Anaheim Ducks Weekly Roundup: 11/3/14- 11/9/14

11/5/14: 3-2 OT loss to the Islanders

The Ducks were without their captain Ryan Getzlaf and NHL leading goal scorer Corey Perry so although they did not get 2 points, they were solid enough to put forth a solid effort and come away with one point.  Anaheim was also without Freddy Andersen and were forced to start Jason Labarbera, a competent back up but one who is basically a number 1 AHL goaltender.   John Tavares finished the night with 2 goals including the OT winner, Kyle Okposo scoring the other goal for New York on a nice top corner wrister.  Emerson Etem and Matty Beleskey scored for Anaheim who lost their first OT game of the season.  Labarbera kept the team in the game with 33 saves off of 36 shots though one of the weakest he let in being the Tavares winner, barely moving to attempt the save.  Ducks lost but with the point they got were able to build on their NHL points lead.

11/7/14: Ducks fall to fellow TC blogger Coe's Arizona boys 3-2 in a shootout

Well, the Ducks ran into a hot goaltender in this one, Mike Smith stood on his head with 37 saves on 39 shots.  Getzlaf and Andersen returned in this one and in fitting fashion The captain scored a goal in the first 11 minutes of play  Beleskey scored for his second straight game giving him 7 on the season, already 4 shy of a career high in a full season of play.  Klinkhammer and the ever consistent captain Shane Doan scored for The Coyotes.  This was the second straight home game that the Ducks lost in extra time and second straight overall, The Ducks have brought it in most games this season, but not necessarily for a full 60 minutes, these last two are very good examples.  Corey Perry being out for a second straight game hurts the team and takes away opportunities seeing how he has 11 goals in just 13 games.  There are no easy games in the West and the Ducks need to show up for a full 3 periods if they want to steal points.

11/9/14: Ducks fall for a 3rd straight game in extra time, in a shootout to Vancouver 2-1.

This game was a little closer to a  complete effort, a high flying goaltender stand off.  Andersen finished the game with 34 saves and Lack finished with 28 regulation saves.  Sami Vatanen scored a nice wrester from the slot on the power play and Vancouver answered with a redirected shot from the point, scored by Alexandre Burrows, assists by former Anaheim heartthrob Nick Bonino and defenseman Dan Hamhuis.  Nick Bonino scored the game winning shootout goal against his former club after Ryan Kesler could not do the same against his former mates.  The Ducks were yet again without Corey Perry which is starting to be a glaringly obvious absence as he is a world class player who puts the puck in the net in any fashion and does not shy away from the dirty areas.  Ducks do not play again until the 12th at home against the Kings, LA has tons of depth and are the reigning Stanley Cup champs so partial games will not do for Anaheim, look for a grind out type of game with spectacular saves and hard feelings for these rivals.  Ducks get 1 point in each game this week which is a model of consistency but 2 points need to be achieved, not closing the door is unacceptable.

Final Note

The Ducks need Corey Perry back, and to be healthy overall, in the last game against The Canucks they were also without number one and two d men Cam Fowler and Francois Beauchemin.  These 3 players are important to  the core of this team and their absences hurt Anaheim.  Chances are Perry will be back in on Wednesday and the organization hopes to set out a healthy club in the near future.