Takeaways: Bryan Allen and Luca Sbisa Are Not Norris Contenders

1. The flu sucks. Would I be making a pathetic excuse if I said that it cost the Ducks a point or two in the standings this past week? Absolutely. Would I be wrong? Maybe.

2. Bryan Allen and Luca Sbisa are not playing their way into fan favorite-dom. In four games this week, Allen is -3. In three games – he sat for Mark Fistric in Carolina — Sbisa is -5. The Ducks have allowed nine even strength goals in those four games that Sbisa played in. That means he was on the ice for more than half of them.

Roll the highlight reel.

3. Teemu Selanne, Kyle Palmieri, and Mathieu Perreault are not getting it done. Selanne hasn't scored a point in his last eight games, Palmieri in six, and Perreault in five. Depth scoring is supposed to be one of the strengths of this team, and aside from perhaps Jakob Silfverberg, nobody outside of the top line has as much raw offensive ability as these three. A goal from any of them could have made the difference in any game this past week except for the one in Tampa.

4. Viktor Fasth is healthy, which means all three goalies lost a game this week. None of them played terribly — I'd much sooner pin these losses on the guys in front of them — but none of them stole the show either. I haven't seen enough ridiculous trade proposals lately. Let's get that going again. I'll start: Hiller, Sbisa, and a fifth rounder for whoever is Edmonton's worst D prospect (probably a fun debate in its own right). Something has to happen. [Ed. Note: I think I might be Edmonton's worst D prospect. And therefore I veto the trade. -CK]

5. The Ducks survived their first 23 games, of which 15 were played on the road. "Survived" doesn't really do it justice, seeing as they're tied for first in the league. They had a lot going against them when you factor in all the injuries and the rough schedule. And from here on out, they play about 56% of their remaining games at home, where they are currently 8-0. Here's to some home cooking and the returns of Saku Koivu, Sheldon Souray and Silfverberg balance out the impending PDO regression (which is not going to be as steep as it was last year).