To say that Aaron Voros has had a little bad luck lately would be like saying teenage boys like to eat a little.  Gross misunderstatement.

Voros was recently put on IR due to a horrendous case of the flu.  Players get the flu all the time and have "flu-like" symptoms.  They only miss a game or two.  Voros?  Out for over a week.

Voros went on the Ducks two game road trip to Canada and was taken off the IR and inserted into the line-up on Wednesday night against Vancouver.

That didn't last long.

Just :16 seconds into the second period, Voros got into a fight with Kevin Bieksa.   George Parros once described Bieksa as the sneakiest, toughest, strongest guy he'd encountered.  So it was no surprise that Voros got the worst of the beating. 

Little did Voros know that was just the beginning of the indignities to be suffered.  First he was thrown out of the game with a game misconduct on top of his five minutes for fighting.  The referee decided that instead of coming off the bench for a line change, Voros came off the bench to fight, thus booting him out of the game. 

Total time on ice on Wednesday?  1:25.  Three shifts.  15 penalty minutes.

Bieksa landed plenty of fists on Voros' head and face.  One of them must have landed just right because Voros is now back on IR with a broken orbital bone in his left eye. 

The winger just can't seem to get a break.  Then again, I guess he could.  It was just the wrong kind of break. 

So in the meantime, Dan Sexton returns from Syracuse, racking up more frequent flyer miles between New York and California.  With Teemu Selanne's groin still in question, Sexton might be in Anaheim for a while. 

At least Sexton is more productive than Voros.  Voros has been mostly a healthy scratch, playing in only 11 games and not having a single point to show for it.  Sexton has managed to play in 13, despite being bounced back and forth to Syracuse, and has a goal and two assists.  

Sexton will likely be in the line-up this evening against Calgary.

Two games in two days with two shootouts.   Unfortunately for the Ducks, there were not two wins as well.  While victorious over the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks prevailed in the second consecutive shootout, defeating the Ducks 5-4.

Anaheim certainly had their chances in regulation, despite looking a bit haggard by the end of the game.  Playing three hours and ten minutes worth of hockey in 24 hours will do that to you and that is not taking into account the extra time for a 10 round shootout that was required the first night.

Coming home with three out of four possible points in a quick road trip should be a positive for the Ducks, who have only two more games at home before a seven game stint on the road.

Corey Perry got the Ducks on the board with the power play at 4:37 of the first period.  The Canucks have been exceptionally efficient at killing penalties this year, but the Ducks have been the rare exception to that.  It was Perry's 300th point in his 399th game.

The lead did not last long as Ryan Kesler got the first of two goals at 6:20, also on the power play.  If you blinked, you would have almost missed the next goal from Jeff Tambellini just :11 seconds later that put the Canucks in the lead.   While Kesler's was impossible to stop, Tambellini's was due to miscommunication between the Ducks and Curtis McElhinney, seeing a rare start in goal.

McElhinney was exceptional the rest of the way and the Ducks climbed back up on top.

Joffrey Lupul scored his first goal of the season at 9:35 of the second period, exactly one year since his last goal.  Only back for three games since recovering from back surgery, Lupul has helped provide an offensive spark and should only improve as the rust continues to fall off.

The game appeared to be heading into the third period tied when Teemu Selanne got what seemed to be his millionth power play goal at 19:43.  You cannot help but marvel at Selanne's ability to put the puck in the net, a skill that has not diminished one iota over his 19 year career.

The Ducks extended their lead to 4-2 with Cam Fowler's third goal of the year, greatly assisted by Alex Edler and Roberto Luongo, who ping ponged the puck in the net behind himself off the skate of his own defenseman at 11:36 of the third.

With only two shots on goal during the third period by Anaheim, it seemed inevitable that Vancouver would get back into the game.  Especially as neither of the Sedin twins had made it on the scoreboard yet, a rare occurrence indeed.  Getting McElhinney out of the game helped, too.

Christian Ehrhoff took a powerful shot that hit McElhinney right in the forehead, digging his helmet into his head near his eye and leaving him bloodied and in need of stitches.  The rebound of Ehrhoff's shot was finished off by Daniel Sedin at 12:48.  There was no contest by McElhinney, who was writhing on the ice from Ehrhoff's shot.

"What's the call when a goalie gets hit in the mask with a slap shot?" said coach Randy Carlyle. "(The referee) said it was too quick. Four sets of eyes out there. There are two linesmen that are supposed to make the call out there and that clearly is cut and dried."

Cut and dried or not, McElhinney was out, Jonas Hiller came in cold and the Canucks were within a single goal from tying the game. 

"It's the worst thing that can happen to you as a backup, especially in a one-goal game," Hiller said. "It was not easy, but I thought I had a couple of good saves."

Hiller had 12 saves on 13 shots - quite a few considering he went into the game with only 7:12 left to play.

The one he missed was Kesler's second goal at 19:38.  The Canucks net was vacated for the extra attacker and they capitalized with persistence, banging the puck over and over, nearly willing it to go into the net.

That sent the game to overtime, where the Ducks had more shots on goal in the extra five minutes than they did in the entire third period.  

As it did last night, overtime proved insufficient to determine a winner and the game went to a shootout.  This one did not last 10 rounds.  Unable to put anything past Luongo, the Ducks came out the losers when Tambellini got the only tally against Hiller.

The Ducks are still barely holding on to 8th place in the Western Conference, but having played more games than any other team in the NHL, that will undoubtedly change.  The Western Conference is so tight a mere 12 points separates first place from 15th, so every point counts.  The Ducks have an opportunity for two more on Friday night against Calgary at home.

In other notes:  Aaron Voros was activated off the IR after a seriously nasty bout with the flu.  As a result, Matt Beleskey was sent back down to Syracuse to make room on the roster.

Ducks usually fly south for the winter, but in this case, the Anaheim Ducks flew north to Edmonton and had their scoring freeze finally thaw out.   Scoreless in their previous two efforts, the Ducks got a couple goals and found a way to get a shootout win over the Oilers, who had a four game winning streak going into the night's game.

It was no coincidence that the Ducks scorelessness occurred with Teemu Selanne out of the line up with lingering groin issues.  Put him back in, and suddenly the red light goes on.

Selanne assisted on Saku Koivu's goal at 5:44 of the first period and got his ninth of the year at 6:32 of the third period to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead.   Yes, the Ducks missed him indeed.

The Ducks also missed an opportunity to finish off the game in regulation by letting Edmonton get on the board.  Goals from Ryan Jones at 10:29 and former Duck, Dustin Penner, at 13:39 tied up the game. 

Overtime yielded nothing, so the game had to go to a shootout.  Jonas Hiller, who had 34 saves during the first 65 minutes and Nikolai Khabibulin, who had 30 saves, continued to stop shots. 

The shootout went 10 rounds, with only goals from Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Hall in the first three rounds that left it to sudden death.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  A couple shots missed, a couple hit the post, but nothing would go in behind either goaltender.

While all teams have at least a half dozen guys they can rely on in the shootout, once you get past that, choices are less traditional.  For round 10, the Ducks pulled a 19-year-old out off the bench.  Cam Fowler, who just celebrated his birthday on Sunday, showed yet another one of talents and abilities.  Useful in a shootout.

"I asked him and I asked a few guys," said coach Randy Carlyle. "He was, 'I don't know, I think I can do it.' Then, he goes out and does it.  Some guys kind of hide. Other guys like to step up. When it goes that deep and you've got 10 shooters, you need a break to go your way. Both goaltenders made some big stops."

Fowler's efforts helped the Ducks earn two points and get out of a brief losing slump.

"I wanted to shoot," Fowler said. "I didn't want to risk putting a move on because Khabibulin had already made some really nice saves on guys that have way better moves than me. I thought my best chance was to go in and pick a spot. Luckily it found the back of the net."

Fowler and the rest of the Ducks now fly to Vancouver for the second of a back-to-back series.  Going with two points and a win will certainly help morale.

The last time the Ducks and Coyotes got together, Anaheim ended Phoenix's seven game winning streak by scoring six goals on Ilya Bryzgalov.  Eight days later for a rematch, and the Coyotes said "not this time!"

Bryzgalov was perfect against the Ducks, stopping all 26 shots on goal.  Nothing was going to get past the quirky Russian netminder and his teammates helped make sure of it.

Anaheim took needless penalties and could not find the energy needed to get the job done.  At least when they were shut out on Friday night against Detroit, they played a good, solid game.  The same could not be said of Sunday's follow up effort.

Getting Joffrey Lupul back in the line up did not add a boost either.  Lupul, who had not played an NHL game since December 8, 2009, saw his first game since recovering from back surgery and subsequent blood infections (plural) that kept him off the ice.  He saw 14:28 of ice time and had three shots on goal.

"It was enjoyable just being back around the guys," Lupul said after the game. "I'm glad to have the first one out of the way. Hopefully now, I can just go about business as usual.  I felt good before the game. I was pretty excited. Once the game got going, it was just hockey again. If I had any nerves, they were gone by the first or second shift. It was not the result we wanted. It's frustrating. I can play better and everyone can play better." 

The Coyotes continued their solid play with goals from Taylor Pyatt, Shane Doan and an empty netter by Lee Stempniak with nearly three minutes left to play.  Coach Randy Carlyle made a ballsy move by pulling Jonas Hiller extremely early in hopes that the Ducks could find a way to tie up the game.

The Ducks were not even capable of finding a single goal, much less two at that point.

"It seems like we don’t really have a starting point in any of the games, specifically the last two," said Carlyle. "We started both of them, the first 10-12 minutes we were playing defensive zone coverage and not on the attack. It seems like it takes 10 minutes for us to get warmed up and that is not acceptable."

Captain Ryan Getzlaf knew that winning a game would take more than just putting the puck in the net.

"It’s frustrating when you’re out there trying to work as hard as you can and things aren’t happening," Getzlaf commented.   "It’s not a matter of putting the puck in. It’s a matter of all those other little things that we’re not doing properly. We have to reach back here and start doing those again."

The Ducks get to put the basics back into practice on the road, with their next two in Edmonton and Vancouver.  If they can get back to basics and put a puck in the net, they just might turn things around.  Until they learn those lessons, it's back to the drawing board.

In other notes:  Teemu Selanne missed his second game in a row nursing a groin strain.  Dan Sexton was sent back to Syracuse after Lupul was activated off the long, long, long term IR.

The Ducks played a good game, but it wasn't good enough against the Detroit Red Wings.  The Ducks outshot the Red Wings 41 to 29, the most shots any team has gotten through this season, but in the end it was the ones that went in that counted. 

Detroit had four tallies and the Ducks had nothing to show for their efforts.   Jimmy Howard earned his shut-out and had a terrific defense in front of him to help out when needed.

"I thought the score flattered us," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "Howie was really good, and we scored some good goals at the net. We were able to score on some of our opportunities and they weren't.  It wasn't a beautiful one tonight, but we'll take the two points."

Those opportunities for the Red Wings began at 1:09 of the first period with a goal from Johan Franzen.  One turnover and a couple passes later, the puck was behind Jonas Hiller.  That was essentially game over for Anaheim.

The Red Wings extended their lead with goals from Tomas Holmstrom and Dan Cleary late in the second period.  Cleary leads the Red Wings in goals this season.  Not Zetterberg.  Not Datsyuk.  Cleary.   Can you say depth?

Adding insult to injury was a final goal from Valteri Filppula, who missed his first attempt, but came back to finally finish things off at 19:29 of the third period.

The Ducks were clearly frustrated, but saw some light at the end of their tunnel.

"We did a lot of good things in the hockey game," said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. "We controlled a lot of the play. We weren't able to find a way to score a goal.  If we play as hard as we did tonight in every game this year and be as effective on our forecheck for stretches of the game, we’ll be alright."

The Ducks next opportunity comes against Phoenix on Sunday night.  If they continue to play well against Pacific Division opponents and put in the same effort as they did tonight, they should be rewarded for their efforts with more than a goose egg.

In other notes:  Matt Beleskey was recalled from Syracuse as Aaron Voros has been put on IR with a very bad case of the flu.  Usually flu is day to day, but Voros is so ill an IR placement is warranted. 

Teemu Selanne was out again due to the same nagging groin issue that kept him out three games at the end of November.

Speak softly and carry a big stick was Teddy Roosevelt's theory on enforcement.  George Parros did not speak so softly in a 5-3 victory over the Panthers as the Ducks enforcer netted two glorious goals in his first multi-goal game in the NHL.  Those two goals got the Ducks and the crowd energized and put smiles on everyone's face.

"It was an awesome feeling," said Parros after the game, still grinning from ear to ear.  "I was feeling really good.  It seemed like the pucks were coming to me tonight.”

Having the fourth line chip in not one, but two goals, was a good way to keep the Ducks winning streak alive.  After winning six games, they went on to lose the next six, but are now rebounding with a three-game streak.

Parros' first goal came at 14:01 of the first period when Kyle Chipchura was behind the net and spotted George in front.  Parros wasted no time putting it past Tomas Vokoun and the crowd erupted with support. 

Darcy Hordichuk, sensing the night's offensive danger, decided to take Parros off the ice for the next five minutes and engaged him in his usual team role right off the face off.  Thank you for your goal.  Now please sit down in the penalty box.

"Not a lot of guys follow a goal with a fight off the face-off," observed Ryan Getzlaf.  "That created energy for sure."

Getzlaf, known more for his assists, made it 2-0 at 6:04 of the second period, his first goal in eight games.  With a delayed penalty and an extra attacker, Toni Lydman got the puck over a scrambling Vokoun and Getzlaf tapped it in behind him. 

:50 seconds later Parros got his second of the evening with more work from the fourth line being rewarded.  Two goals from the mustached enforcer was enough to make everyone giddy and the crowd yearned for Parros to get the real hat trick.

Jonas Hiller's shut out came to an end when Mike Santorelli got a piece of the puck at 8:08.  The Panthers had rebound after rebound after rebound and one of those chances was bound to go in. 

Florida pulled the game back within a goal on a power play goal from Steve Bernier, who was back in the line up after breaking his orbital bone.  Bernier was wearing a full shield, as was Dan Sexton, marking a rare instance when two guys in the NHL looked like they were back in junior hockey once more.  Bernier's goal deflected off his leg as he was getting out of the way of Stephen Weiss' shot. 

The Ducks responded with a goal from Corey Perry at 2:15, making it 4-2.

Florida having a late power play opportunity decided to remove Vokoun from net to make it a 6 on 4.  The Ducks fans, delirious with the thought of a Parros hat trick and free wings from Hooters for 5 goals, were absolutely delirious with the possibilities. 

The Panthers, who clearly missed Bernier the past nine games, had other ideas.  Bernier would have had a hat trick of his own had the first one not touched Santorelli on the way in.  Instead, Bernier had to settle for bringing his team back within one goal again at 18:53, giving the Panthers two power play goals in two chances after having missed the previous 37 attempts.

The net still empty, the Panthers did their best to tie up the game, but Bobby Ryan finally put in the empty netter, having to work hard for it, at 19:29.   5-3 Ducks, free wings and two points in the standings. 

"Everybody wondered why I didn't have him out there on the penalty kill," said coach Randy Carlyle about Parros.  "The two points are more important than George's third goal."

Always the pragmatist (and definitely a bit of a spoil sport.)

In the end, two points were more important and the Ducks now take good momentum into Friday's game with the Detroit Red Wings.  At least the Ducks have a better chance of defeating Detroit at home than they do on the road.   If Parros can stay hot, anything is possible.

A win and two points is always a good thing.  When those two points come at the expense of your Pacific Division rival, the Los Angeles Kings, they seem even sweeter.

The Kings, who have been strong for most of the season, have faltered of late, losing six of seven games going into their first game of the year against the Ducks.  Anaheim has had more swings this season than LA, but had also lost six of their previous seven going into the game.   Most importantly, the Ducks single win was their previous game and they took that momentum and confidence into Monday night's game and capitalized on it.

The Ducks were able to shut out the Kings, 2-0, the first time shutting them out since November 16, 2008.  

"That's the type of game our hockey club has to play night in and night out," said coach Randy Carlyle. "It was a good one for us. We feel good about ourselves because we won a big hockey game. We had an effort from every member of our group. That's what is important."

It truly was a team effort, but goaltender Jonas Hiller shone brightly by stopping 27 shots, including a spectacular "how did he do that?!" save against Anze Kopitar in the waning minutes of the game.  There was no question Hiller was in the zone and deservedly the #1 star of the game.

"He made some key saves and some great saves and some timely saves," observed Jason Blake, who scored one of the Ducks goals.  "They really took it to us at times and Jonas bailed us out."

No matter how good Hiller was, the Ducks still had to score in order to win the game.  

Dead even through the first half of the game, the score finally changed midway through the second period.   Although the Ducks and Kings are usually lively, penalty filled affairs, there was only one penalty - coincidental fighting majors - before Drew Doughty was sent to the box at 10:33 of the second period for tripping. 

Apparently he liked his view from the box so once he exited, he committed another tripping foul on Corey Perry in the neutral ice and went back in, the seat still warm from his recent stay.

After Cam Fowler scored :07 into the second penalty, Doughty probably would have preferred to stay in the box. 

Fowler, who turns a mere 19 next Sunday, got his second goal of his career and first on the power play at 12:48.  Teemu Selanne, back in the line-up after missing three games with a sore groin, won the face-off, got it to Lubomir Visnovsky who gave it to Fowler.  Fowler finished it off by angling the puck off the post and in behind Jonathan Quick.

After that, the Ducks had a difficult time putting a puck on the net at the Kings end.   When they did finally get their chance, they finished it off.  A turnover by Jack Johnson gave Blake and Selanne a 2 on 1 breakaway.   Tic-tac-in the net, 2-0 Ducks and the sold out building erupted joyously with 2:24 left to play. 

Mind you, if Hiller had not stopped Kopitar's shot a minute previously, the game would have been tied up and things would have ended up quite differently. 

Instead the Ducks hung on for the victory and flip flopped with the Kings, topping them in the standings for the first time this season. 

"We found a way and didn’t back off," Hiller said. "We can be happy with this win and it’s something we can build on."

Next building opportunity is Wednesday at home against the Florida Panthers.

Going into Phoenix with a six-game losing streak to meet a team with a seven game winning streak, the hottest in the NHL, the Ducks did not seem to have a lot of hope.  A 6-4 victory over their Pacific Division rivals was not exactly what was expected, but it sure felt good.

A lackluster performance against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday was followed up with a strong performance on Saturday night. 

Phoenix scored first at 14:40 of the first period with a goal from Derek Morris, but the Ducks followed that up with a goal from Jason Blake at 18:37.  It was Blake's fourth of the year, but he certainly has had plenty of good opportunities in the past few games. 

In the second period Lauri Korpikoski and Keith Yandle gave the Coyotes a 3-1 lead. 

Then everything changed.

Bobby Ryan scored two goals in a row to tie up the game on a breakaway and partial breakaway.   The first ever NHL goal for Brandon McMillan at 6:39 of the third period was followed by a goal from Corey Perry at 7:44.  At 8:15, Ryan scored his third of the game for his second career hat trick.   6-3 Ducks.

Ilya Bryzgalov yielded a total of six goals in the previous four games.   Tonight - six goals in less than an hour.   Well, after all, it is only a game.

Scottie Upshall added one more for Phoenix at 14:03, but that was as close as the Coyotes would get. 

"We've been fighting the puck, all three of us," said Ryan of himself and linemates Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.  "We haven't been getting through the neutral zone and haven't gotten the offensive zone time we need.  Hopefully it's a ball that starts rolling for us because we need to be productive every night."

Ryan's line had 10 points on the evening, certainly making up for their performance the previous evening, which Getzlaf had described as "awful."

"I'd say our penalty killing bailed us out," said coach Randy Carlyle, whose team killed 5 of 6 penalties. "And our big guys that get paid all the money scored some goals for us."

They need to keep scoring goals if they want to have more than a single victory in the past seven games. 

Next up is Los Angeles on Monday.  At one point the Kings were on top of the entire NHL.  Now the Ducks and Kings are just one point apart in the standings and seeming to have more than two points on the line in the upcoming game.

In other notes:  Teemu Selanne missed his third game with a groin strain and Lubomir Visnovsky joined him on the sidelines with back spasms.  Joffrey Lupul, who has not played a game since December 2009, was sent to Syracuse on a conditioning assignment and played with the AHL team this evening.  When finished with his conditioning stint, Lupul should be ready to rejoin the Ducks line-up.

Twas the day after Thanksgiving and the Ducks let the turkey settle with an afternoon game against the Blackhawks.  By the end of the game, the Ducks were the ones with indigestion, as were Ducks fans who got to witness Anaheim's sixth loss in a row.  

Seems like the Ducks can't get anything right these days.  A 4-1 loss to Chicago means that Anaheim now is one game under the .500 mark with a 10-11-3 record.  six game winning streak! After creeping up to fourth place in the Western Conference, the Ducks now have slunk back down to 12th place and sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division. 

Four days off between games and two days away from the rink to rest and recover did not accomplish much of anything. 

Dan Sexton, who took a trip to and from Syracuse since the last game, got the Ducks only goal on five power play attempts.  Sexton tipped in Saku Koivu's shot from the blue line at 16:49 of the first period.   It was the first goal for the Ducks in their new third jerseys (lots of orange and a big webbed D in front).

Specialty teams made the difference in the game.· The Blackhawks not only killed four of five penalties, they scored a short-handed goal on one of them, making it 1-1 at 7:40 of the second period.· Duncan Keith had his puck trickle in behind Jonas Hiller after the Ducks turned it over.

The score might have been even going into the third period, but that was it for the Ducks.  Another turnover, this one by Andy Sutton, was the perfect gift for Patrick Sharp.  He happily took it and put it in the net at 2:55 to give the Blackhawks the lead.

"I've been doing this long enough to know you shouldn't put the puck in the middle of the ice at the back end," said Sutton.  "I just made a terrible turnover that cost us.  That's the truth."

Goals from Niklas Hjalmarsson and Troy Brouwer put the game out of reach of the careless and listless Ducks.  After Brouwer put in #4, coach Randy Carlyle decided Hiller had had enough and put Curtis McElhinney in net for the remainder of the game. 

All in all, a lousy effort for a team that needed a rebound win. 

"We gave the puck away way too often and way too easily," Hiller observed shrewdly.  "They didn't have to work too hard for their chances."

Does it get any easier?  Of course not.  The Ducks next two games are against Pacific Division rivals.  Phoenix on Saturday and Los Angeles on Monday.  Phoenix currently is on a seven game winning streak and tops the division.  The Kings have only won one game recently and are sliding down the standings after dominating early on.

How long will the bleeding continue?  How long will GM Bob Murray still have a job?  Murray has changed enough personnel, some of them several times over, that he should have results by now.  Ducks fans have had their patience tested long enough.

In other notes:  The Ducks were without Teemu Selanne for the second game in a row due to a groin strain.  Kyle Chipchura rejoined the line-up after being out with a concussion since October 30.

 

 

 

 

Ryan Carter is no longer a Duck.  After having been put on waivers for the second time in four months, Carter was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Stefan Chaput and Matt Kennedy.  Carter cleared waivers prior to being traded. 

Both Chaput, a center, and Kennedy, a right wing, have been playing for Carolina's AHL affiliate in Charlotte.  They will report to Syracuse.

Also reporting to Syracuse will be Josh Green, who also cleared waivers. 

Syracuse also will see Nigel Williams, a defenseman.  Williams was obtained in a trade with the New York Rangers for Stu Bickel in more minor league trading action by GM Bob Murray.