Beleskey up, Calder to IR. Update.

A strange incident in practice Saturday has sent left wing Kyle Calder to injured reserve with a hyphema in his left eye (blood in the iris). He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.

“It’s a freak thing that happens — he deflected the puck into himself,” head coach Randy Carlyle said Sunday. “It’s one of those things in hockey.”

A hyphema can be serious depending on its severity. Carlyle said that Calder’s progress will be monitored closely over the next 72 hours.

The Ducks recalled Matt Beleskey from Toronto of the American Hockey League. Beleskey played 13:13 while taking Calder’s left-wing spot on a line with Todd Marchant and Petteri Nokelainen. Beleskey had four hits, second only to Ryan Getzlaf, and a team-high two giveaways.

“I thought that Calder and Nokelainen and Marchant were giving us some checking minutes,” Carlyle said. “It’s always a loss.”

Phoenix 3, Ducks 2, OT.

Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan scored goals, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 saves, but Jim Vandermeer’s second goal of the game at 1:18 of overtime lifted the Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-2 victory at Honda Center.

Corey Perry assisted on Nick Boynton’s late goal, giving him a franchise-record and NHL-leading 18 straight games with a point.

With time running out on the Ducks’ three-game winning streak (and Perry’s point streak), Ryan deflected a shot from the right point past Ilya Bryzgalov at 18:06 of the third period. Perry was credited with the secondary assist.

Getzlaf’s goal came with the Ducks holding a 5-on-4 power play at 5:12 of the second period.

The longest point streak in franchise history tries to be the quietest.

It was suggested elsewhere on the Web that Corey Perry’s never-ending points streak (which reached 17 games Friday) is “criminally underreported.”

Hey, it’s not our fault.

After picking up a nice assist Friday, Perry reiterated the attitude he’s maintained throughout the streak: “It’s great, but I’m not too worried about it. I’m playing my game and if things happen they happen. When the team’s playing well, we’re happy and that’s all that matters.”
Continue reading “The longest point streak in franchise history tries to be the quietest.” »

As wins mount, Giguere’s confidence soars.

It’s tough to know exactly what Jean-Sebastien Giguere was thinking when Dustin Byfuglien flattened him, then stumbled over him, midway through the second period Friday. Maybe he thought Byfuglien wanted to fight — after all, the Blackhawks’ forward did the service of removing Giguere’s helmet — as the Ducks’ goaltender responded with a quick shove.

Whatever Giguere was thinking, he needs to keep thinking it.

By all accounts, his confidence hit a high-water mark in Friday’s 3-0 shutout victory over Chicago. It was the 32nd of Giguere’s career but his first in a season that has seen him cast him as trade bait more often than an emotional leader.
Continue reading “As wins mount, Giguere’s confidence soars.” »

Ducks 3, Chicago 0

Teemu Selanne scored twice on the power play, Nick Boynton added his first goal of the season, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere won his third straight game, blanking the Blackhawks for his first shutout this season.

Corey Perry assisted on Selanne’s first goal to extend his NHL-leading point streak to 17 games, tying a franchise record set by Selanne in 1999.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Black Friday, black moustache.

‘Tis the season to shop for facial hair.

‘Stache Gear, a new apparel line created by Ducks right wingGeorge Parros, debuted Friday exclusively at the Anaheim Ducks Team Store at Honda Center.

At the conclusion of today’s game against the Blackhawks, Parros was set to join Ducks fans at the store (located on the East side of the building) in celebration of his original line of hats and t-shirts for both men and women. All proceeds from the ‘Stache Gear line will benefit two charities close to Parros’ heart: the Childhood Leukemia Foundation and Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids.

More details at AnaheimDucks.com.

Geztlaf, Ducks prepare for hot ‘Hawks

“I don’t know if there is a good time” to face the Chicago Blackhawks, Ryan Getzlaf said Thursday, but tomorrow might be as good as any for the Ducks.

They have won three of four to start their current homestand. Even the lone loss, a 4-3 defeat at the hands of San Jose on Saturday, was “the best game we played this year,” in the words of head coach Randy Carlyle. Their two wins since, a pair of 3-2 decisions against Calgary and Carolina, matched the Ducks’ longest winning streak in a difficult season.

To win an unprecedented third straight, they’ll have to slow a runaway L-train that has won eight in a row, including a 7-2 blowout Wednesday in San Jose.
Continue reading “Geztlaf, Ducks prepare for hot ‘Hawks” »

Russian Ducks update.

Evgeny Artyukhin did an interview (in Russian) with RussianHockeyFans.com. Much like a New Jersey-based reporter asking Scott Niedermayer if he could possibly join the Devils this season,  this KHL-slanted interview yields some interesting answers. But Artyukhin makes it clear he’s not jumping ship any time soon: “I’m going to spend the rest of this season in the NHL fullfilling my contract, which expires this summer. And after it I will be open for offers, if I get any — I’m ready to get in talks.”

Also, 2009 draft pick Igor Bobkov began play for the Russian Junior Selects in Victoria last night, stopping 40 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Western Hockey League all-stars. Here’s the recap from the Victoria Times-Colonist:

Six-foot-four Russian goalkeeper Igor Bobkov, a 2009 Anaheim Ducks third-round draft pick from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, was outstanding in holding the WHL at bay for as long as he could.

The WHL, which held a glaring territorial advantage, finally broke through when Levko Koper, a seventh-round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers, snapped a wrist shot past Bobkov at 1:00 of the third period to make it 1-0.

“He [Bobkov] played great the whole game but we kept on doing what we were doing,” said Koper, who plays for the Spokane Chiefs.

Ducks 3, Carolina 2.

Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer and Petteri Nokelainen scored goals, and Corey Perry registered an assist to extend his NHL-leading scoring streak to 16 games.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere started and won his second straight game with a 28-save performance.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Pogge re-assigned to San Antonio.

The Ducks have re-assigned goaltender Justin Pogge to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League.

Pogge hasn’t appeared in an AHL game this season. He has spent the season mostly with ECHL Bakersfield, posting a 6-2-0 record with a 2.69 goals-against average (GAA) and .902 save percentage. He also served as the backup to Jonas Hiller when Jean-Sebastien Giguere was shelved recently with a groin strain, but did not appear in a game.

Pogge joins two goaltenders in San Antonio — Al Montoya and Josh Tordjman — assigned by their parent NHL club, the Phoenix Coyotes.