Monthly Archives: November 2009

The latest on the Ducks’ injuries, and how they’re affecting the lineup.

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Petteri Nokelainen probably summed it up best.


“I play with whoever they put me out to play with,” he said, “Right now it looks like we’re playing with everybody right now, especially when we’re two guys short in the middle.”

Those two guys — centers Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter — didn’t take part in a full practice Tuesday with their teammates. Koivu at least attempted to start, after skating for a half-hour on his own, but lasted about 15 minutes before walking off the ice. Carter, who bruised his foot in Columbus when it absorbed a teammate’s shot in practice, didn’t skate at all.

Continue reading “The latest on the Ducks’ injuries, and how they’re affecting the lineup.” »

Pittsburgh 5, Ducks 2.

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The Penguins were missing their top four defensemen. But the Ducks were missing their energy.


A four-game road trip melted into oblivion Monday at the Igloo, where the defending Stanley Cup champions held the Ducks to two goals despite missing injured blueliners Sergei Gonchar, Alex Goligoski, Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik. Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves, and his goal frame made another when Scott Niedermayer shot into a wide-open net during the second period.

Todd Marchant scored in the first period to pull the Ducks within 2-1, and picked up the secondary assist on Teemu Selanne’s third-period goal that made it 4-2. But clearly, the road-weary Ducks were playing catchup the entire night, taking some lazy penalties that translated into seven Penguins power plays.

Corey Perry notched the primary assist on Marchant’s goal, extending his scoring streak to a league-high 12 games. Linemate Ryan Getzlaf wasn’t as lucky, seeing his point streak end at 11 games, his franchise-record assist streak end at 10, and losing five minutes of ice time in the third period when he fought 38-year-old Bill Guerin at center ice.

Guerin and Matt Cooke scored in the first period for the Penguins, and Jordan Staal added a short-handed goal at 4:09 of the second that may have permanently deflated the Ducks. Martin Skoula and Cooke scored in the third period, the latter coming into an empty net with 12.9 seconds remaining.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 21 of 25 shots for the 6-10-3 Ducks, who return home to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Kyle Calder, playing his first NHL game this season, was a minus-1 in 9:33 for the Ducks while alternating line partners.

Report: Calder in; Koivu, Carter out.

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Ducks radio analyst Dan Wood, writing on the team’s official Web site, says that Kyle Calder is likely to make his debut in a Ducks uniform tonight in Pittsburgh.

Centers Ryan Carter and Saku Koivu (who has a strained groin, according to Randy Carlyle) are expected to miss the game, according to the report.

Bobkov on Russia’s list for World Juniors

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Goaltender Igor Bobkov, the Ducks’ third-round pick in the most recent entry draft, is listed on the Russian team roster for the World Juniors tournament, the Canadian Press reports. The tournament will be held in Saskatoon and Regina beginning Dec. 26.


Bobkov might not have much help on the ice, however:

The top Russian teens aren’t released by their pro clubs for the series. The country’s lineup for this leans towards a ‘B’ roster, although Anaheim Ducks prospect Igor Bobkov, named the top goaltender at this year’s world under-18 championship, is on the list.

Detroit 7, Ducks 4.

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The Ducks still haven’t won on their four-game road trip. And the defending Stanley Cup champions are up next.

Playing their second game in as many nights after losing in a shootout Friday in Columbus, the Ducks’ energy lagged early. But they still managed to keep the game close –2-1 entering the third period– on Corey Perry’s team-leading 13th goal of the season. Ryan Getzlaf picked up the assist on by corralling a turnover from behind the Detroit net, and the linemates extended their franchise-record points streak to 11 games each. Getzlaf’s assist extended his assist streak to 10 straight games, also an Anaheim record.

A frantic third period erased all memories of the game’s first 40 minutes, as the suddenly energized opponents traded a total of eight goals.

Bobby Ryan got the equalizer with the Ducks holding a man advantage at 3:47, but Pavel Datsyuk answered with a power-play goal of his own at 5:17. Joffrey Lupul tied the game at 3 at 6:26, but Henrik Zetterberg answered at 9:10. Ryan Getzlaf one-timed a shot past Jimmy Howard with the Ducks skating 5-on-3 at 14:27, but Zetterberg fluttered a puck past Jonas Hiller at 15:29 to give the Red Wings a 5-4 lead.

Darren Helm’s breakaway shot was the last to get by Hiller, who finished the game with 30 saves on 36 shots. Zetterberg completed the hat trick by scoring into an empty net with less than a second left on the clock.

The Ducks will travel to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

Ducks recall Kyle Calder.

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The Ducks have recalled left wing Kyle Calder from Bakersfield of the ECHL.

Calder, 30 scored six points points with a plus-4 rating in five games with the Condors. He was signed by Anaheim to a one-year contract and assigned to their ECHL affilaite on Oct. 28 after attending the Ducks’ training camp on a tryout basis in September.

In four preseason games, Calder went scoreless with two penalty minutes. The Manville, Alberta native, who was released from his tryout on Sept. 26, spent the 2008-09 regular season with the Kings, recording eight goals and 27 points with 41 penalty in 74 games.

The Ducks are currently playing in Detroit without injured forwards Ryan Carter and Saku Koivu. Calder gives head coach Randy Carlyle another option to fill out his bottom six; defenseman Sheldon Brookbank had been filling in on the fourth line.

Report: Wings’ Osgood out tonight.

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The Detroit Free Press reports that Chris Osgood is ill and the Ducks will face Jimmy Howard in the Red Wings’ net tonight; also former Duck Drew Miller will team up with former Duck Brad May on the fourth line. Here are the rest of their lines from this morning’s practice:


Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Helm-Eaves
May-Abdelkader-Miller

Lidstrom-Rafalski, Kronwall-Stuart, Ericsson-Lebda on defense.

Columbus 3, Ducks 2, SO

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Jean-Sebastien Giguere got the start, and a well-earned point, but Mathieu Garon stole one too many pucks for the Ducks to steal a victory.

Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored on Giguere in the shootout, and the Ducks fell to 0-1-1 on their four-game road trip.

Garon stopped both Ducks shootout attempts, by Getzlaf and Perry. He also denied Getzlaf with a minute remaining in the second period, after Ryan backhanded a no-look pass to Getzlaf, whose point-blank wrister was gloved by Garon at the goal line. Fifty-two seconds later, Fedor Tyutin dove into the passing lane to break up a 2-on-1 pass from Ryan to Getzlaf; a goal on either play would have given the Ducks a 3-2 lead.

Giguere finished with 27 saves in his first game action since Oct. 24. Nash and linemate Antoine Vermette scored goals for the Blue Jackets.

Ryan Getzlaf assisted on goals by Bobby Ryan and Todd Marchant, and he and Corey Perry kept their 10-game scoring streaks alive. Scott Niedermayer reached the 1,200-game plateau, becoming the fifth active defenseman to reach that milestone.

The Ducks play the Detroit Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena on Saturday.

NHL reinstates Samueli. Updates with Samueli, Bettman reaction.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reinstated Henry Samueli as the Ducks’ acting owner. Samueli had been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Ducks and the NHL on June 24, 2008.

“I did today decide to reinstate Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli, who was suspended in 2008 as a result of a legal proceeding that I think has been dealt with appropriately,” Bettman said on Thursday’s broadcast of “NHL Hour with Commissioner Bettman” on Sirius XM. “I believe that the 18 months that he has been suspended was long enough and he and his wife Susan, who actually imposed his suspension upon herself, will be back together as active owners. They have been terrific owners and we’re thrilled to have them back.”

Susan Samueli also returned to active status as co-owner of the Ducks. In support of her husband, and to avoid any possible improper appearance, she had abided by the terms of Henry Samueli’s suspension.

Henry Samueli, the co-founder and former chairman of Broadcom Corp., had pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with illegally backdating employee stock options.

In September, a federal appeals court in Pasadena refused to reinstate a proposed plea bargain that called for Samueli to serve five years of probation, pay a $250,000 fine and pay $12 million to the U.S. Treasury Department. He still awaits sentencing.

During Samueli’s absence, Ducks CEO Michael Schulman served as Governor and managed the day-to-day operations of the team.

In a statement released by the team, Samueli said: “Susan and I are very happy to be returning to work with the Ducks. We are thankful to have had great leadership in place that successfully operated the team during this time and look forward to reestablishing contact with the organization. Our goal remains the same — to be a championship-caliber organization both on and off the ice. We are also pleased to be able to return to a more active role in the many philanthropic efforts that the Ducks have undertaken throughout the Southern California community.”

Forbes ranks Ducks 13th on list of most valuable franchises.

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In its annual Business of Hockey feature, Forbes magazine estimates the Anaheim Ducks’ value at $206 million, 13th among NHL franchises (and $2 million behind the Los Angeles Kings). Click here for the complete list.


Encouraging for the Ducks is that Forbes estimated a 2% increase in franchise value from 2007-08 to 2008-09, a period that saw a Honda Center sellout streak end at 78 games.

James Mirtle takes an even broader look at the teams’ estimated revenue — not value —on his blog, revealing a $40 million gain for the Ducks over a five-year period from 2003-04 (when Disney owned the team) to 2008-09. Only three teams (Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh) witnessed an equal or greater increase in revenue over that span. Hard to believe that in 2003-04, Forbes estimated fewer revenue gains for only Buffalo, Carolina and Pittsburgh.