Ducks vs. Blues, Nick Ritchie to the AHL?, Early Season Surprises and Disappointments

On this episode, host Felix Sicard is joined by Anaheim staff writer Jake Rudolph and Anaheim Calling associate editor CJ Woodling to break down the Anaheim Ducks' 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. They break down what was a standout two-goal performance from Kevin Roy, potentially forcing the Ducks' coaching staff to leave him in the lineup for good.

Roy's strong play raises a number of questions, however. Once healthy (and now firmly in the playoff hunt), Anaheim will have to make some difficult decisions as to what their roster will look like. Someone will end up being the odd man out up front, and it feels as though Nick Ritchie could be that guy. He hasn't played all that well this season, and he only has a handful of games before he becomes waiver-eligible.

After discussing Ritchie's future, the guys get into some of their surprises and disappointments of the 2017-18 season to date. For Jake and CJ, the contributions of lesser-known names like Roy and Derek Grant have stood out, while for Felix, Brandon Montour's ascension as a key figure on the Anaheim power play has been a pleasant surprise. On the topic of disappointment, Jake and CJ voice some concern with the way Randy Carlyle has led this team, while Felix posits that Rickard Rakell's overall game has been a bit of a letdown.

--

This was the first three-man pod in the history of our show, so let us know if you enjoyed the format! We had a lot of fun doing this, and we hope you did too.

If you've been enjoying the show, be sure to follow us on Soundcloud, or subscribe/leave a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!