Teemu Selanne scored the only goal in the shootout as the Ducks beat the Calgary Flames 3-2.
Curtis Glencross and Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames, the latter coming with 18 seconds remaining in regulation of a 2-1 game.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 41 saves and earned his first win since March, a span of nine games dating back to last season.
More details in tomorrow's editions ...
It's been a busy week for the Ducks-contracted players currently in the AHL. There's a total of six, which has to be the lowest for any NHL club, and four of them switched teams this week.
Continue reading AHL update..
The Ducks got a pair of goals from defensemen -- a rarity -- but Joe Thornton's marker with 8:49 left made the difference.
James Wisniewski and Ryan Whitney scored for the Ducks (7-11-3), who had only received three goals by defenseman all season, including Scott Niedermayer's game-winner in overtime Thursday.
The Sharks took advantage of 14 giveaways, including one by Bobby Ryan that allowed Dany Heatley to set up Thornton's game-winning goal. Heatley also scored his 18th goal of the season with the Sharks skating 5-on-4 in the second period.
Jonas Hiller got the start and stopped 33 of 36 shots.
Additional x-rays on Ryan Carter have revealed a fracture in his right foot. The center, who was initially diagnosed with a bruise after being hit with the puck during the Ducks' morning skate last Thursday in Columbus, will be out approximately four additional weeks.
The 26-year-old had a goal and two assists in 13 games prior to the injury.
Erik Christensen, in an interview with the Winnipeg Sun, talks about his conditioning assignment with the AHL's Manitoba Moose, as well as the state of the Ducks.
Christensen went unclaimed after he was placed on waivers Nov. 2, then rode the pine until centers Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter went down with injuries, forcing the Ducks to use Christensen for three games on last week's road trip.
"It's tough, at one point the team is willing to lose you and the next, they need you and they're willing to put you in the lineup," Christensen told the paper. "I thought I played well in the three games I was in (after clearing waivers) but Anaheim is at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Changes are probably inevitable down there."
Head coach Randy Carlyle disagreed specifically with Christensen's self-evaluation after practice Friday, saying "we thought we had Christensen for a couple games to give him an opportunity, but we didn't think that worked very well." Christensen was available to the Ducks in the road finale Monday in Pittsburgh, but Carlyle opted to shuffle the forward lines and play defenseman Sheldon Brookbank on the fourth line instead.
Center Andrew Ebbett, whom the Chicago Blackhawks claimed off waivers from the Ducks in October, was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild today.
Ebbett had played 10 games in a Blackhawks uniform, scoring one goal and spending two minutes in the penalty box, before going on waivers Friday. A look at the standings reveals that Ebbett was available to the Ducks before the Wild claimed him.
The Blackhawks will visit Honda Center next Friday; the Ducks will face the Wild on the road Dec. 4 and at home Dec. 29.
Already missing forwards Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter, left wing Joffrey Lupul sat out the Ducks' practice Friday with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
"Just some soreness," Lupul said. "I kind of know the drill. I don't want to get into it too much, but it's some soreness in my lower body. Hopefully it can be taken care of tomorrow."
Lupul said the injury is not related to the recurring back stiffness that sidelined him in the preseason, but "wouldn't rule myself out for tomorrow."
Continue reading Lupul adds to Ducks' injury woes..
Ducks center MacGregor Sharp, recalled prior to Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, said he was "pretty surprised an obviously really happy" about being shipped straight from Bakersfield of the ECHL to Anaheim.
Here's what else he had to say ...
Continue reading MacGregor Sharp on reaching the NHL..
This goal by Steven Stamkos has to be the most jaw-dropping goal I've ever witnessed in person.
Sadly, I didn't drop my jaw.
It happened so fast that it was almost impossible to tell how Stamkos scored, sliding on his butt along the ice, in real time. Here was Jonas Hiller's description of the goal, which brought the Tampa Bay Lightning to within 3-2 of the Ducks on Thursday at Honda Center:
"It was a play from behind the net; he shoots the puck and I think I made a pretty good save. It hit me right in the chest and bounced back. He fell backwards and just tipped it somehow. Sort of a lucky goal, but that's what happens if you get in front of the net if you keep working for the rebounds."
Note: Upon arriving home, I was not shocked to see this made SportsCenter's #1 highlight.
Scott Niedermayer fired the game-winner past Lightning goaltender Mike Smith 52 seconds into the extra period, and Jonas Hiller made 21 saves as the Ducks snapped a four-game losing streak at Honda Center.
Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne each finished with a goal and two assists as the Ducks improved to 7-10-3.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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