The Columbus Blue Jackets, the worst team in the NHL, had one things the Ducks have struggled to produce a majority of the season - tenacity. We saw moments of it tonight from the Ducks, but not the sustained push that Columbus had. The Jackets have nothing to play for at this point except their number one draft pick. The Ducks are playing for their playoff lives. One point is sometimes OK, but it's certainly not when you're playing a team that you should be able to beat.
GOOD
-- This game was reason number 30498230948 that Teemu Selanne will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He did not stop tonight. He was one of the few Ducks that showed tenacity. He just makes the game exciting. I was watching him tonight like it was my first time at a hockey game. He rocketed around players as if they were stuck in cement. Each time he touched the puck, he made me lean forward in my seat just a little bit more out of anticipation for an incredible play. If you need one reason to keep watching games, let it be Teemu.
-- Jonas Hiller wasn't tested much tonight; however, when he was, he was incredible. I blame none of the goals scored on him, including the last one. He wasn't getting the support he needed in front of him. If the Ducks are going to continue to turn the puck over near or in their end of the rink, they're going to get burned each time.
-- Saku Koivu went 13 out of 15 in the face-off circle. He was facing Jeff Carter or Sammy Pahlsson a majority of the time, so that's not too shabby, eh?
-- What ever happened to Andrew Cogliano over the All-Star break needs to keep happening. He is a completely different player. Perhaps he's still riding high after the hat trick in Phoenix. He had a really strong game. His hands are starting to catch up with his speed on the ice.
-- I met our writer Chris in person for the first time and I got to watch two Jaywalkers get tickets after the game. The cop chased the offending walkers down just to make them walk back across the street so he could give them a ticket. Chris was not one of the Jaywalkers.
BAD & UGLY (I couldn't decide which category to put each into)
-- The power play isn't bad, it's just incredibly unsuccessful. The Ducks went 1 for 5. There was a series where there were three penalties almost right in a row. The Ducks did not pressure the penalty killers that should have been gassed at that point.
-- Poor Cam Fowler. Nothing's coming easy to him this season. He's -18 on the season, the worst on the team. He's only got 3 goals and 15 assists at this point. I don't know if I want to call this a "Sophomore Slump" or just the learning curve of being a 20 year old defenseman that is now a member of the top D-paring. Last year he was behind Lubomir Visnovsky and Toni Lydman and didn't have to face the upper echelon of talent a majority of the time.
-- Your best players have to be your best players. How many times have we heard that this season? Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Bobby Ryan realize that (well, I'm not sure about Getz...). They are trying waaaay too hard to make the pretty play when the simple play will do. I saw too many drop passes tonight and attempts to do some fancy-pants stick handling through the defense. Since coming back from the All Star Break, all the Ducks scoring has come from sources other than RPG.