Is Jonas Hiller the #1 goalie yet?
Yes, but so is J-S Giguere, says Randy Carlyle, who tonight repeated the "1-A and 1-B" characterization he's taken since Hiller arrived at the beginning of last season. In other words, the Ducks are in the luxurious position of having two number one goalies: One who's getting all the playing time right now, and another who management isn't ready to give up on despite some mighty struggles recently.
While "1-A and 1-B" is nothing new, Carlyle did go so far as to say that losing his father in December has carried over for Jiggy into January:
"What we're trying to do is give Giguere an opportunity to do what he has to do to get his game back. The guy is going through a huge loss in his life; he lost his father. We feel we have to give him the time and space, to try to create an environment around him that allows him some time. That is the most important thing. We think that this is the best route to take in this situation. We're going to live with it. It's not like he's not going to play for our hockey club again. He's going to get his opportunity. The one thing that we've said is we have 1-A and 1-B. Right now, we're going with whoever you want to call 1-A or 1-B. Jonas Hiller has come in and given us the goaltending that is necessary to have some success here in the last little while, but we're not afraid to go back to Giguere."
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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