March 2008 Archives

Plug in your earphones, and prepare to collapse the window if your boss walks by: http://mvn.com/thehockeyticket/

Is it possible the European Leagues are, after all this time, still underrated by NHL scouts? Jonathan Bernier (remember him?) was supposed to be the Kings' goalie of the future, but he's been in the minors since October. Meanwhile, Swedish goalie Erik Ersberg is playing out of his mind for the Kings, giving them the stability they've needed at the position all season. Of course, for the Kings, Ersberg has arrived about five months too late.

And then there's Jonas Hiller.

Not Duck-hunting, as previously suggested.

Randy Carlyle said the Ducks had a "little team-building event" Monday afternoon, but he wouldn't say what it was. Hmmm. Until I get official word on what they did, here are some not-so-serious suggestions for future activities...

Ducks lose to the Sharks, 2-1, and don't get a shot on goal the ENTIRE THIRD PERIOD. If you were watching at home, you witnessed a bit of history: The Ducks haven't had zero shots in a period since Dec. 27, 2000 against Dallas, and have NEVER had zero shots on goal in a third period, ever.

Good news, Ducks fans: Your team is three points ahead of the Stars after beating them in Dallas, which is big because it proves you can beat the Stars in Dallas. That literally hasn't happened all season. The bad news: Jeremy Roenick fooled Nicholas Backstrom tonight during a shootout in Minnesota, giving the Sharks a victory, two more points in the standings, and a near-lock on second place in the Western Conference. That's almost assured if the Ducks lose in San Jose on Friday; even if the Ducks win it'll be hard to make up three points on a hot team with only six games left in the season.

Just noticed that Scott Niedermayer officially has an 'A' on his jersey for the Dallas game. That's because of captain Chris Pronger's suspension. No one will wear the captain's 'C' until Pronger comes back for the regular-season finale. In the meantime, Niedermayer (last year's captain), Chris Kunitz and Rob Niedermayer will wear the alternate captain 'A's.

The Toronto Star tracked down the source of the "new video evidence" that landed Chris Pronger an 8-game suspension Saturday.

Check out my interview with Noah Borer on mvn.com/thehockeyticket. We'll be talking about Chris Pronger; probably not about his jaw. It'll be up sometime tomorrow afternoon and for the rest of the week.

In my second-half-of-the-season preview, I wrote that it's easier to divide this season into three parts:

Chris Pronger had no comment Friday about stepping on the shin of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. He sure had one (per the Associated Press) on Saturday: "There is not a place for these types of instances in our game."

Chris Pronger had no comment Friday about stepping on the shin of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. He sure had one (per the Associated Press) on Saturday: "There is not a place for these types of instances in our game."

I asked Todd Marchant this after the Vancouver win.

The Ducks had never won eight straight at ArrowHonda PondCenter before Wednesday night, Jonas Hiller had never gotten an assist, and Roberto Luongo never looked so bad. OK, maybe once or twice while I wasn't looking.

Corey Perry and Ryan Carter were in the building today. That can only mean one thing: Team picture day!

Good thing they waited until after the trade deadline to schedule the photo shoot, lest Ilya Bryzgalov, Andy McDonald, Mark Mowers, Maxim Kondratiev, Jason King, Drew Miller, Bruno St. Jacques, Geoff Platt, Brandon Bochenski, Petteri Wirtanen or Shane Hnidy end up in the picture.

Tough break for the Ducks last night: Dallas lost, but they couldn't gain ground because of their own 3-0 loss in Chicago. San Jose has moved up to the 4th spot in the conference standings which -- if the playoffs began today -- might not be a horrible scenario. The Sharks are curiously bad at home and the Ducks have historically had their number at all times and in all places.

1. DETROIT: 44-18-6; 94 points; 122 possible points; 14 games left (9 at home)

2. DALLAS: 41-24-5; 87 points; 111 possible points; 12 games left (6 at home)

3. MINNESOTA: 37-25-5; 79 points; 109 possible points; 15 games left (7 at home)

4. SAN JOSE: 38-21-8; 84 points; 114 possible points; 15 games left (7 at home)

Andrew Ebbett wasn't going to play much with centers Doug Weight and Todd Marchant healthy again, so the 25-year-old goes back to Portland to get some playing time.

1. DETROIT: 43-18-6; 92 points; 122 possible points; 15 games left (10 at home)

2. DALLAS: 41-23-5; 87 points; 113 possible points; 13 games left (7 at home)

3. MINNESOTA: 37-25-5; 79 points; 109 possible points; 15 games left (7 at home)

4. DUCKS: 38-23-7; 83 points; 111 possible points; 14 games left (7 at home)

5. SAN JOSE: 37-21-8; 82 points; 114 possible points; 16 games left (8 at home) 

We'd both forgotten about this.

Doug Weight and Todd Marchant took part in the Ducks' morning skate, as expected, and somewhat-as-expected was Randy Carlyle's postponement of a decision on either player's status. Both injured centers will skate pregame and then be either allowed to play or not.

The Sharks are hot. They've won five straight. They also play the Ducks on March 21. Those games in hand are starting to catch up with the Ducks, but they keep winning. Nothing to worry about. 

1. DETROIT: 43-18-6; 92 points; 122 possible points; 15 games left (10 at home)

2. DALLAS: 41-23-5; 87 points; 113 possible points; 13 games left (7 at home)

3. MINNESOTA: 33-22-9; 75 points; 111 possible points; 16 games left (9 at home)

4. DUCKS: 37-23-7; 81 points; 111 possible points; 15 games left (8 at home)

5. SAN JOSE: 36-21-8; 80 points; 114 possible points; 17 games left (9 at home)