Monthly Archives: January 2010

Koivu out 1-2 weeks with sprained knee.

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Saku Koivu won the faceoff, but will lose the next 1-2 weeks of the season with a sprained knee.


That was the diagnosis given to the Ducks’ center, who was among the team’s hottest players at the time of his injury Thursday. Kings center Jarrett Stoll fell on top of Koivu at 11:38 of the second period; Koivu won the draw but immediately limped off to the Ducks’ bench and did not return to the game.

Koivu has 10 goals and 29 points this season, but had two goals and six points in his last six games. While the injury shouldn’t put Koivu’s Olympic appearance for Team Finland in jeopardy, the same can’t be said for Teemu Selanne, who underwent surgery Thursday to repair a broken jaw and is expected to miss 2 to 6 weeks.

The Ducks host the Calgary Flames at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Lupul develops infection, out indefinitely.

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Joffrey Lupul, who underwent surgery Dec. 17 to repair a herniated disc in his back, has developed an infection and is now out indefinitely. He was originally expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks, which projected to January 28-February 11.

A team spokesperson reports that Lupul is still expected to return to action this season. In 23 games to start the season, he had 10 goals and 23 points. His 10 goals are still tied for fifth on the team.

Kings 4, Ducks 0.

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The puck had been bouncing in the Ducks’ favor for five straight games, helping to prolong the longest active winning streak in the NHL.

Maybe the one bounce that cost them late in Wednesday’s win over the Boston Bruins was merely a foreshadow of the fate that awaited them up the freeway Thursday.

On the same day the Ducks learned they would be without Teemu Selanne for the next 2 to 6 weeks, the Kings got all the bounces early in the second meeting between the two Southern California rivals.

More details to follow.

Mike V: ‘No one stood by me’.

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Mike Vallely, the musician/skateboarder/former Ducks blogger, recently went on YouTube to express his opinions about the Nov. 19 incident at Honda Center. You remember, when Scott Niedermayer lifted a stick over the glass, intending to hand it to Vallelly’s daughter, but when someone else grabbed it first a fight broke out in the stands? Here’s the video:

Ducks 4, Boston 3; Selanne breaks jaw.

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Dan Sexton, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Getzlaf and Steve Eminger scored goals, and Jonas Hiller made 27 saves in both his and the Ducks’ fifth straight win.

But the good news was tempered by another serious injury to Teemu Selanne, whose jaw got in the way of a Ryan Whitney shot in the third period and broke on impact. Selanne, playing just his third game after getting back from a broken hand, will be given a timetable after undergoing surgery to repair the fracture on Thursday, head coach Randy Carlyle said.

“It’s a tough loss,” Carlyle said. “The puck hit the bottom of somebody’s stick (Miroslav Satan), went and hit the ice and then bounced back up and hit him. It’s kind of one of those things that you very rarely would see. It’s unfortunate for Teeme and unforunate for us. We finally started to get some bodies back in our lineup and get our lines setted.”
Continue reading “Ducks 4, Boston 3; Selanne breaks jaw.” »

Why CuJo thanked David McNab.

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In announcing his retirement Tuesday, Curtis Joseph took time to specifically thank David McNab, the top assistant to Ducks general manager Bob Murray. Why?


It’s a good story. According to the Canadian Press:

David McNab was a big believer in the power of a baseball cap. He would send them to prospects whom he felt needed encouragement and, as a scout with the Hartford Whalers, he’d often take the extra step of writing personal letters as he did with one unheralded goaltender a little more than 20 years ago.

Curtis Joseph was playing amateur hockey in Saskatchewan at the time, and can remember running through the cold to the mailbox. In an era before the Internet, the promise of a free National Hockey League media guide was a big deal and the encouragement meant even more.

“In this business, sometimes there are really good players who maybe need to be reminded they’re really good players – the guys who aren’t drafted and things like that,” said McNab, now senior vice-president of hockey operations with the Anaheim Ducks. “Sometimes, it’s not the worst thing in the world to tell somebody, ‘Geez, you really are good, and you really do have a great chance to play in the NHL.”‘

Selanne easing into return.

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Since returning from a broken hand Teemu Selanne has played exactly 22:12, has scored twice (career goals number 594 and 595), and spread all this production out over two games, both of which resulted in wins for the Ducks.


Selanne appears to be easing himself back into the Ducks’ lineup until he’s 100 percent. If it was a secret to the media, that changed Tuesday when Selanne removed his left glove after practice to reveal a small mountain rising above his knuckles.

“The hand is not close to 100 percent but good enough to play,” he said. “You have to start getting ready to play more and more minutes. If I can play as many minutes as I can it’s going to be good, but you have to go one step at a time. The team is winning, playing very well right now, so that’s all that really matters.”

Continue reading “Selanne easing into return.” »

Hiller named NHL’s second star of the week.

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Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller was awarded the NHL’s “second star” of the week by the league. Hiller went 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and.954 save percentage, helping the Ducks (20-19-7) close within six points of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Hiller recorded 38 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings last Tuesday, stopped 20 shots in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday and made 25 saves in a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday. He closed the week by stopping a season-high 42 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, a game in which the Ducks were outshot 43-12.

Hiller, who will represent Switzerland at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver next month, has posted a 16-12-2 record with a 2.72 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and one shutout in 31 games this season.

Ducks sign Cousineau to entry-level deal

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The Ducks signed goaltender Marco Cousineau to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year-old, who participated in the Ducks’ 2009 training camp, is has a 12-15-0 with a 3.17 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in the QMJHL.

Cousineau, a third-round pick in 2008, was acquired by the Saint John Sea Dogs on Dec. 30 and has appeared in three contests with the club since. Cousineau started the season with the Prince Edward Island Rocket.