Open Gameday Recap: Sharks @ Ducks (Pre-season)

JEN:

OY! Good thing this is the pre-season. After seeing two games in person, I have to continuously remind myself that: 1) This is the pre-season and 2) The team is split up. The pre-season is meant to test bubble players to see how they react in game situations. So far, that experiment has left the Ducks being out gunned 5 to 13. Am I worried? Nah. For me, the big question that is left is Jonas Hiller, who will be making the road trip with the team. Who knows if he will actually play. Maybe he just likes to eat the peanuts on the charter flight.

Anyway, back to the game. I sold this game in the opening thread as a blood bath waiting to happen. I could not have been more wrong. I was at the game, and I was, well, kind of bored. Even with seeing Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan together in a game for the first time this year, it was just kind of "meh".

After the jump, I give you my "good, bad, and ugly" for this crapfest.

The Good

-- Let's go for the obvious: Bobby Ryan and his groin are just fine. He looked the best out of the RPG boys, and had a really strong game.

-- Cam Fowler was the strongest defenseman tonight. He was much more physical and less tentative than he was last season. The only downside to his game tonight was that he was paired with Francois Beauchemin, which means that Cam had to play on his off-wing. This was tried at the end of last and it didn't work too well.

-- Andrew Gordon scored the lone goal for the Ducks. He was pretty solid, but I hate to burst the 3rd line bubbles - I don't think he going to stay with the big club. You have to remember that he was playing against the Sharks equivalent of their Junior Varsity. I do believe he's going to be FANTASTIC with the Crunch.

The Bad

-- Corey Perry didn't have a bad game by any measure. He stayed out of the box and annoyed the goalie. I'm deeming his timing as bad. His chemistry with Getzlaf and Ryan will be back within the next few games. He had three missed shots that he would have made with his eyes closed last season. It's just about getting him back into a rhythm.

-- Even without Ryan Getzlaf on the ice, there was waaaay too much passing. Throughout camp,the players were working on getting as many pucks on net as possible. You didn't see that tonight. It was like everyone was looking for the perfect one timer.

-- Luca Sbisa is having Dan Sexton problems (see last night's recap). He's trying too hard. Luca can be really good when he's punishing the offense, but I think he's trying to play more like Cam Fowler.

The Ugly

-- Sweet Jeebus did Francois Beauchemin have a horrific game. You know things are bad when you're trying to protect your goalie's far post and end up kicking the puck into the net.

-- The lady sitting behind me that talked non-stop the entire game about her ex-boyfriend, his court case, and how his truck was broken into by a different ex-girlfriend.