Predators 4, Ducks 2.
"We're not afraid to go back to Giguere," Randy Carlyle said on Sunday, and four days later the coach put the Ducks' $6 million goalie where his mouth is.
But this loss couldn't really be blamed on Giguere, who made some very good saves and also looked dumbfounded at times. He only allowed three goals -- the fourth was an empty-netter -- and stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced. Not bad, but not good enough to win.
The Ducks fell behind 1-0, and again 3-1, which prompted Randy Carlyle to shake up the original lines midway through the second period. He put Selanne out with Getzlaf and Kunitz, and they responded with an excellent dump-and-grind shift, eventually drawing a holding penalty from Dan Hamhuis. Eight seconds after that power-play expired and with the Ducks holding the puck in the attacking zone, Selanne fed Perry from behind the net for the Ducks' second goal at 1:06.
Perry also scored the Ducks' first goal on a thing of beauty. He got the puck at the far right edge of the blue line - mimicking his parabolic trajectory in shootouts - then skated around the Preds' defense, held the puck patiently and shifted from his forehand to backhand to wrap it around Pekka Rinne.
In the end, the Ducks were left with more questions than answers again -- namely, "Where's the consistency?" You also have to wonder when Giguere will be back; whether or not the incessant forward combo shake-ups have been more of a help or a hindrace; and, as crunch time approaches, where is the leadership?
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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