Jury still out on meetings.
Sunday's one-on-one player meetings between Randy Carlyle and the Ducks players weren't prompted by a look at the standings. At least, not the won-loss column; Carlyle has held the meetings every year around the 20-game mark regardless of how many have tilted in the Ducks' favor.
This year, the Ducks have won just 6 of 19 games (6-10-3) and like just about everything else Carlyle has tried, the meetings had little immediate impact.
"Probably not," said Joffrey Lupul. "We came out and played probably our worst game of the year. But it was good to hear feedback from the coach and I'm sure he likes feedback from us. But at the end of the day, it's about the results. And it's definitely not the result we were looking for (Monday) night.
"We've had lots of meetings," captain Scott Niedermayer added. "So far they haven't been productive, but you have to try and get on the same page, and get the approach that's going to work for this team to get out there and play well."
So what did the coach gain?
"One-on-one meetings give you an opportunity to get feedback from players, and for you to give your feedback in a full one-on-one environment," Carlyle said.
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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