GameThread: Ducks (sans Corey Perry and his flesh-colored beard) @ Stars

What a difference a game makes.

The Ducks have been battling on and fighting through some unfortunate challenges lately. Even though they aren't playing what we might consider to be romantically beautiful hockey as of late, they're thankfully collecting points as they need to be. Case in point was the disgusting and ugly win in Minnesota Tuesday night (odd how even winning is sometimes just not good enough).

A game they definitely did not deserve to win has ultimately resulted in major losses for the team in the in the immediate future. After the last minute need for a swap of their starting goaltender, Jonas Hiller was forced to get into game-day mode unexpectedly. Follow that up with a devastating hit/charge/interference/game misconduct taken by Corey Perry half way through the second and the Ducks are starting to find new ways to test their team make-up.

So many of the things that we’re all very excited about for the second half of this season are shaping up to be actual question marks. Can this team prove to have enough talent to cover the holes that are starting to formulate against their will? How long will Nick Bonino be sidelined with the flu? Is Kyle Palmieri still nursing his "upper body injury"? Is the Viktor Fasth injury something to worry about? Will the Perry four-game suspension and subsequent line-shakeup’s be a problem that is felt throughout the line-up?

The Ducks are heading into Dallas with a huge amount of weight on their shoulders, and, not to mention, an intense desire to even the score. You may recall a particularly disastrous game not too long ago where Dallas was the sole ugly mark on what was an overly successful road trip for Anaheim.

This group is closing in on the Chicago Blackhawks and now is not the time to slow the momentum. The short season is on the downward slope and picking up steam.

So, here's game one of the "how will the Ducks look without Corey Perry?" experiment...

GO DUCKS!!!