First Freeway Faceoff of the year between the Ducks and Kings.  Never a dull game, despite how each team is doing.  They always manage to bring their highest energy to the game, players and fans included.

Of 109 match ups between these two teams, #109 went to Anaheim, who soundly defeated their division rivals 7-4.

Offense was not lacking.  Defense was on the Kings side. 

After Nick Bonino scored the first two goals of the game in 5:49, Jonathan Quick was replaced in net with the other Jonathan, Mr. Bernier.   Quick only stopped one of three shots, so coach Darryl Sutter decided to make the change. 

Dustin Brown got a power play goal at 9:15.  Jarret Stoll tied up the game at 9:49.  Halfway through the first and the two teams had only just begun.

Ryan Getzlaf was left unimpeded in front of the net to put the Ducks ahead once more at 13:30.

Going into the second period, the Kings had a 5 on 3 opportunity.  They barely missed capitalizing on that, but Brown still got the 5 on 4 goal at 1:15 to tie the game up again.

A couple minutes later both Bryan Allen and Jordan Nolan were fighting, but in the corner was Cam Fowler, who had been smacked into the boards by Stoll and then dogpiled on by the Stoll, the referee and another player.  Fowler took a while to get up and then went straight to the locker room with much needed assistance.   Fowler did not return and was listed with an "upper body" injury.

"He obviously is not feeling very well right now,” said coach Bruce Boudreau after the game. “We haven’t determined exactly what it is. If you saw the replay, Stoll hit him pretty good from behind. And I can understand why the refs didn’t call it. One was getting taken out. There’s another fight going on.  But surely, you know, I saw the numbers when Stoll hit him. It was right from behind. They have to have to look at that. He might be OK tomorrow or he might be out for a while.”

The Ducks managed just fine with five defensemen, and if Fowler is out for a while, Sami Vatanen is able to step in.

The back and forth scoring continued in the second period.  Sheldon Souray got a power play goal at 9:35, powering his shot through Bernier's arm and body.  Justin Willias tied it up again at 14:13.

Naturally, it was the Ducks turn to score next and Kyle Palmieri gave the Ducks the final go-ahead goal at 16:14 that stuck as the game winner.  It was his second game winner in as many nights.  It also made the Ducks 3 for 3 on the power play.  They missed going 4 for 4, but barely.

Bonino got his first career hat trick at 8:39 of the third period to make it 6-4.  At that point, Bonino, on the fourth line, had logged in a mere 7:31 of ice time.  Very efficient.

"It's huge," said Bonino, who had been demoted from the second line. "I've kind of been a little dry all season. Trying to get on the board. The line's just being working hard, focusing on getting it in. That's where the goals came from.  It's always nice beating the Kings."

Yes.  Yes it is nice!

Teemu Selanne got his Satanic career goal (#666) with the empty net at 17:54.   Bonino added an assist to his night's production on the goal.

At that point, Kings fans, who had been vocal and spirited all night, threw in the towel and went home.

"We were not hard in the areas that we're known to be hard to play against," Brown said of the Kings, who are now 14th in the Western Conference to start their defense of the Stanley Cup. 

The Ducks were given a day off on Sunday, so they, too, could enjoy the Super Bowl, and they will be back at it on Monday night when the San Jose Sharks come to town.  The Sharks lost in overtime for the first time this season and are no longer undefeated.

In other notes:  Emerson Etem assisted on Bonino's first two goals, earning his first two NHL points.

Maybe shortened seasons aren't so bad after all.   After defeating the Minnesota Wild 3-1, the Ducks are now 4-1-1 to start the season.  Historically, Anaheim is a slow starter and picks up speed in the second half of the season.  This time, instead of having to play catch up, the Ducks are doing just fine holding their own and improving.

Coach Bruce Boudreau is unafraid to shake up his line combinations.   While the first and third lines have been productive, the second line was not doing as much.   So put Bobby Ryan at center (an experiment that had been attempted before with not much success) and settle Teemu Selanne and Kyle Palmieri on the wings. 

Results?  Success.

Palmieri had two of the Ducks goals (an appropriate way to celebrate your 22nd birthday).  Ryan had the insurance marker.  And that old Finnish Flash?  He has now been dubbed the Finnish Facilitator with three assists.

"Me and Bobby both had basically tap-ins and they were all because of Teemu's passing," said Palmieri after the game. "I think it gets a little overlooked because of how many goals he's scored. The crazy amount of ways he finds the back of the net.  That vision definitely doesn't stop at goal scoring. It helps in finding other guys and the open guys on the team."

The Wild got the scoring going in the first period with Marco Scandella  putting the puck behind Viktor Fasth at 9:44.  As it was in his NHL debut, Fasth recovered from the initial goal and stopped 26 shots for the victory. 

The hard work of the Ducks was finally rewarded in the second period when Palmieri got his first of the night to tie up the game at 6:49. 

Niklas Backstrom kept the Wild in the game, pretty much single-handedly, including an onslaught in the beginning of the third period.  Emerson Etem had several good chances and put pressure on the Wild and got the crowd going with some exciting play in Minnesota's end.

Palmieri followed that up with his second goal, the eventual game winner, at 4:21.

Part of Anaheim's success could be attributed to their discipline.  They took only one penalty the entire evening and never gave Minnesota a chance to get going on the power play. 

Late in the third, Ryan was tripped up and the Ducks were awarded a penalty, although Ryan did seem to embellish his fall just a little bit.  Instead of being 4 on 4, Ryan added insult to injury and got the insurance marker at 18:26 with the power play goal.   It was a gorgeous and perfectly placed pass from Selanne and Backstrom had no chance at all.

Selanne now has 1414 points, tied for 17th all time with Doug GIlmour.  Remember when he got 1000 points?  That was January 30, 2006, against the Kings.  Guess who is coming to the Honda Center this evening?   Chances are good Selanne will get point #1415 against Los Angeles as the Ducks play the second of back to back games. 

Whether scoring or facilitating, the Ducks will take it because they are making points where it counts - in the standings.

In other notes:  Sami Vatanen made his defensive debut. He played 13:52 and had a shot on goal and a +1 rating.   He was paired with Luca Sbisa.  Toni Lydman was given the night off for "wear and tear."  Lydman should be in the line up this evening against the Kings and Jonas Hiller is expected to take the net.

The Ducks have had a relatively relaxed start to their hockey season, getting a couple days off here, a couple days off there.  Welcome to February!    Time to buckle down and start knocking out some games.

The Ducks played against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night and had a couple days break in between, including the annual Fan Fest for their season ticket holders on Wednesday night.  Party is over. 

Anaheim has three games at home before heading on the road for three more.  All six will be played in nine days.

The Ducks start off with the Minnesota Wild, followed by their first against the Kings on Saturday.  San Jose comes down for a visit on Monday.  

There won't be time to breathe, because after the Sharks leave, the Ducks go on the road to play Colorado on Wednesday and another set of back to backs against Dallas and St. Louis next weekend.  Makes me tired just thinking about it!

Because of the compressed schedule, coach Bruce Boudreau is going to have to make use of both his goaltenders.   Viktor Fasth looks to get the nod against the Wild, which means Jonas Hiller will likely see the Kings tomorrow night.  If Fasth plays as well as he did in his debut, the Ducks will be in good shape.

It also appears that defenseman Sami Vatanen will get his first NHL look against the Wild.  Toni Lydman might get the scratch, unless Boudreau chooses to dress seven d-men and short himself a forward.   Vatanen has been paired in practices with Luca Sbisa.

Game time is 7:00pm and tickets are still available for this evening's tilt.

The Ducks wanted nothing more than to spoil San Jose's perfect record.  No sense letting their Pacific Division rival keep rolling along to start their season.  Anaheim came close, but in the end, the Sharks came back and got the 3-2 win in a shootout and the Ducks merely got a point for their efforts.

Going into the game, the Ducks knew they would have to be at their best and be disciplined, and they certainly gave it their all.  

Anaheim dominated the first period, outshooting the Sharks 13-4.  Despite those numbers, the one that counted was the score - 1-0 San Jose.  Joe Pavelski got the puck behind Jonas Hiller at 9:46, keeping San Jose's top line hot.

In the middle period, San Jose took a couple of penalties, including too many men on the ice, and the Ducks took some momentum to even up the game.  Francois Beauchemin got his first of the year at 8:40 to tie up the game.  It was just after one of the penalties had expired.  Matt Beleskey followed it up less than a minute later at 9:39 to give Anaheim the lead. 

The Ducks held on to that lead until late in the third period when Logan Couture managed to get one behind Hiller at 17:15.

“I had no idea where it went,” said Hiller about the puck. “I thought it went over me or whatever. I just got a piece with my glove but, yeah, I was kind of surprised [the puck] went down. I don’t even know if it was touched or not.  I felt that it hit me and then I was looking for the rebound.  I guess those things happen.”

Those kinds of things are what take you into overtime and then to a shootout.  Antti Niemi did his job, stopping all three Ducks shots, although Teemu Selanne had a great chance that went off the crossbar. 

Michal Handzus was the only Shark to put one past Hiller.   It was enough for the Sharks to win the game and remain perfect in the standings (along with the Chicago Blackhawks.)

"There's games that you deserve to win and you won't win them," reflected Beauchemin.  "And then there's games that you will not play your best and win them. I think it all adds up at the end of the year and it all evens out.  I think we've got to be proud of the way we played tonight. We outplayed them."

The Ducks will need to take that kind of effort into the weekend when they face Minnesota on Friday night at home and the Kings on Saturday.  They won't have long to face the Sharks again, as San Jose will also be coming to town next Monday. 

In other notes:  Emerson Etem, the 20 year old Long Beach native who was drafted in the first round in 2010, made his debut with the Ducks on the fourth line.  He played with two other first round picks in Rickard Rakell (2011) and Kyle Palmieri (2009).  He saw 7:51 of playing time and registered a shot on goal.

After playing the night before and being shutout against Vancouver, the Ducks turned things around and got a 3-2 shootout win over Nashville on Saturday night. 

The difference between Friday and Saturday's games was night and day.  Jonas Hiller, who has let in 12 goals in the first three games, including five on Friday night, was given the evening off.  Time to see what Viktor Fasth could do in the net.

Fasth, making his NHL debut, had the benefit of a much more disciplined Ducks team and made 19 saves, including all three in the shootout to earn his first ever win in his first start.   But at 30 years old and two-time goaltender of the year in the Swedish Elite league, this guy is no rookie. 

Nonetheless, the NHL was always the goal.

"I've been waiting for this moment for 30 years," Fasth said in a post-game interview.  "I feel great."

Nashville, who is used to dominating the Ducks in recent history, probably does not feel as good.

The Predators got off to a good start, with Brandon Yip taking advantage of a mishandle by Bryan Allen at the blue line.  Make that 1-0 at just 1:52 in.  Not a very auspicious beginning, but the Ducks recovered.

Most importantly for Anaheim was the discipline.  They realized that staying out of the penalty box was a good idea.   Seeing as how nearly every penalty came back to bite them against Vancouver, they made the right choice.

"I just tried to do my job," said Fasth.  "The guys in front of me played incredibly good today. They helped me a lot out there, so they made it easy for me. They did a really good job today."

Bobby Ryan got his first of the year to tie up the game at 19:27 of the second period.  He tipped in Teemu Selanne's shot past Pekke Rinne and breathed a sigh of relief.  One down, at least 29 to go if he wants to score 30 or more goals for the fifth season in a row.

In the third period, David Legwand put Nashville back ahead at 10:09.  The Ducks did not waste much time in pulling even again. 

Daniel Winnik got his fifth of the season at 11:12.  He is the first Duck to have five goals in the first four games of the season.   Yes, that is better than even Selanne and his former linemates Paul Kariya and Steve Rucchin or more recently Joffrey Lupul.  They only managed four goals in the same time frame.  At this rate, the Ducks win when Winnik scores. 

After a lively four on four overtime, the Ducks faced their first shootout of the year.  Anaheim sent out the usual suspects in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Selanne.  Only Perry got the puck past Rinne, but it was enough for the victory. 

Fasth stopped Martin Erat, who pinged his shot off the crossbar, and Mike Fisher.  If he could stop Legwand, the Ducks would win, and Fasth made a beauty of a glove save with a quick one-two snatch of the puck. 

When asked how he felt in the shootout, knowing that final stop would give Anaheim the win, Fasth very confidently said, "that's why I want to be a goalie." 

Clearly the man loves the pressure that comes with the position.   His coach, Bruce Boudreau, claims to never have wanted that job, but did have praise for Fasth.

"He’s just as calm as a cucumber. That’s the demeanor that they have to have to be successful.  Even in the shootout, he was pretty relaxed and made two really big saves. That’s good. It was a great debut for him and hopefully he’ll keep it up."

Will he get to continue in net on Tuesday against the undefeated San Jose Sharks?  To be determined, but if Fasth is able to keep up this good play, Hiller has some healthy competition and the Ducks will be doing well.

In other notes:  The Ducks sent defenseman Jordan Hendry and center Peter Holland down to Norfolk.  Hendry played in the first game of the year when Cam Fowler was out ill.  He has not played since.  Holland saw one game, the one against Vancouver, and apparently that was enough for Ducks management.   Flying west are defenseman Sami Vatanen and winger Emerson Etem.  It is unknown if either of them will be see on Tuesday against San Jose.

The party is over.  Now the real season begins.  After two goal-filled winning games by the Ducks to open their season on the road, offense ground to a squeaking halt once they got in front of the hometown fans.

The Vancouver Canucks, looking for redemption from last weekend's 7-3 blowout, made a clear statement in their 5-0 shutout of Anaheim.  So much for that home opener that fans waited nine months to see.

Instead of the Ducks that played on the road, there were hints of the Ducks who did not make it to the playoffs.

Undisciplined would be too kind to describe them.  Anaheim took 11 different penalties and handed over nine different power plays to Vancouver.  Vancouver was quite polite in saying, thank you, and may we score another?  Three of their five goals came on the power play and the Ducks might as well have put the puck in the net themselves.

Daniel Sedin started powering over the Ducks at 9:13 of the first period, followed by Mason Raymond at 18:40. 

They could have made it 3-0 on a penalty shot in the second period.  After Alexander Burrows got out of the penalty box (one of their rare ones), he had a great scoring opportunity and Luca Sbisa had no choice but to stop him.  Burrows was awarded a penalty shot, but fumbled the puck and Jonas Hiller was able to make the save. 

The Canucks continued to press on and Aaron Volpatti converted a loose puck at 16:37 to make it 3-0.  Not insurmountable by any stretch of the imagination, but a bit of a hole. 

Unfortunately that was where the Ducks unraveled.  Corey Perry got hit with two penalties (charging and roughing) towards the end of the period and at 1:18 of the third, Zack Kassian made it 4-0.

The Ducks, not learning from the error of their ways, refused to stay out of the box and the referees were more than happy to send them there.  (Repeat after me, thou shalt not abuse the refs early in the game or it will come back to bite thee....)

Teemu Selanne, who had his face plastered on the free t-shirts handed out earlier in the evening, hit the post next to Cory Schneider late in the game.  As karma would have it, the Canucks immediately headed to the Ducks end of the ice and Raymond got his second of the game at 15:01. 

Why the standing room only crowd of 17,529 stayed to the bitter end is beyond me.   Most of them will just be coming back Saturday night to see if the Ducks can redeem themselves against Nashville.

Schneider, who was pulled in the game last weekend, learned from his mistakes and stopped all 30 shots.  

Hiller was basically left high and dry by his team and even though he made 29 saves, the penalty kill (or lack thereof) was the deciding factor in the game.

There is speculation that Viktor Fasth will be in net for the game against the Predators.  One can only hope that he will have support of his new teammates.  Otherwise, Ducks fans will get a chance to see just how good this guy can be.

In other notes:  Peter Holland got his season debut on the fourth line while Rickard Rakell sat out.  Sami Vatanen was taken off the injured reserve list and sent to Norfolk.

It has been a long time since hockey has been played at the Honda Center, but on Friday night, the Ducks will finally be seen again on the local ice.  After winning two games on the road to open the season, Anaheim comes home to face Vancouver for the seond time. 

The game is already sold out, disproving the theory that disgruntled fans won't show up.  Then again, there are plenty of temptations to draw them in.

Everyone in attendance will receive a commemorative Teemu Selanne t-shirt.  There will be other giveaways throughout the evening, including a motorcycle and a "Jersey off the Back" presentation to lucky fans to conclude the evening.   Usually this is reserved for Fan Appreciation Night on the last game of the year, but Anaheim has wisely chosen to appreciate fans coming back to the arena after the lockout.

As in prior years, there will be a red carpet event to introduce the players.  Fans are able to arrive at 3:00 pm with players arriving at 4:00 pm.  There will be a photo booth and the Miller Lite lounge open until 6:45. 

Even though the game does not begin until 7:00 pm, fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:45 pm for all the pre-game introductions and brouhaha.

The Ducks will also be selling the first of four surprise pucks this season.   They are available outside section 212 once the doors open at 5:30pm.  Pucks costs $30 each and proceeds benefit the Anaheim Ducks Foundation.   If you receive an autographed orange puck, you get to meet the player who autographed your puck at an upcoming practice.

Due to the compressed season, this "Meet the Duck" session will be combined with the winners of last year's surprise pucks who won on Fan Appreciation Night.  

“It’s great to be back," said Corey Perry.  "We have passionate fans here in Anaheim. Hopefully we can put on a good show. Any time you can play in front of your home fans – passionate and cheering fans – it’s definitely a big emotional boost for the team and we just feed off of that energy.”

What the Ducks have to remember is that it isn't about the pre-game ceremonies that matter, it is what they do on the ice that counts. 

So far, so good for the Ducks, who have won their first two games of the season.  That both games were on the road bodes even better for Anaheim. 

After a 7-3 victory in Vancouver, the Ducks followed it up with a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames.  

While the game started off well, the Ducks need to learn how to maintain momentum and keep playing hard for the full 60 minutes.  Stop me if you have heard that before in prior seasons.

The Ducks started off strong with Ryan Getzlaf getting his first of the year by tipping in Toni Lydman's shot at 1:06 of the first period.   The third line of Daniel Winnik, Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano continued to impress with Koivu making it 2-0 at 7:23.  Winnik got his third of the year at 10:53 and it appeared as if the game would be a blow out.

Not so fast.....

The Flames, who were trounced upon in the home opener the day before against the Sharks, were not about to roll over and play dead.  

Curtis Glencross got a power play goal at 16:54 and more importantly got his team back in the game.  Alex Tanguay pulled the Flames within one goal at 19:36 after the Ducks erred.

A late first period penalty by the Ducks gave Calgary a clean sheet of ice for their power play to start the second.  Glencross did it again at 1:13 and the game was tied.

Jonas Hiller, who did not have to be spectacular against Vancouver, had to really earn his keep against Calgary.   He made 21 saves in the game, 13 of them coming in the middle frame. 

"I thought our second period was god awful so it couldn't get any worse," said coach Bruce Boudreau. "

By the time the third period rolled around, the Ducks had sufficiently recovered their senses and found their game again.

Winnik continued his two goals per game pace by putting the Ducks ahead at 4:02.  The puck deflected off his foot and into the net, and was deemed "not a kicking motion" after a brief review. For a guy who only scored eight goals last year, he is halfway there this year.    Anaheim is certainly getting more than they could have hoped for in this free agent acquisition.

Unlike Saturday night, the Ducks power play was non-existent against Calgary.  But they still managed to get the job done. 

Getzlaf got his second goal of the night and the eventual game winner at 11:15, giving the Ducks a 5-3 lead.  They needed that insurance marker.

A breakaway by Lee Stempniak, his second breakaway of the game, was successful this time and brought the Flames back within one goal at 14:04.  Despite their best attempts and vacating Miikka Kiprusoff from net in the final minute of the game, the Ducks were able to hang on for the victory.

"We want to be known as a third-period team," Boudreau said.  "That's how you gain reputations. I thought we outplayed Vancouver in the third period last game and I thought we outplayed Calgary in the third period this game. It's something you build on and you gain confidence at. If you can keep doing that, it'll be pretty good.  I'm real happy the way we bounced back."

Anaheim now gets to go home and they have another date with Vancouver on Friday evening at the Honda Center.    Hopefully they will stay dominant throughout the game, no bouncing back required.

In other notes:  Cam Fowler was back in the line up after a bout with the flu kept him out of the opening game.   With 22:05 on ice, the most of any Duck player, he is clearly 100% healthy.   Viktor Fasth backed up Jonas Hiller, as expected, after being recalled from Norfolk.

The Ducks have determined that goaltender Viktor Fasth is now ready to back up Jonas Hiller.  They have recalled the netminder from Norfolk, where he was sent during training camp to get some game time in. 

Fasth had been recovering from a groin injury and with no pre-season games this year, needed a couple of games under his belt before Anaheim felt comfortable with him in the #2 role on the team.  He was able to play three games for the Ducks AHL affiliate. 

“The first game, I felt a bit rusty,” commented Fasth. ”It took me about one or two periods and I was feeling OK. The last two games, I think I felt pretty good. First game felt like was I was all over the ice all the time. But the last two games, I felt better. I’m glad I got to play in those games.”

Fasth is expected to back up Hiller beginning tonight against the Calgary Flames. 

As a result, Fredrik Andersen, who backed up the Ducks against their opener in Vancouver, was sent down to Norfolk. 

Defenseman Cam Fowler, who had the flu and missed the delicous 7-3 romp in Vancouver, is healthy enough to be back in the line up against the Flames. 

He might be the oldest player in the NHL, but he is still better than guys half his age.  Teemu Selanne, 42 1/2, had two goals and two assists to help the Ducks defeat the Canucks 7-3 in their opening game of the season.   He earned the number one star of the game and star of the whole NHL opening night for his efforts.

What is even scarier?  Hearing Selanne, who is the oldest player to have a four point night since Gordie Howe did it (126 days olders) in 1971, telling reporters he still needs "four or five games to get going."   If this is his warm up, he is going to have a spectacular season.

The Ducks rolled four lines in their victory, something they have not had the luxury to do in a long, long, time.  The newly configured third line of Saku Koivu, Andrew Cogliano and newcomer Daniel Winnik was effective in shutting down the Sedin twins and put in two of the Ducks goals.   Winnik had two goals, including the first one of the season.  Not known as a prolific scorer, he has never had more than 11 goals in a season. 

Vancouver, who should have had the home advantage, only held the lead once.  After Dan Hamhuis tied the game up early in the first period, Daniel Sedin got a power play goal to make it 2-1 less than a minute later.   But after that, it was all Anaheim.

The Ducks got their first of three power play goals at 15:23 of the first period when Sheldon Souray reminded everyone what a wickedly hard shot he has from the blue line.     After Winnik's pretty tic tac toe goal at 3:33 of the second period put the Ducks ahead, they never looked back. 

Corey Perry got a power play goal at 6:23 and :11 seconds later it was Kyle Palmieri who made it 5-2.  At that point, Vancouver was not thrilled and Cory Schneider got the boot from net.  Schneider, who displaced Roberto Luongo during last year's playoffs and earned the number one spot for the Canucks, was ironically replaced by Luongo.  If you read Puck Daddy's drinking game for the NHL's opening night, that was a three drink event and certainly unexpected.

Luongo only let in two more, one of them being Selanne's power play goal at 19:46 of the middle frame.  That goal gave Selanne 249 power play goals, which ties him with Phil Esposito for third all time.    Luongo came up strong in the third period, looking a lot more like the Luongo of old and kept the Canucks from being embarrassed even more than they already were.

Alexander Edler got a power play goal at 9:27 of the third period, getting the puck off the crossbar and in behind Jonas Hiller, who had 26 saves in the win.  That gave brief hope for a miraculous comeback.  It didn't last long.  Selanne's second goal of the came came :22 seconds later and that was it for the home crowd, who decided they might as well get out of the parking lot early rather than watch the rest of the game.

Selanne's goal, was point #1,410, which puts him in 18th place of scoring overall, just passing Dale Hawerchuk. 

Luongo joked after the game.

"I felt I should have had both of those goals.  But in general I felt pretty good, made some good saves, was seeing the puck well.  If only Teemu could retire now, I'd be all set."

I have a feeling there will be quite a few goaltenders this season who will be uttering the same words.

Jaromir Jagr, the league's other old guy still playing at age 40, also had two goals and two assists in his first game with his new team, the Dallas Stars.

"Did he get four tonight?" said coach Bruce Boudreau after the game.  "So (Selanne) and Jagr are leading the league in scoring? What the hell is this world coming to? I think it's great."

After over nine months of no Ducks hockey, a 7-3 win is also great and certainly the right way to come out of the starting gate.  Now if they can keep it up the rest of the way.

In other notes:  Cam Fowler was out ill with the flu so Jordan Hendry made his Ducks debut.  Rickard Rakell, who had an impressive training camp, made his NHL debut.  The Ducks will only have five games (not 10, as earlier reported, due to the shortened season), to be evaluated and either kept in the line up or sent back to his junior team.