Two goaltenders were the last to leave the ice at the Ducks’
practice Tuesday. One was Jonas Hiller. The other, donning the full pads and a
goalie mask, was Pete Peeters.

Yes, the Ducks’ new goaltending consultant is impossible to
miss when he’s on the ice. And while he advocates the pads-on approach, Peeters
isn’t being paid to turn heads in practice, but rather make the Ducks’ goalies
better in games.

It’s been working so far on the current homestand; Peeters
flew in from Edmonton to work with Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and was
pleased with the efforts of each in his last start. Hiller allowed three goals
in a loss Saturday to the San Jose Sharks, the league’s highest-scoring team,
and Giguere surrendered two goals against Calgary en route to his first win of
the season Monday.

What words of wisdom did Peeters impart?

“Basically it’s making sure that we’re having the proper
depth in the crease when we’re facing a rush or an in-zone play,” Peeters said.
“That we’re far enough on top of the crease or are in the crease without taking
ourselves out of a play, being able to put pressure on the play with good depth
in the net.”

In other words, nothing too profound — merely getting back
to the basic aggressiveness that seems to have eluded the Ducks’ duo at times.
Their 3.32 goals allowed per game rank 27th of 30 teams in the league.

When he was hired in July, Peeters said, he promised Ducks
general manager Bob Murray that he would be available to the team in an
emergency. This was a scheduled visit, not an emergency, though the Ducks’
place in the Western Conference standings (eight points back of eighth place)
might qualify as one.

Certainly Giguere’s performance Monday was badly needed, if
not overdue, for both the team and the goalie.

“Pete’s been trying to make me a little bit more
aggressive,” Giguere said. “I tried to remind myself of that (Monday) when I
played — be aggressive, make sure that you challenge … and it seemed to work.

“You forget when you’re in a slump … how to play sometimes.
You need to be reminded. I’m going to have to keep thinking about it for a
little while, for sure.”