Ducks 3, Sabres 2.
The Ducks' trade rumors are gaining steam, but so are the players. Whether that bode wells for their playoff hopes or for their trade value, it still bodes well.
Honored in his home town for playing his 1,000th game this season, Todd Marchant came out fired up. He finished plus-2 with a goal, and had an assist taken away on a Mike Brown wraparound that proved to be the game-winner.
Teemu Selanne scored one minute, 10 seconds into the game, taking the puck away in the offensive zone and scoring on a backhander over the blocker of Patrick Lalime. Marchant scored just his third goal of the season with the Ducks short-handed at 11:34 of the second. Brown scored his first goal as a Duck with 1:06 left in the second period.
Lalime was yanked during a late power play, and Ales Kotalik's one-timer during the 6-on-4 provided the final score. J-S Giguere was excellent in stopping 34 of 36. It was his 199th victory in a Ducks uniform.
Also noteworthy:
• Ryan Getzlaf lost a ton of blood when Paul Gaustad's shoulder met his nose in a late-game collision.
• Bret Hedican returned after missing two games with a back injury. Brian Salcido was a healthy scratch for the first time, and so was Travis Moen, who was back in Orange County as his wife gave birth.
• With Moen out, Brendan Morrison, Marchant and Brown comprised the energy line; George Parros, Ryan Carter and Rob Niedermayer formed the checking line.
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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