want to say it's a statement game (for Getzlaf) but it was," said Ryan.  "It's nice to see him get rewarded because he's putting in the work, doing the right things and those are things that people don't see."

The old guy, Selanne, got the insurance marker at 17:06, making it 4-2.  Nabokov left another juicy rebound available and when it comes off Selanne's stick, you know it is going to go in the net.  Nabokov fell to the ice, clearly embarrassed and dismayed at his error.  The Honda Center erupted.

Holding on for the win, the Ducks got a standing ovation and cheers.  Too little opportunity for that this season.

"It's refreshing – we haven't heard our win song in a while," Ryan said. "It's two points and a starting point so hopefully we can string some things together here and move forward. It was definitely like a monkey off our back."

Another big monkey would be the ability to win two in a row.  Seeing as Columbus comes to town on Sunday (the worst team in the NHL) and they will be playing the second of back to back games, there just might be a chance....