SK:
Just so we get off on the right foot this time, I have a confession to make: I hate Dany Heatley. I like my ex more than I like that guy. Definitely no secret crushes here. I'm also hoping this helps to avoid any fancy spin-o-rama moves that essentially posterize any of the Anaheim players. I'm just making sure to cross our "t's" and dot our "i's" on this one.
Anaheim needs a win here, badly. This road trip is already off to a rotten start what with the whole losing in a shootout and George Parros getting clobbered with a Commissioner Gordon deflected shot. Although, Jonas Hiller's amazingly badass new Movember maskdoes help a bit.
Needless to say, if the Ducks want to right this unstable ship, they're going to need to start doing one thing successfully.
Score on the power play! See, I knew I wasn't crazy when I was ready to criticize them in the preview, but come on gentlemen, nothing has changed here! In fact, you should be BETTER! True, the main core of the problem comes from trying to rely on two key players at this point as Kristen recently pointed out. I'm certain that Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne will find a rhythm with the net once again but, until that happens, the Ducks are going to have to find another way to take care of business.
I'm voting for Ryan Getzlaf to - wait for it - take a few more shots. He's been impressive with that lately and something has triggered his brain to shoot the puck more. 3 goals in 2 games will help that ego as well, I'm sure. He's got an insane shot, by and far one of the best on the team and, when he utilizes it, it's lethal.
More importantly and to point to something we've all been talking about a lot around here lately, Randy Carlyle needs to lighten the load on those top two lines. The Ducks may be carrying a small set of rookies on their team, but these kids are eager to play their hearts out. The only way to get them scoring is to get them on the ice. Now is the time to give these youngsters an opportunity while the season is young and the pressure to step it up isn't as high.
Minnesota, thankfully, hasn't been all that hot themselves lately with a 3-2-3 record, however they are very well rested having played their last game on Sunday. As you can see, overtime hasn’t been generous to them thus far. However, I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that potential ending. Keep this in mind, last season, the Ducks lost 3 of 4 games to Minnesota in overtime. Crap.
GO DUCKS!!!