More on Peeters, Ducks’ goalies.

The full text of my story on Pete Peeters’ recent work with the Ducks goalies, which was truncated in some editions:


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.”

‘Canes Staal off IR, eligible to play tonight.

From the Associated Press:


Eric Staal is back in the Carolina Hurricanes’ lineup.

The team said Wednesday it activated the All-Star center from injured reserve and says he is eligible to play later that night at Anaheim.

The 25-year-old missed 10 games with an upper body injury sustained Nov. 1 against San Jose. He had three goals and two assists in the Hurricanes’ first 13 games before he was hurt.

Before he missed a game at Florida on Nov. 4, Staal had skated in 349 consecutive games — the second-longest string in franchise history.



Brian Burke’s son admits he’s gay.

This piece on ESPN.com about Brendan Burke, the son of former Ducks general manager Brian Burke, could be an important one for anyone with a passing interest in sports.


It’s the first public admission by 21-year-old Brendan Burke, a former high school goalie and currently a team manager at Miami (Ohio) University, that he is gay. The vehement support shown by Brian Burke and the Miami players has potential to break the code of silence toward gay athletes in hockey locker rooms across North America.

Of course, it might not. As Brian Burke tells author John Buccigross: “There are gay men in professional hockey. We would be fools to think otherwise. And it’s sad that they feel the need to conceal this. I understand why they do so, however.”

Dan Sexton loaned to AHL Manitoba

Speedy winger Dan Sexton, the Bakersfield Condors’ leading scorer, has been promoted from the Ducks’ ECHL affiliate to the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.


The 22-year-old was leading the Condors in goals (13) and points (26), and has more goals than any ECHL rookie. A free-agent signee out of Boston College, Sexton was named ECHL Player of the Week Monday for scoring five goals and nine points in four games to help Bakersfield go 4-0.

After registering three assists in a 6-2 win against Alaska on Nov. 20, Sexton scored his first career hat trick in a 7-4 win against the Aces on Nov. 21 and closed out the week scoring the game-winning goal and three points (2g-1a) in a 4-2 win on Nov. 22.

Sexton’s center in Bakersfield, MacGregor Sharp, made his NHL debut with the Ducks last Thursday. In Manitoba, Sexton joins Ducks center Erik Christensen and defense prospect Brian Salcido.

Ducks 3, Flames 2, SO

Teemu Selanne scored the only goal in the shootout as the Ducks beat the Calgary Flames 3-2.

Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf scored in regulation for the Ducks, and Corey Perry picked up an assist to extend his NHL-leading point streak to 15 games.


Curtis Glencross and Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames, the latter coming with 18 seconds remaining in regulation of a 2-1 game.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 41 saves and earned his first win since March, a span of nine games dating back to last season.

More details in tomorrow’s editions …

San Jose 3, Ducks 2.

The Ducks got a pair of goals from defensemen — a rarity — but Joe Thornton’s marker with 8:49 left made the difference.


James Wisniewski and Ryan Whitney scored for the Ducks (7-11-3), who had only received three goals by defenseman all season, including Scott Niedermayer’s game-winner in overtime Thursday.

The Sharks took advantage of 14 giveaways, including one by Bobby Ryan that allowed Dany Heatley to set up Thornton’s game-winning goal. Heatley also scored his 18th goal of the season with the Sharks skating 5-on-4 in the second period.

Jonas Hiller got the start and stopped 33 of 36 shots.

Carter x-ray reveals fracture, out four weeks.

Additional x-rays on Ryan Carter have revealed a fracture in his right foot. The center, who was initially diagnosed with a bruise after being hit with the puck during the Ducks’ morning skate last Thursday in Columbus, will be out approximately four additional weeks.

The 26-year-old had a goal and two assists in 13 games prior to the injury.

Christensen: ‘Changes are probably inevitable.’

Erik Christensen, in an interview with the Winnipeg Sun, talks about his conditioning assignment with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, as well as the state of the Ducks.

Christensen went unclaimed after he was placed on waivers Nov. 2, then rode the pine until centers Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter went down with injuries, forcing the Ducks to use Christensen for three games on last week’s road trip.

“It’s tough, at one point the team is willing to lose you and the next, they need you and they’re willing to put you in the lineup,” Christensen told the paper. “I thought I played well in the three games I was in (after clearing waivers) but Anaheim is at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Changes are probably inevitable down there.”

Head coach Randy Carlyle disagreed specifically with Christensen’s self-evaluation after practice Friday, saying “we thought we had Christensen for a couple games to give him an opportunity, but we didn’t think that worked very well.” Christensen was available to the Ducks in the road finale Monday in Pittsburgh, but Carlyle opted to shuffle the forward lines and play defenseman Sheldon Brookbank on the fourth line instead.