November 2010 Archives

An uninspiring game, until this happened: 

Teemu Selanne was in a jovial mood Sunday, which usually isn't news. But with a groin injury keeping the right wing out of the last three games, it was a welcome sight inside Honda Center. The Ducks host the Kings on Monday night in the first meeting between the Southern California rivals this season, and Selanne wants to be on the ice.

"You know what, I'm counting myself in," he said emphatically.

Selanne traveled with the team to Glendale for Saturday's game against the Coyotes and took part in the pregame warm-up, then decided against playing. "I was really tight, so I discussed with our trainer, and decided it's not worth that risk," he said. "I'd rather miss one more."

The 40-year-old, who is always ready with a numerical estimate of his health, said the groin was at 70 percent Friday, up to 83 percent Saturday and 90 percent on Sunday. "Tomorrow I'm expecting 95 and that's good enough," he said.

"I had this like three or four years ago, so I knew exactly what kind of injury we were talking about," Selanne added. "If I played one more shift I would probably pull it bad. By saying that, the schedule we have was too much for me. But I hope I'm going to feel better tomorrow, because I really don't want this to be any bigger problem than it is right now."

Lubomir Visnovsky wasn't as confident he would return from the back spasms that kept him out of Saturday's game.

Two of Anaheim's 2008 draft picks had huge offensive performances for the University of Wisconsin a the College Hockey Showcase on Friday and Saturday.

Defensemen Jake Gardiner and Nick Schultz, drafted 17th (first round) and 43rd (second round), respectively, combined for 11 points (six goals, five assists) in the two games against Michigan State.

In the second game, a 4-1 Badgers victory, Gardiner had three points, all assists. Schultz notched a hat trick - the first hat trick by a Wisconsin defenseman since Barry Richter scored three goals against Minnesota Duluth exactly 18 years ago to the day on Nov. 27, 1992.

Gardiner, 20, had three points (two goals, assist) and Schultz, 20, scored two points (goal, assist) in a 4-4 tie against the Wolverines on Nov. 26 (first game). Gardiner finished the two-game showcase with six points (two goals, four points) and Nick Schultz had five points (four goals, assist).

The only certainty at the moment in the Pacific Division is that you can't be certain about anything in the Pacific Division.

All five teams are separated by two points, thanks to the Ducks' 6-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. Losers of six straight, the Ducks ended the Coyotes' seven-game winning streak by scoring five straight goals to erase a 3-1 deficit.

Bobby Ryan scored three of the five for his first hat trick of the season. Corey Perry scored one and Brandon McMillan had another, the first goal of his NHL career, off a precision pass by Ryan Getzlaf from behind the Coyotes' net.

Jason Blake scored in the first period against Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who had allowed six goals in his past four games but doubled that total Saturday. "Bryz" fell to 9-7-2 against the Ducks in his career.

Ducks winger Joffrey Lupul has been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch on a long-term injury conditioning loan.

Under this scenario, Lupul can play up to three games for the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate. Syracuse has a road game tonight against the Toronto Marlies, a home game Sunday against the Hamilton Bulldogs, and a road game next Friday against the Rochester Americans. Lupul, who is not on the Ducks' 23-man roster, is expected to play tonight.

After the three games, the club can either recall Lupul to the NHL, or apply for a two-game AHL extension.

The 27-year-old winger hasn't appeared in an AHL game since the 2004-05 lockout season,  when he was a member of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. Lupul hasn't played in a game at all since Dec. 8 of last season. Earlier this week, Lupul said playing in a game was the next step for him, and it looks like that step will come tonight.

The Ducks' brand-new jerseys weren't the solution to end their five-game losing streak. They just made the players look better in loss number six.

Jonas Hiller was pulled midway through an unsightly third period in which the Blackhawks scored three goals to break open a tie game. Dan Sexton's first goal of the season was the only goal for the Ducks, who play tomorrow night in Phoenix.

Sexton had two of the Ducks' six shots on goal in the first period. The first -- a one-on-none breakaway through the offensive zone -- was the prettier of the two, but resulted in a shot into the pads of Corey Crawford. The second, a redirection of a Saku Koivu shot at 16:49, gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead and their first power-play goal on their first man-advantage shift of the game.

Other than the new jerseys, the Ducks gave fans few reasons to watch the rest of the way.

Were it not for his seldom dormant Twitter account, Joffrey Lupul could be mistaken for the loneliest hockey player on the planet.

He hasn't played in a game since Dec. 8, 2009. His well-documented rehab from back surgery, and the mysterious infection that followed, could end up keeping him off the ice for a full year. The bad news is that Lupul is still taking antibiotic medications and will be until the end of the season; more pertinently, there's still no timetable for his return.

The good news is, Lupul feels ready to go.

"There's not much more I can test myself out in practice. I'm going full out in practice and I feel good," Lupul said. "The next step is to play in a game and see where I'm at there. it's going to take a couple games to get back to 100 percent. I'm ready for that. I know that's probably how it's going to be."

Kyle Chipchura was cleared to play after passing his most recent neuropsych test. The Ducks center, who suffered the second concussion of his career on Oct. 30, skated on a line with Todd Marchant, Aaron Voros and George Parros in practice Wednesday.

"I felt fine all of the past week," Chipchura said, "but the neuropsych tests showed some signs that it was still affecting me."

Joffrey Lupul played a full practice, splitting the session between the first and second line, but there is still no timetable for his return. More from him coming in a bit.

Teemu Selanne, who missed Sunday's game with a sore groin, was on the ice to start practice but left after about 20 minutes.

"Why push it at this point, when we feel he'll be available for us Friday, and here we are on Wednesday," head coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have tomorrow's practice. Today he had some ART (Active Response Technique) work done, which could contribute to a little stiffness and soreness in the area. ... Hopefully that isn't a setback. We don't think it is. He doesn't think it is."

Lupul took Selanne's place on the second line with Jason Blake and Saku Koivu. Brandon McMillan, Nick Bonino and Dan Sexton, who were recalled today from AHL affiliate Syracuse, formed a line of their own.

Defenseman Stu Bickel, a Ducks farmhand since 2008, has been traded to the New York Rangers for minor-league defenseman Nigel Williams.

Williams, 22, has one assist in 12 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate. A former second-round draft pick by the Avalanche (51st overall in 2006), Williams possesses a good frame (6-foot-5, 237 pounds) but was unhappy playing in Hartford according to one report.

Since the Ducks signed him as a free agent out of the University of Minnesota, Bickel has split the last three seasons between the AHL and the ECHL. In six games this season for the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, Bickel had three assists and 14 penalty minutes. He also played in one scoreless game for the ECHL's Elmira Jackals.

The Ducks have traded Ryan Carter to the Carolina Hurricanes for minor-league forwards Matt Kennedy and Stefan Chaput. Kennedy and Chaput were both playing for the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, and can expect to report to the Syracuse Crunch.

Carter, who cleared waivers for the second time this year Tuesday morning, had one goal, two assists and 22 penalty minutes in 18 games for the Ducks. Carter was one of six Ducks (Selanne, Getzlaf, Perry, Marchant, Parros) remaining from the 2007 Stanley Cup championship team.

Kennedy, a fifth-round draft pick by Carolina in 2009, had one assist and six penalty minutes in eight games for the Checkers. A fifth-round pick by Carolina in 2006, Chaput had three assists and nine penalty minutes in 20 games for the Checkers.

Kennedy, 21, has already played for the Syracuse Crunch. Following his stellar 19-year-old junior season of 2008-09, Kennedy had a four-game tryout at the end of the season with the Crunch, during which he scored one goal.

But Kennedy returned to the Ontario Hockey League for an overage season and could not replicate the success of his 33-goal, 73-point campaign for the Guelph Storm. Guelph traded Kennedy to the Barrie Colts at midseason and he finished with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) in 43 games. The season was marred by a concussion, the fifth of Kennedy's young career.

Still, after a strong playoffs for Barrie (nine goals, 15 points in 17 games), the Hurricanes signed Kennedy to a three-year, entry-level contract in May.

Chaput, 22, has also been hit with injuries during his three professional seasons. He played just 15 games for the AHL's Albany River Rats in 2008-09, his first professional season, before suffering a season-ending hip injury in December 2008. In an interview with hockeysfuture.com, Chaput said the root of the problem was degeneration in the hip bone which led to a torn labrum.

He came back to play the full 2009-10 season, posting 10 goals and 38 points in 75 games for Albany.

Josh Green and Ryan Carter are still Ducks property after the two forwards cleared waivers this morning. Green has since been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks' American Hockey League Affiliate.

Carter's next step is unclear. He's passed through waivers twice this year and is in the final year of a one-way NHL contract. Stay tuned.

The Ducks have the day off practice.

The Ducks assigned forwards Brandon McMillan, Dan Sexton and Nick Bonino to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, on Monday. The Ducks aren't practicing today or tomorrow, and the move allows the three youngsters to practice in Syracuse while saving the parent club a little money by getting three NHL salaries off the books.

The Ducks have a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see any or all three players back on the ice then.

Ryan Carter and Josh Green are another matter. Both forwards were on waivers Monday and eligible to be claimed by any of the other 29 NHL teams before 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Green was actually placed on non-roster waivers Sunday, which allowed the Ducks to activate defenseman Andy Sutton from injured reserve and play him against the Edmonton Oilers. That also allowed Green, who has played 11 scoreless games for Anaheim, to remain on waivers an extra day.

The Ducks have now placed Carter on waivers twice this year. The 27-year-old utlilityman has one goal, two assists and 22 penalty minutes in 18 games this season. Carter also had a minus-4 rating while averaging 10:44 a game in mostly a fourth-line and penalty-killing role. His 50.3 faceoff percentage ranked third on the team.

Forwards Kyle Chipchura (concussion) and Joffrey Lupul (back) are nearing closer to their return from injuries. Placing Green and Carter on waivers could be a prelude to making room on the NHL roster.

Ales Hemsky's breakaway goal with 6:31 left in the third period lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 win at Honda Center and sent the Ducks to their fifth straight loss.

The Ducks outshot the Oilers 19-4 in the first period, but couldn't put a goal past Devan Dubnyk. The onslaught continued into the second period, but goals by Sam Gagner and Taylor Hall 1:41 apart gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead.

Needing a break, the Ducks caught one when Oilers defenseman Theo Peckham was mistakenly penalized for a delay of game - skating in his own end, Peckham flipped the puck through a camera hole and into the stands. Bobby Ryan converted the ensuing power play, and Saku Koivu scored 22 seconds later, to tie the game at 2.

Jonas Hiller stopped 22 of 25. Dubnyk finished with 38 saves as Edmonton broke a streak of six games without a regulation win.

Andy Sutton was activated from injured reserve prior to the game and played 18:30 on a pairing with Cam Fowler.

The Oilers' final goal came when Corey Perry's centering pass from behind the Edmonton net missed everyone and traveled the length of the ice, landing in the Ducks' empty net with 16 seconds left in the game.

Journeyman forward Josh Green has been placed on waivers.

Green was scoreless in 11 games as a Duck, with a minus-2 rating and six penalty minutes, playing primarily a fourth-line left wing role. The veteran started the season with Syracuse, playing seven games and notching a goal and three points.

With forwards Kyle Chipchura (concussion) and Joffrey Lupul (back) on the mend, waiving Green could be the first step toward making room for one or both to return to the lineup. The Ducks also assigned Kyle Palmieri to Syracuse this week, and recalled forwards Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan.

More to come soon, including comments from general manager Bob Murray.

Danny Syvret and Rob Bordson's time in the Ducks organization did not last long.

On Sunday, Syvret and Bordson were traded to Philadelphia for a pair of forwards off the Flyers' American Hockey League roster, Patrick Maroon and David Laliberte. Syvret's opportunities for advancement figured to dwindle when the Ducks got defenseman Andy Sutton back off injured reserve Sunday.

More than that, their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch were having trouble scoring.

"We were trying to get a little bit of help up front down there," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "We've had guys in and out of the lineup. We had a chance to get a couple of wingers that we like. You have to give a little to get that. We went out and made the change."

Maroon, who had five goals and eight points in nine games for the Adirondack Phantoms, and Laliberte (2 goals, 8 points in 18 games for Adirondack) should be able to help with the scoring. A former sixth-round draft pick by the Flyers in 2007, Maroon has yet to reach the NHL.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Maroon was the Phantoms' leading scorer through eight games before being dismissed for what the organization termed as "behavioral issues" and "attitude problems."

Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan have been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch, and Kyle Palmieri is heading back to the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate.

Sexton played the first seven games of the season in Anaheim and went scoreless, then missed the next seven games with a broken nose. In four games with the Crunch, the right wing had two goals and five points.

McMillan gets his first NHL call-up after scoring four goals and six points in 16 games at Syracuse. He's had an eventful year that included signing his entry-level contract in May, and a strong World Junior Championships for silver-medal-winning Team Canada in January.

Palmieri scored a goal in his NHL debut Nov. 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was held without a point in the next nine games.

The Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Honda Center.

When is 50 shots not enough?

Apparently Friday, when Columbus goaltender Steve Mason stymied the Ducks' offensive onslaught in a 4-3 Blue Jackets win -- a game that featured more near-misses than a pistol in the hand of a James Bond villain.

The Ducks saved their best for a third period in which they outshot Columbus 25-3 -- reminiscent of Wednesday's 2-1 loss in Minnesota that saw the Ducks outshoot the Wild 16-2 in the third. Like Niklas Backstrom, Mason was living large in the final period, allowing only a Corey Perry goal at 7:22 to bring the Ducks within 4-3.

Bobby Ryan -- on his first career short-handed goal -- and Saku Koivu also scored for the Ducks, who have now lost four straight on the heels of a six-game winning streak. Jonas Hiller stopped 25 shots, allowing goals to Rick Nash, Chris Clark, Jakub Voracek and Steve Commodore.

More details in tomorrow's editions. Here are a few more notes:

For the third time on a three-game road trip, the Ducks lost by one goal. And for the third time, the margin was best described by the tightly contested circumstances in which the winning goal was scored:

Kari Lehtonen barely had to move an inch with the Ducks on the power play. When the Dallas Stars netminder did have to move, he was in perfect position nearly every time.

Corey Perry's ninth goal of the season was the only tally for the Ducks in a 2-1 loss at American Airlines Center. It was the second one-goal loss in as many games for Anaheim, which travels to Minnesota to face the Wild tomorrow.

With the Ducks skating 5-on-4, Perry's 10-foot wrist shot completed a give-and-go with Selanne at 8:29 of the middle period to knot the game at 1. Unfortunately for the Ducks, it was the only man-advantage goal in 10:29 of power-play time. Randy Carlyle tried a switch to start the second period, sending out the second line of Jason Blake, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne on a power-play that carried over from the first period, to no avail.

Anaheim fared slightly better on the penalty kill, at least in the third period, when Dallas spent six of the final 10 minutes on the man advantage. The return of Todd Marchant from an upper-body injury certainly helped, as did the steady play of blueliners Toni Lydman and Andreas Lilja.

The game turned on a Brad Richards breakaway goal at 8:24 of the third period.

Rookie defenseman Cam Fowler, wearing his new jersey #4, had only one giveaway all game, but it gave Richards an odd-man rush through the neutral zone. His shot through from the left circle clanged off the post, off Jonas Hiller's pad and over the goal line before the goalie covered up. A video review confirmed the goal (which was announced by referee Marcus Vinnerborg - the first European-trained official to join an NHL crew).

Hiller also allowed a breakaway power-play goal to Steve Ott at 14:43 of the first period, finishing with 24 saves on 26 shots. Lehtonen was one better. He withstood a pair of point-blank chances by Bobby Ryan as the second period closed, as well as a 6-on-5 shift in the final minute with Hiller on the bench.

It was the first loss for the Ducks in three meetings between the teams this season.

The Ducks will not see Troy Bodie again this season. The big winger was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes today.

The Hurricanes had a surplus of forwards but a paucity of size. Bodie (6-4, 213) has a few pounds on captain Eric Staal (6-4, 205) and according to the Raleigh News and Observer's Canes Now blog, Bodie could be plugged into the lineup right away:

Bodie makes the league minimum $500,000 salary and is on a two-way contract, but the Ducks had a surplus of forwards themselves and Bodie hadn't played in eight games. He had been surpassed on the depth chart by Aaron Voros and had little chance of finding a spot once Kyle Palmieri and Nick Bonino were recalled from Syracuse to form a more offensive-oriented third line.

A ninth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2003, Bodie had five goals, eight points and 87 penalty minutes in 57 NHL games, including one assist and seven PIM in nine games this season. In Anaheim, Bodie was probably most famous for winning a sushi-rolling contest last month.

The "Bodie"-licious Roll is still on the menu at RA Sushi in Chino Hills.

The Ducks have placed Troy Bodie on waivers, giving the other NHL teams until 9 a.m. tomorrow to claim him. The 25-year-old winger has one assist and seven penalty minutes in nine games this season after making the Ducks' opening-day roster for the first time.

Bodie had been a healthy scratch in eight straight games, with the team going in a more offensive-oriented direction for the third line after Kyle Palmieri and Nick Bonino were recalled from the American Hockey League. Bodie figured to be further pressed for playing time once Kyle Chipchura (concussion) and Joffrey Lupul (back) were cleared to play.

Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan are on the ballot for the NHL All-Star Game, which will be played Jan. 30 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. Voting began at midnight and closes Jan. 3 at vote.nhl.com.

Ryan has never appeared in an All-Star Game in three NHL seasons. Perry played in the 2008 game; Getzlaf appeared in the 2008 and 2009 contests and Selanne invented the game as a youth. Not quite, but he got his first All-Star bid as a 23-year-old in 1993 and has played in 10 Games during in his 18-year career.

Selanne could well make it 11. He is tied with Getzlaf for ninth in the league in scoring with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 19 games. Perry is tied for fifth with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists). Ryan is tied for 19th with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) and his plus-7 rating - for whatever that is worth in fan balloting - is the highest of the Ducks' quartet.

Interesting to note: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2.62 GAA, .899 save pct.) is on the ballot. Jonas Hiller (2.83 GAA, .920 save pct.) is not. The other ex-Ducks on the ballot include Chris Pronger (Philadelphia) and Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix).

In the span of two days in Chicago, Jonas Hiller went from a hospital to helping the Ducks salvage a point in the standings.

Hiller, who received four sutures to close a cut above his eye sustained in practice Saturday, made 40 saves in the overtime loss to the Blackhawks. He had little chance on Viktor Stalberg's re-direction of a Duncan Keith shot with 28 seconds left in overtime.

Corey Perry scored both goals for the Ducks (10-7-2), who saw their six-game winning streak end. Both teams had plenty of missed chances in an up-and-down game, and Blackhawks backup Corey Crawford had some big saves among his 24.

"They took it to us in the second and third (periods," Perry said. "Hillsie stood tall in there for those shots he had to face. Overall we didn't feel like we played the way we feel we wanted to, but we got a point."

Patrick Kane took advantage of a lively puck off the end boards to put Chicago up 1-0 at 3:37 of the opening period. Perry answered with an unassisted goal less than a minute later. Jason Blake created the chance on the forecheck by pressuring Keith from behind; the reigning Norris Trophy winner coughed the puck up to Perry, who barely had to skate before firing in a wrister at 4:34.

A power-play goal by Marian Hossa at 11:24 of the middle period restored Chicago's lead, and ended a streak of 17 straight penalties killed by the Ducks.

Randy Carlyle shook up the lines for the third period, but that barely factored into Perry's equalizer at 3:36 of the third period. Perry created the chance by himself, gaining the blue line up the left wing, turning sharply to cut across the offensive zone, then faking his way around Niklas Hjalmarsson in the right circle and firing a wrister into the far side of the net past Crawford.

For Perry, the goals were his team-leading seventh and eighth of the season.

A few more notes:

Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller suffered a cut above his left eye when a puck struck his mask during practice Saturday in Chicago. Hiller was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for precautionary reasons and received four sutures. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated Sunday morning.

The Ducks are catching the defending Stanley Cup champions at a good time - Chicago lost in Nashville in a shootout on Saturday, their fifth loss in six games. Backup Corey Crawford (1-4-0, 2.82 goals-against average) figures to get the start after Marty Turco played all 65 minutes plus the shootout against the Predators, stopping 30 of 33 shots.

Curtis McElhinney, who recorded his first career shutout Wednesday and nearly started Friday against the Dallas Stars, could get the start if Hiller isn't ready to go.

After stumbling to one of their worst starts to a season in recent memory, the Ducks have emerged to win six straight.

One reason for the quick turnaround has to be the emergence of secondary scoring.

Second-line center Saku Koivu extended his point streak to a season-high five games with the game's first goal, on a redirect of a centering feed by Teemu Selanne. Bobby Ryan scored the Ducks' final two goals to give him seven on the season. Ryan Getzlaf's second-period goal -- off a beautiful no-look pass from Corey Perry -- was his seventh this year. All four players -- Ryan, Getzlaf, Koivu and Selanne -- are all on pace to score more than 30 goals this season.

It was Military Appreciation Night at Honda Center on Wednesday.

Other than Saku Koivu's third-period goal, Curtis McElhinney's 27-save shutout, and Luca Sbisa's return to the NHL, there wasn't much else to appreciate in the Ducks' fifth straight win.

In a busy day of transactions for the Ducks, defenseman Luca Sbisa is coming back from Syracuse, while defenseman Danny Syvret and forwards Matt Beleskey and Dan Sexton were assigned to the Crunch.

It's no surprise that the Ducks were looking for reinforcements after a grueling overtime win Tuesday night in San Jose. After starting the season slowly in Anaheim, Sbisa had rediscovered his scoring touch in eight AHL games, posting two goals, nine points and a plus-2 rating for the Crunch. Syvret had a goal and an assist in six games for the Ducks, but had been a healthy scratch the last four games.

Sexton (who missed seven games with a broken nose) and Beleskey (who missed six games with a concussion) have been deemed healthy to play - just not in Anaheim. Neither player had scored a goal this season, and prospects Nick Bonino and Kyle Palmieri were recalled for what has been a mostly successfully NHL audition in the meantime.

Their audition figures to continue tonight at Honda Center against the New York Islanders.

The 23-year-old Sexton hasn't appeared in an AHL game since last season's Calder Cup playoffs, when he appeared in six games for the Manitoba Moose. In 41 games with the Ducks last season with the Ducks, the right wing had nine goals and 19 points.

Beleskey appeared in just 15 AHL games at the beginning of last season prior to being recalled to Anaheim, where he had 11 goals and 18 points in 60 games last season. The 22-year-old winger was rewarded with a two-year contract extension in training camp, and with regular playing time alongside Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in the regular season.

Saku Koivu's faceoff win led to a Lubomir Visnovsky goal with 32.6 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Ducks to their fourth straight win.

Jason Blake and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who were outshot 41-20 and leaned on a 39-save effort from Jonas HIller.

Torrey Mitchell scored 1:42 into the opening period to draw first blood. With the Sharks down 2-1, Devin Setoguchi tied the game on a one-timer seconds after a Toni Lydman penalty expired as two Ducks (Corey Perry and Andreas Lilja) were skating without their sticks.

Antero Niittymaki made 18 saves for the Sharks, who were playing without Joe Thornton while their captain served the final game of a two-game suspension.

Shameless plug: If you're by a radio, tune in to "Duck Calls" With Josh Brewster on AM-830 - I'll be coming on the show after Ducks defenseman Andy Sutton, around 11 p.m.

After a back-and-forth game that saw the Ducks squander four 1-goal leads, Bobby Ryan hit Paul Mara streaking backdoor with 1.7 seconds left in the third period to secure a wild victory before 13,520 at Honda Center.

It was a fitting ending to a game that saw almost everyone get involved in the scoring, on a night when the Ducks needed all the help they could get. Mara was a most surprising source for the game-winner. He had not scored a goal since a playoff game on April 22, 2009 (a 59-game drought) and had not scored in the regular season since Feb. 11, 2009 (a 78-game drought).

"It used to be my game, but not any more," Mara said. "I just go out there, try to play strong defense, make the correct plays, and every once in a while try to chip in with offense."

"Give credit to my trainer there, Sluggo. He put a new pair of gloves in my stall and made me use them."

Saku Koivu scored two goals, giving him 700 points in his career, and Teemu Selanne and Lubomir Visnovsky scored once.

More in tomorrow's editions. Here are a few notes that didn't make the paper:

Bobby Ryan offered up one tangible reason why the Ducks always win at home.

Speaking of himself, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Ryan said, "we know where we each other are and we play well off the puck. The most important thing is to realize we can't all have it all the same time and we have to support each other better. We've done that here at home. The key is to take it on the road when the matchups are not always going to be what we want."

There's more too it than that, of course. But for all the Ducks' problems to begin the new season, they're suddenly 4-1-1 at Honda Center after dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins thanks to three quick second-period goals.

The Syracuse Crunch can loosely be broken down into two groups of players: Those who are still developing, and those you might see in Anaheim this season.

Nick Bonino and Kyle Palmieri cut to the front of the promotion line with strong performances last week. By Wednesday they were in Ducks uniforms, playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That might have been ahead of the curve for both, who are just beginning their first full season in professional hockey. Even though Ducks fans have been hearing about Bonino and Palmieri for more than a year, if anything they have been fast-tracked to the NHL.

"In baseball, most of the top prospects get put into Single-A and work their way up," said David McNab, the Ducks' senior vice president of hockey operations. "It doesn't appear that they draft a player and immediately stick them in Triple A. that's what the American League is: Triple-A baseball. It's a tough league. There's a lot of veteran hockey players in the American Hockey League who are great players. It takes time."

Kyle Palmieri's first NHL goal, in his first NHL game, came with 4:20 left in the third period of a game the Ducks were trailing 2-1. Ryan Getzlaf showed up on the scoresheet with 2:07 left in overtime.

Clutch scoring and tight defense against the NHL's highest-scoring team almost seemed to much to ask from the Ducks, but it was exactly what the announced crowd of 13,034 was treated to Wednesday.

Recognizing the need for more offense against the NHL's best offensive club, the Ducks have recalled right wing Kyle Palmieri from AHL affiliate Syracuse.

In his second week as a professional hockey player, the 19-year-old had five goals in three games last week for the Crunch to earn AHL player of the week honors. For the season Palmieri had seven goals (tied for the league lead) and nine points in nine games.

On Monday the Ducks recalled Nick Bonino, who had been centering the line with Palmieri and left wing Nicolas Deschamps, and the two could will be paired together (according to Randy Carlyle) tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's all positives when you've got young players in their first foray into the American Hockey League and they're playing to a top level," Carlyle said Tuesday.

Ducks assistant general manager David McNab said Tuesday that Palmieri and Bonino will both have to prove they can perform at the NHL level before determining whether they can be counted on long-term to help the Ducks. But Palmieri's accomplishments in a short time in the AHL speak for themselves.

"I don't know if there's another 19-year-old in the AHL or not. Most guys are in junior until they're 20," McNab said. "Very few under-20 players play in that league. He's walked in and scored goals, done everything that you wanted. He's been - not a surprise - but to play this well this early, and score as many goals as he has, just his play all around as well, he's a guy who likes to shoot the puck, likes to score goals, gets chances and plays hard. In a 30-team league and your second week as a pro hockey player, to be player of the week in the AHL, not many guys do that."

More from McNab on the development of other Ducks prospects in the AHL in a future blog soon.

Kyle Chipchura was diagnosed with a concussion and placed on injured reserve Tuesday, the result of a hard hit delivered by San Jose Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray on Saturday. The center is listed as day-to-day.

Chipchura joins forwards Matt Beleskey (concussion), Dan Sexton (broken nose) and Joffrey Lupul (blood infection/back), along with defenseman Andy Sutton (thumb) on a growing injured list for the Ducks. He'll miss games Wednesday and Friday and is eligible to return Sunday at the earliest.

For Chipchura, who hasn't had a concussion since his final junior season of 2005-06, Sunday could be a realistic goal.

"I think it's very mild," he said. "Talking to other people, when they had more severe (concussions), this seems nothing like that. I just got a little discomfort with headache. Nothing too major. The neck is really the most uncomfortable thing."

Nick Bonino was summoned from AHL affiliate Syracuse on Monday. He has practiced with the team the last two days and is a candidate to take Chipchura's place in the lineup tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bonino had a subpar training camp - by his own estimation and that of head coach Randy Carlyle. With some motivation behind him, Bonino rebounded nicely in Syracuse, posting seven assists and nine points in eight games on a line with Kyle Palmieri and Nicolas Deschamps.

"Training camp was just a new experience," Bonino said. "I wasn't totally happy with the way I played, confidence-wise I was kind of nervous. Everyone is. I certainly didn't play like I thought I could play."

Bonino wore a fourth-line jersey Tuesday along with Aaron Voros, Josh Green and George Parros (who shaved his moustache for "Movember." It looks weird.)

Cam Fowler was not playing hockey when he knew he had arrived, so to speak, as a full-fledged NHL defenseman.

"The last few days they told me to start moving some of my stuff into Scotty (Niedermayer)'s house and get my car out here," he said. "That was kind of a good tip that at least they were going to keep me around for a little while.'

It became official Tuesday when Ducks general manager Bob Murray announced that he intends to keep the 18-year-old defenseman in the NHL this season. Fowler, who has played six games and is set to play his seventh on Wednesday, could have played up to nine games before Murray had to keep him or return him to his junior squad, the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.

Almost as soon as Randy Carlyle was rumored to be on the hot seat (see here, here and here) Bob Murray usurped an undesirable share of responsibility for the Ducks' 4-7-1 start (see here and here).

The general manager has certainly traded away his share of popular players (Chris Pronger, Chris Kunitz, J.S. Giguere) and acquired some underachievers (Ryan Whitney, Evgeny Artyukhin, Petteri Nokelainen, Nick Boynton). He's also had to cope with a shrinking internal budget in a time when many teams are pushing closer to a rising salary-cap ceiling - not to mention the fact that he inherited a team in November 2008 with only eight players signed beyond the end of the season.

A little research reveals some more specifics. We research, you decide:

Prospect Kyle Palmieri was rewarded Monday for his big week with AHL affiliate Syracuse.

The 19-year-old right wing, who had five goals and an assist in three games, is the league's Player of the Week. Palmieri notched his first career hat trick in a 5-4 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Wednesday, had the game-tying goal in a 4-3 loss to the Hershey Bears Friday, and the go-ahead goal and an assist in 3-2 win over the Albany River Rats on Saturday.

The 26th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Palmieri now co-leads the AHL with seven goals. His nine points are tied for second among AHL rookies. He was tied for the team scoring lead with Nick Bonino, who was recalled Monday by the Ducks.