Three losses in three games to Anaheim.  You knew the Sharks were not going to lose all six contests this season.  Ducks fans could hope, but you knew San Jose was going to figure it out eventually.

San Jose figured it out on Wednesday night at the Honda Center in a 3-1 defeat of Anaheim.

Things started off as they have the past several games against the Sharks.  The Ducks got out to an early lead and looked strong.   Corey Perry's goal at 2:37 of the first period got the Ducks on the board and the hopes up of the crowd for a rare Anaheim victory. 

They should have known they were in trouble when the Sharks outshot them 12-3 in the first.  Sure, one of those three shots went in, but that kind of effort is only going to lead to trouble down the road.

Trouble did not happen until late in the second period, but :27 seconds was all it took to derail Anaheim and ensure that San Jose would get two points. 

The Ducks had a great chance at making things 2-0, but Antti Niemi stopped Bobby Ryan cold.  Ryan undressed three Sharks defenders, had a little spinorama move but was denied by the netminder. 

Instead, on the next shift Brad Winchester, who spent a brief time in a Ducks uniform last season, put the puck off the pipe and in behind Jonas Hiller.   OK, the game is tied.  It isn't too bad.

Wrong.

Just :27 seconds later, at 16:50, Benn Ferreiro puts one in the net as well and the Sharks have a 2-1 lead.  Same old story with a defeated Ducks team incapable of responding or believing they have any chance at all to recover.

"We realized it's very, very difficult to score on this guy," said Joe Thornton about Hiller, who has won the past five consecutive games against San Jose. "That first one by him got us some confidence. I don't know if it was 30 seconds after but we bang another one in. Huge momentum swing for us."

The Ducks came out better in the third period.  They outshot San Jose and more than doubled their shots on goal in the first two periods combined. 

The result of their efforts?  Zip, zero, nada.  Niemi stood strong, no matter what came his way.  Apparently he has learned from the previous matches this season.

Joe Pavelski made it 3-1 at 12:43 and that all but sealed the deal for San Jose. 

Ryan summed up the Ducks dilemma succinctly.

"There's just no resiliency.  When they get the first one, obviously you get down, but that shift that follows up has to be the best shift of the game. It has to be the hardest working to not let the momentum swing in their direction. We went out and got outplayed in the shift after … It just continues to keep happening."

And it will continue to happen unless the Ducks finally figure it out.  Chances of that happening seem to be fewer than those of a snowball's chance in hell.

GM Bob Murray has threatened to move every single player on the team not named Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.  They have no trade clauses in their contracts or else they would have for sale stickers on their heads as well. 

The question is, if you don't change virtually all the personnel, will it make any difference?

IN OTHER NOTES:  Jason Blake returned to the line up after missing 34 games with a lacerated forearm.  His last game?  Against the Sharks.   Andrew Gordon and Matt Smaby were put on waivers, with the intentions of sending them to Syracuse if they clear.  Poor Gordon knows the AHL well.  Coach Bruce Boudreau sent him there regularly.  Looks like that hasn't changed.







 

The loss to Colorado on New Year's Eve seems like a long, long, time ago, even though it has only been a couple of days.  So what transpires between that wishfully forgettable loss and Wednesday night's game against the San Jose Sharks?  Plenty.

The Ducks sent JF Jacques back down to Syracuse.  Again.  By now Jacques knows all the airport personnel and flight attendants, and has the flight schedules memorized. 

Kyle Palmieri, who had been sent to Syracuse last week, has earned AHL honors.  Palmieri has been named to the AHL's all-star team for the second consecutive season.

Palmieri, 21, is tied for the AHL lead in goals with 19 and is second on the Syracuse Crunch in scoring with 29 points despite playing in just 21 games. He has played in seven games for the Ducks this season and scored a goal and an assist while up in Anaheim.  The AHL All-Star game will take place January 30.

And in other news, a minor trade occurred between the Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  It makes one wonder if GM Bob Murray has only three numbers in his phone - Toronto, Edmonto and New Jersey.  Trading with anyone else seems out of the question.   This time, the Ducks sent left wing Nicolas Deschamps to Toronto for another left wing Luca Caputi.

The Ducks now seem to have the market on hockey players named Luca, as they once owned the hockey players named Ryan franchise.  Caputi, 23, has played in 35 NHL games.  He was sidelined for most of last season with a sports hernia.  Both players merely make an AHL switcheroo.

The only other tidbit of Anaheim news was the controversial suggestion by Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register, who suggested that perhaps it would be time to trade captain Ryan Getzlaf.  Granted, Getzlaf has not been having a stellar year, but outside of Teemu Selanne, no one in a Ducks uniform is doing well.  Not even Wild Wing.

Positing a Getzlaf trade really does not address the cause of Anaheim's woes and only changes the deck chair on the Titanic.  Unless you blow up the entire team and start from scratch, which just does not happen in the hockey world, things will not change.  There is too much talent on this team for them to suck as bad as they do.  And as long as Murray is calling the shots, I am not sure I have confidence that anything will change for the better if there are major deals being made.   What ails the Ducks is far greater than any single player or even coach.  

Unless the core of the problem is addressed, you will merely be dealing with symptoms and the problems will continue on, just with a new face. 

Welcome back Jiggy!  Too bad you were not in net for Anaheim.  If so, the Ducks might have had a better chance at getting a win.

Instead Jean-Sebastien Giguere helped the Colorado Avalanche secure a 4-2 victory over his former team. 

Giguere was traded away to Toronto on January 31, 2010, nearly two years ago.  He has since meandered to Colorado where he has thrived in a back up goaltender position.   A .927 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average shows that whatever he is doing, it's working.

His former team?  Not so much. 

Someone jokingly suggested that Jonas Hiller should be wearing the number 4 instead of a 1 on his back, because 4 is how many goals he lets in every game.  Ouch.   It seems to be an accurate assessment, however.

The team in front of Hiller?  They sure aren't helping things out any. 

The Ducks came out onto the ice looking like they already had done their New Year's Eve celebrations instead of anticipating them.  They were sluggish, lifeless and seemed to excel in turnovers only.  They could not even manage to muster a shot on goal until more than midway through the first period.  OK, technically there was a doozy that rang off the pipe, but that was it. 

Colorado, who did not start off looking that great, either, still managed to get their act together. 

After a very nice video tribute to Giguere during a TV timeout, the Avs thought it would be nice to honor Giguere as well with a goal. 

Milan Hejduk got his 10th of the year at 6:35 and the Avs never gave the lead up.

"It's definitely a special night for him," said Hejduk of his netminder. "He's done so many great things for this franchise, and they didn't forget about it. ... We're a confident group right now, and we're trying to keep it up."

Colorado came out in the second period with a vengeance and in two shifts, the 1-0 lead extended to 3-0.   First came Kyle Quincey's goal at 5:49.  Chuck Kobasew followed it up at 7:05 and the Ducks felt that same sinking feeling they have had too much of this season. 

Coach Bruce Boudreau called a timeout for his team. 

"It was looking like at that moment they felt defeated," said Boudreau.  "I said 'I'm tired of building you guys up.  It's about time you manned up and played the game instead of feeling sorry for yourselves.'" 

I am sure there were a few expletives thrown in there as well for emphasis, and the Ducks deserved every one. 

All was not completely grim for Anaheim.  Lubomir Visnovsky got his shot through from the blue line at 12:26 of the second period to eliminate a shut out for Giguere. 

Hejduk's second of the game at 1:49 of the third period, a power play goal, gave the Avs their three goal lead back again. 

Bobby Ryan's marker at 12:38 came after the majority of Ducks fans had already exited the building, eager to leave the scene of some criminally bad hockey as early as possible.   You cannot blame them.  Poor folks are paying money for this stuff.  It IS criminal.

And so it goes.  Another Ducks loss, despite the return of Saku Koivu in the line up after missing several games with a groin strain.   Poor Boudreau.  The team has lost 10 of 13 games since his arrival in November.

"I don't know what kind of mind-set they were in before I got here, but they were down becuase of the position they were in," Boudreau observed.  "  I'm surprised it hasn't turned around a little bit.  There's that hill that we can't get over."

It is nearly halfway through the season and Ducks fans can hardly wait until April when all this will be over.    They shoot horses, don't they, to put them out of their misery? 

Another day, another Ducks loss.  You get your hopes up that after one good win that the team can maybe pull it together for two in a row.  Then your hopes get dashed on the rocks and you go back to your reality of expecting losses.  Being a Ducks fan is not an easy thing these days.

Anaheim finally won a game on the road, their first in two months, and then they come home and lay an egg in front of the home crowd against Vancouver. 

OK, maybe Ducks fans were not technically the home crowd, because southern California at any time during the hockey season seems really appealing for Vancouver fans.  They also appeared to outnumber the locals, again, at the Honda Center. 

Traveling Canuck lovers were not disappointed by their team's performance. 

"Every time we scored, you could hear it," said goaltender Cory Schneider, who was in net in place of the usual Roberto Luongo.  "It felt like a home game at times."

They scored plenty of times in their 5-2 victory over the Ducks.

Henrik Sedin got things started at 1:11.   It was a personal present from Toni Lydman and a sign that things were not going to go well. 

Cory Hodgson ended the period with a late goal at 18:29 to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission. 

Instead of the Ducks turning things around on the scoreboard in the second period, Vancouver merely extended their lead.   

Mason Raymond made it 3-0 at 3:28 and Daniel Sedin took another personal gift from the Ducks and made it 4-0 at 7:59. 

At that point coach Bruce Boudreau had had enough.  Bye bye to Jonas Hiller, hello Dan Ellis. 

"A lot of times when teams score two goals really quickly, the goalie starts thinking about the previous goal," Boudreau said. "Then all of a sudden another one goes in before they can get their head back into it."

Clearly Hiller's head was not into it.  A common theme this year for the netminder who has a .899 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average.  Hiller is number one in one category, however.  Losses, with 15 of them.  Not where you want to be number one.

Ellis fared far better in net, stopping 14 of 15 shots, and in my personal opinion, should start the game against Colorado on New Year's Eve.  At the very least Ellis gave his teammates a chance to get back into the game. 

Schneider, however, did his best to keep the Ducks out of it, stopping 30 of 32 shots on goal, including one from Bobby Ryan that narrowly missed crossing the line.

Ryan was finally rewarded for his efforts at 6:11 of the third period, thanks to an amazing (or is it really?) pass from Teemu Selanne.

Nick Bonino narrowed the scoring gap at 14:24, giving the Ducks a little hope. 

The Canucks happily dashed them as the Daniel Sedin got his second of the game at 16:02 in a textbook play. 

The positives out of this one were that the Ducks were much better disciplined, not giving up a power play to Vancouver until midway through the third period.  It was their only trip to the penalty box.  On the other hand, the Ducks were able to force the Canucks into several errors and had six power play opportunities. 

Had the Ducks been able to convert on those chances, they might have had a better chance at getting a point out of the game. 

Instead, the Ducks head into their final game of 2011 (if only it were the final game of the thus far miserable 2011-2012 season) on New Year's Eve.  They get to see Jean-Sebastien Giguere in net for the Colorado Avalanche.  Chances are exceptionally good that Jiggy will receive a warm welcome from the crowd in his first visit back to Anaheim since being traded away to Toronto in January 2010.   

It will probably be the only warm and fuzzy feeling that Ducks fans will have all evening, but it is better than nothing.

IN OTHER NOTES:  Kyle Palmieri was sent back to Syracuse, as was Mark Fraser, who went on a conditioning assignment.  Saku Koivu remains out with a groin strain, although he is nearing his return.  Jason Blake is also getting closer and is ahead of schedule with recovery from sliced tendons in his wrist.    

A victory for the Ducks?  On the road?  Against the San Jose Sharks?

Thank you Santa!

It had been two long months without a road win (the last being October 27 against the Minnesota Wild).  But a 3-2 victory ended that long nightmare.  It also was win #10 on the season, finally, which leaves Columbus as the only team still in single digits in the win column. 

On the other hand, three of those ten victories are against the Sharks.  There are only three more games against San Jose.  The Ducks are going to have to figure out how to win against other teams as well.

The Ducks started out well and got on the board first.  Luca Sbisa got his first goal of the year at 2:27.  George Parros got the puck back to Sbisa at the blue line.  Sbisa ripped it past Antti Niemi, who seemed to be caught off guard by the shot. 

1-0 Ducks and a promising beginning.  The Ducks have had promising starts before, only to turn around and get on the losing side of things.  In this one, they stayed neck and neck with San Jose.

The Sharks tied up the game late in the first period.  Joe Pavelski put a puck past Jonas Hiller at 19:33.  That eliminated the chance that the Ducks could go to the locker room with a rare lead. 

San Jose came out with a vengeance in the second period and played virtually the first four minutes in Anaheim's end.  One turnover by Joe Thornton spoiled the Sharks momentum.  Bobby Ryan stole the puck and took off down the ice towards Niemi, unimpeded by anyone in a teal blue uniform.  Ryan neatly roofed the puck behind Niemi, giving the Ducks the lead once more.

"There were a couple of bad turnovers," Thornton observed after the game.  "Mine in the second was pretty bad. Those kinds of things are going to cost you games. You hear it all the time.  It's a 3-2 League and we just couldn't get the third goal.

Jamie McGinn knotted up the game at 2-2 with a goal at 7:13.  Hiller had no chance, but the Ducks persisted, despite being outshot by San Jose 38 - 23.   Andrew Cogliano, taking a nice pass from Matt Beleskey, gave Anaheim the lead for the third and final time at 12:46. 

San Jose threw everything they had at Hiller in the third period, but Hiller stood firm.  Even with the goaltender pulled and a 6 on 4 opportunity due to a late power play chance, the Sharks could not force the game into overtime. 

For whatever reason, the Ducks have not had difficulty with San Jose this year.  If only they could have that success against other teams.

“It’s nice to get one on the road, finally, because we were long overdue,” said Ryan. “It’s been a long time. Obviously it’s frustrating. We had some road trips that we just fell apart on. Had leads and blew.  It’s tough when you don’t feel good about yourself going into every building. Hopefully this is a jump start and something moving forward."

Moving forward would be getting two wins in a row.  Something the Ducks have not accomplished since the beginning of the season.  Vancouver?  Thursday?

IN OTHER NOTES:  Devante Smith-Pelly, loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors, blocked a shot with his foot in the first game of the tournament and will be out 4 - 6 weeks with a broken metatarsal bone.   Jean-Francois Jacques was recalled (again) from Syracuse and had good chemistry with Parros on the fourth line.

Forgive me if some of these game recaps sound like they have been copied and pasted, but it would be much nicer if the Ducks could provide some new material.  Instead, they continue to provide more of the same. 

A 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday was frustrating in that the Ducks managed to erase a three goal deficit, but still could not do enough to take a lead and get that elusive 10th win.

A Thursday game against the Los Angeles Kings, who had new coach Darryl Sutter behind the bench for the first time, did not end up significantly better, although it did yield a point in the 3-2 shootout loss.   A win? On the road?  You would have to go back to October 27 if you want one of those.

Neither team produced any goals in the first period.   It appeared to be headed that way in the second period as well until Niklas Hagman tipped in Lubomir Visnovsky's shot from the blue line at 13:55.   Seeing as the Ducks have not had a lead in a while, it was a positive sign.

That joy did not last long.  The Kings tied up the game at 16:17 with a goal from Mike Richards.  Richards had been sidelined for eight games with a concussion suffered on December 1. 

The Kings took the lead for the first time in the third period with a goal from Dustin Brown at 8:02 and did not appear to be in any hurry to hand it back again. 

The Ducks did persevere and Visnovsky brought the teams even once more with 3:11 remaining to play.  Perhaps they could have taken the lead back if they had managed more than five shots on goal in the period.

Jonas Hiller did his best to preserve the tie and prevent the Kings from walking away with both the points in regulation.  As a result of his efforts, the Ducks earned a point going to the extra period.

Both teams failed to convert on power play opportunities in the five minute overtime, although the Kings only had :29 seconds before time ran out.  A shootout it must be then.

Jonathan Quick could not stop Corey Perry's shot, but was able to get a piece of Teemu Selanne's and Kyle Palmieri's and keep them out of the net. 

Hiller could not stop Jarret Stoll's rocket, but did prevent Anze Kopitar from putting the puck in the net.   Brown ended up with the game winner by putting the puck past Hiller.  Palmieri, who was denied by Quick, would have sent the game to further shootout rounds. 

Still no 10th win on the season and it just feels like a bit old piece of coal in Ducks fans stockings.  That is assuming the Ducks still have fans at this point.   

Selanne did not get a point in the game after having points in the previous nine.  That is a record for old guys 41 or over.  Still creating records.  Still scoring.  Still playing with 100% effort.  Too bad that cannot be said for the rest of his teammates.

Opening the season in his native Helsinki, Finland, was probably a nice inducement for Teemu Selanne to play one more year.  Going back to Winnipeg, where he started his NHL career in 1992, was additional icing on the cake. 

The date was hyped ever since the 2011-2012 schedule came out and Selanne's return did not disappoint Jets fans.  Ducks fans, however, were left less satisfied in the 5-3 defeat.

News conferences and a media hubbub noteworthy even by crazed Canadian hockey standards surrounded Selanne for weeks before he actually stepped foot in Winnipeg.   His reception by Jets fans, the majority wearing Selanne jerseys, was even louder, if possible, than the one the met him in Helsinki. 

"It was unbelievable," Selanne said after the game. "I didn't really know what to expect. It was something I could never imagine, it was so special. This is a dream come true to come back and play here one more time."

The warm greeting was not extended to Selanne's teammates and the Jets, while happy to see Selanne, were also happy to defeat the Ducks in an energetic and enjoyable game. 

Kyle Wellwood put the Jets on the board at 4:54 and at 6:19 Blake Wheeler added a power play goal to make it 2-0.  The Ducks were not particularly happy at that point, and it certainly added a sour note to the video tribute played during the first television timeout. 

In a rare move, KDOC, which aired the game locally in Orange County, stayed with the video tribute and did not add to their advertising revenue.  It was a nice gesture.   Considering the technical difficulties they had broadcasting the remainder of the game, it was the least they could do.  Cutting in and out, especially in the final minute of the game having no picture or sound, was frustrating, to say the least.

Although the Ducks were frustrated at their slow start, they did come back to tie up the game.   Niklas Hagman put the Ducks on the board, tipping in Selanne's shot at 14:34.  

Corey Perry evened things up at 18:26, giving Anaheim a glimmer of hope for the outcome of the game to be positive.

Alexander Burmistrov, just back in the line up after coming off an injury, squashed the Ducks hopes for further rallying.  Just :31 seconds into the second period, Burmistrov made it 3-2 and Winnipeg had the lead once more.  They never gave it up.

Perry might have tied up the game again midway through the period, but the puck was never clearly over the line.  Goaltender Chris Mason had to reach around behind him and laid down on the puck.  The Ducks were convinced it went in and crossed the line.  The referees were not nearly as certain and ruled it no goal.  As the puck was under Mason, there was no way to determine if it was across the goal line or not and the no goal ruling stayed.

Andrew Ladd's goal at 18:20 proved to be the game winner, although it was somewhat controversial.  Nik Antropov wiped out Dan Ellis before Ladd put the puck in the net.  No interference was called and the goal stood. 

In the third period, the Ducks came out determined tie things up.  Bobby Ryan had three shots on goal in the first 90 seconds alone, but Mason stood firm, stopping everything. 

Then at 2:50, Zach Bogosian scored right off the draw, and made it 5-2. 

Selanne got his second assist of the night on a power play goal at 10:26.  Perry got his second of the evening, but that was all the Ducks could muster. 

Pulling Elis did not help to shrink the gap in the score any further and the Ducks got to leave Winnipeg with another check mark in the loss column.  

After all of Saturday's games, only the Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets have fewer than 10 wins.  Heading to Dallas to play the Stars on Monday night is not likely to yield a win for Anaheim either, but then again, you never know. 


 

At this point in the season, it is not a good sign when your team still has fewer than 10 wins.  It means you are going to be in the running in June for a great draft pick position.   With a 4-1 loss to Chicago added to the growing list, the Ducks still can't reach double digits in the win column.

Only three teams are in the battle for last place in the NHL and all of them have 9 wins - Columbus, Anaheim and the New York Islanders.  Which of these three will be the last to get to 10?

After having put together their best game of the year on Wednesday against Phoenix, the Ducks followed it up with a so-so effort against Chicago. 

Jamal Mayers took advantage of Jonas Hiller in the first period.  Hiller had lost sight of the puck, but Mayers did not.  1-0 at 6:37.   Marian Hossa extended the lead at 1:07 of the second period. 

Dave Bolland seemed destined for a goal.  His first was deemed "no goal" by the referees as well as the review committee in Toronto, who believed Hiller had been interfered with before the puck crossed the line.  Looking at the video, even if Hiller had not been interfered with, he could not have stopped it. 

Nonetheless, Bolland got sweet justice on a power play later in the middle period.  With Ryan Getzlaf in the box for holding, Bolland made quick work of the man advantage, needing just :19 seconds to score at 17:19. 

By the time the game was 4-0 (Patrick Sharp placed the final dagger in the coffin at 10:18 of the third period), coach Bruce Boudreau starting relying more heavily on his fourth line.  Talk about a clear indication the game was lost and let's not fatigue ourselves before heading to Winnipeg!

Ray Emery, whom the Ducks faced for the first time since letting him go as a free agent over the summer, deserved the shutout.  Emery, who is supposed to be Corey Crawford's back up, has played exceptionally win, getting five wins in a row for the Hawks. 

Teemu Selanne, perhaps thinking about what he wants to do in Winnipeg, put the Ducks on the board at 18:13.  Too little, too late, but a good warm up for Saturday's game. 

"I'll just take the win, that's good," said Emery, who made 24 saves and earned an assist on Bolland's goal.  "It's fun playing for sure. I don't take anything for granted and you never know how things are going to go. If you expect something and you're not willing to work for it, you don't get it. I'm taking it one game at a time and every time I get in there I just want to do my best."

The Ducks have very little time to contemplate the loss.  The hubbub surrounding Selanne's return to Winnipeg has been happening for weeks.  Winnipeg was where he had his NHL start and an astounding rookie season that will likely never be surpassed.  After being traded to Anaheim in February of 1996, Selanne has never been back.   Until now. 

What a great time to finally get that 10th win?

In a poor season, you have to celebrate the little things that go right.  For the Ducks, a solid 60 minute effort that produced a 4-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes is something worth celebrating.

The Ducks seemed to have a little extra jump in their step.  Perhaps getting Lubomir Visnovsky back from a broken finger that caused him to miss 13 games. 

"It felt like my first game this season," said Visnovsky, who earned an assist in his first game back. "I was a little bit nervous the first shift. The first power play I felt much better. Every shift I was more confident with the puck."

Coach Bruce Boudreau noticed the difference with Visnovsky in the line-up. 

"You could tell he was sorely missed," Boudreau said. "You look at the team's record when he was out (2-9-2). He's a dynamic player. When he's in, it gives you another advantage. You don't have to play Cam (Fowler) 26 minutes."

Perhaps it was the new guy, Rod Pelley, getting a new chance with a new team. 

Pelley, who was just acquired from New Jersey on Monday, got the spark going early on in his Ducks debut.  The centerman neatly escaped from Adrian Aucoin's efforts to keep him at bay and he went in for a point blank shot on Mike Smith.  Smith did not have a chance.   1-0 Ducks at 15:48.

It was Pelley's first of the year, and for a guy who only gets a goal about once every 30 games or so, it was a nice way to say "Hello Anaheim!"

“It was a big relief for me to get one early like that,” said Pelley after the game. “As the game went on, it almost sunk in more that I was able to contribute to the team winning the game. It was really nice to get that one, for sure.”

Perhaps it was Kyle Palmieri, recently recalled from Syracuse for the first time this season, who wanted to stay longer than a game or two.   Palmieri got goal number four of the game early in the third period.

Perhaps it was the fact that the Ducks started the day in dead last in the NHL.

Whatever the motivation or the reasons, the victory was extremely satisfying.   And it bumped them out of 30th place.  For now.  It was not a win where they barely held on.  It was a got the lead and held it, secondary scoring kind of game. 

The Coyotes have had the Ducks number this season, mainly number one, Jonas Hiller.  They have chased him from net and had no problem putting the puck behind him.  Not this time.   Only one made it past Hiller, and that was Martin Hanzal on the power play at 7:31 of the second period. 

The Ducks earned a power play goal of their own thanks to Niklas Hagman at 1:07 of the second period.  He bookended the middle frame with his second of the game at 18:56.  It was his first multi goal game since April 2010.   

Going into the third period with a 3-1 lead was positive progress, but gaining a 4-1 lead with a goal from Palmieri just after another power play for the Ducks expired at 3:30. 

From there on out, you could not tell if the sparse midweek crowd was more excited at the prospect of getting a win, possibly going to Hooters with five goals, or to see a Finnish guy get a hat trick.   (No, not Teemu Selanne, who earned an assist on Hagman's first goal.  The point put him in sole possession of 23rd all time on the scoring list with 1,370 points.)

Hagman, the other Finn, had a couple of great opportunities to get the second hat trick of his career, but could not capitalize on them. 

After the game, he was pleased with his performance and his chemistry with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.  He was also happy that the two goals he narrowly missed scoring were not goals that the Ducks needed to have in order to win. 

"As a line, in practice, we tried to find each other a little bit better, and I felt today a couple of times we found each other well," said Hagman. "I've known all the time that I can score goals and that I can play. It's nice to get a little bit of a reward."

Nice. 

That was exactly how it felt to watch the Anaheim Ducks win. 

Now if they can take this show on the road and prove this was not a fluke....

Just because there are no Ducks games until Wednesday does not mean that Anaheim is spending time sleeping. 

In a move that should come as no surprise, the Ducks traded away defenseman Kurtis Foster and minor league goaltender Timo Pielmeier to the New Jersey Devils.   Foster had spent a good chunk of time as a healthy scratch after recovering from surgery to remove a wire from his thigh.  The quirky injury prevented Foster from participating in training camp and once recovered, he never really made a solid impression, playing in only nine games for Anaheim.

The Ducks had recalled Nate Guenin from Syracuse and Guenin has been getting the ice time since.  With Lubomir Visnovsky getting ready to come back from having broken his finger, Foster was becoming more and more obsolete.  Not to mention expensive with a $1.8 million contract.

“It wasn’t going to work out,” said GM Bob Murray. “Vish is coming back. It was just time to move him on and [he can] get an opportunity. "

Pielmeier was acquired from the San Jose Sharks along with Nick Bonino in a trade that sent Kent Huskins and Travis Moen up north in 2009.  Pielmeier had much promise, but has never seemed to develop that talent. 

In exchange, the Ducks get center Rod Pelley and defenseman Mark Fraser.  They also receive a 7th round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Pelley, 27, has appeared in 211 career NHL games with New Jersey.  He is bound to cause some confusion on the ice when Devante Smith-Pelly is playing, and broadcasters and announcers can only hope they aren't on the same line.

"He’s an intelligent centerman who can bring some energy to our group intelligently,” was Murray's assessment.

Fraser, 25, has played 98 career NHL contests with the Devils.  Neither Fraser nor Pelley have scored this year and both are pretty inexpensive with $550,000 contracts.

In other news:  Jean Francois Jacques added more frequent flyer miles when he was sent back to Syracuse.