April 2011 Archives

Only one current Ducks player took the ice Saturday in Slovakia: Cam Fowler played 14:38 and collected an assist in the United States' 5-1 win over Austria. It was the first game of the tournament for the Americans.

Swiss defenseman Luca Sbisa, the other Anaheim participant, was held scoreless Friday night in his team's 1-0 win over France.

Fowler and Sbisa are the only Ducks players taking part in the tournament. Typically the IIHF World Championships are a bigger deal in Europe than North America, where those whole Stanley Cup playoffs are going on. Check out the list of players who suited up for the U.S. and you'll see why the NHL playoffs are a more compelling draw.

Slovakia native Lubomir Visnovsky said he would like to take part in the tournament on his home soil, but only if his balky shoulder joints allow it. He didn't dress in the Slovaks' 3-1 win over Slovenia Friday night.

Former Ducks taking part in the tournament include Ryan Shannon and Mike Brown (U.S.), Evgeny Artyukhin (Russia), and Petteri Nokelainen (Finland).

Corey Perry will join Vancouver's Daniel Sedin and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis on the podium for the Hart Trophy when postseason awards are distributed in Las Vegas on June 22.

We've already examined Perry's Hart credentials. Here's some more info from the team:

 

In case you missed my looking back/looking forward "obituary" of the Ducks' 2010-11 season today, click here.

Left off from the end of the story (likely for space) was this quote from Todd Marchant explaining why he isn't guaranteed to come back: "I don't know what the future holds for me. I'll sit back, take some time, really evaluate where I'm at. Make a decision whether I want to continue playing or choose the other course. I think that's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision to make certainly."

... and this kicker wrapping it all together:

Marchant was integral to the Ducks' penalty kill. To a lesser extent, so were Sutton, Brookbank, Lilja and impending free agents Jarkko Ruutu and Kyle Chipchura. Their jobs are not high-profile, but they were directly responsible for the team defense that needs to improve if the Ducks want to achieve their goal.

"We're not an organization that just believes in making the playoffs and that's OK," Murray said. "That's not good enough at this moment."

Back to Marchant for a moment.

Teemu Selanne told reporters before leaving Honda Center today that he plans to talk in depth with Paul Kariya about a possible reunion in Anaheim.

Kariya has not played in a year because of lingering post-concussion symptoms, which led Selanne on a tangent about hits to the head in the NHL.

"He's healthy now but ... if you saw all the hits that happened this year in the head, they've got to do something," Selanne said. "Giving one or two games, it's not going to, you know - if they want to take those out, they have to do more."

His suggestion? "I guarantee that if you get 20 games one time, players are going to think twice if they do anything. It's not worth it, you know."

It was then suggested that Selanne become the NHL's discipline czar when he does retired.

"I would be really good with that," he replied, laughing. "I would be tough."

Teemu Selanne's decision to play another season in the NHL will depend in part on ... Paul Kariya?

Selanne said Tuesday that he's interested to know if Kariya would return to Anaheim after missing all of the 2010-11 season with post-concussion symptoms.

"Obviously all the years that I had with Paul, it was just unbelievable," Selanne said. "I talked to him yesterday and we're going to meet next week. We didn't even talk about injuries yet but I want to talk to him about how he's doing, what he's thinking and maybe go surf with him."

Ryan Getzlaf:

(On Nashville): They worked. They battled every night right to the very end. So did our group. One, two plays make all the difference. We couldn't find a way to keep the puck out of our net. We scored enough goals to win it. They worked hard and got their bounces.

Teemu hit the post. That's the way the thing goes. It was a tough game out there. ... I thought the guys did a great job of staying in this hockey game, we just couldn't find a way to get another one past him.

Teemu Selanne:

That was for sure a heartbreaker, but it was a pretty even game tonight. A couple mistakes again, cost us a couple goals. We couldn't avoid those. For some reason, I think the whole series defensively we were not as good as we wanted to. It was not a problem to score goals. Too many mistakes really hurt us. I think that was the difference.

They're a good team. they did a lot of good things. Their forechecking was really solid. Their D were pinching. Give them credit, we lost to a great hockey team. I felt that we can play in our level enough. That's a disappointment. What are you going to do, it's too late now. We gave everything we had but this time it was not enough.

Brandon McMillan:

(On his missed chance in the third period) It's just a good play. we generated a good cycle. Generated the opportunity with me going backdoor. He made a great play, it was just a little bit in front of me. I could have tried to curl it, but I tried to get it off quick. It was just a little too far in front. I've got to try and just stop it and get it in.

They play hard defensively and they played a great game. they played well the whole series.

Randy Carlyle:

When you do an evaluation, and I talked about it a little bit yesterday, was that again, you cannot give up four goals an expect to win consistently. I thought we provided enough offense in the series but we didn't provide enough defense. The game in Anaheim, them scoring with 35 seconds left, kind of put a dagger in us. You're not afforded any mistakes when that happens to you. You've got to come back here for Game 6.

I thought we played hard. We were in the game. Scored first, got ourselves going in the game. Then for certain stretches we just laid back and I thought that's what we did at the beginning of the third period.

(On Nashville's play) It doesn't matter who you play. We just fell short in some areas. I look at it and say that we played hard, we gave it everything we had, but it wasn't good enough. We didn't play good enough. There's too many things that happened within the series that were negatives for us. The defensive side was not where it's required to win consistently in the playoffs.

(On Selanne's series) Nobody tried harder, nobody cared more, nobody did more in this series than Teemu Selanne. It's an emotional time for him right now because of what happened, and there's always that looming, 'is this the last one?' I'm sure he doesn't want to go out feeling the way he does right now.

He did a lot. he was around the puck consistently. Late in the third, he hits the post, it goes inside post and goes across the goal line. McMillan had another great opportunity goes off the end of his stick on a pass out with an empty net. That's what happened to us tonight. We scored enough goals to win. You can't continuously give up four goals in a hockey game and expect to win.

If it's as easy to get open shots against the Ducks as the Nashville Predators made it seem Friday, you can toss goals like this, and assists like this, out the window. And you can toss the Ducks out of the playoffs.

With all due respect to Jerred Smithson (previous career playoff goals: 1) and Jordin Tootoo (previous career playoff assists: 2), the ending to the Ducks' Game 5 loss was as inexplicable as it was stunning. Let the record show that Mr. Smithson caught the Ducks' defense napping and deposited a pass from behind the net by Mr. Tootoo into the net to send the Ducks to the brink of elimination.

Catch all the game details in tomorrow's editions.

My notes and observations that didn't make the paper:

Jarkko Ruutu made it clear Friday that he didn't want to cause a stir with anything he said about his one-game suspension.

The Finnish forward nearly took a line straight out of the Mark McGwire Congressional Testimony transcript, saying "what happened yesterday, happened yesterday."

Asked specifically if he had a reaction to his one-game, league-imposed ban for tonight's Game 5, Ruutu replied, "I don't think it really matters what I think. It's a team game. One guy is out, another guy is in. In the end, the only thing that really matters is how we do tonight. That's how I see things. Let's move on."

Ruutu did offer up a couple specifics about the hearing: It lasted about five minutes, and his status as a repeat offender (he received a pair of two-game bans during the 2008-09 season) did not come up in the conversation with the NHL. So there goes one theory about why Ruutu was forced to sit for a hit that Randy Carlyle didn't think deserved a hearing.

Jarkko Ruutu will be forced to sit out Game 5 of the Ducks' first-round playoff series Friday as a result of his hit on Predators forward Martin Erat in Game 4 Wednesday in Nashville.

Unlike the league's two-game suspension of Bobby Ryan earlier in the series, no explanation was offered Thursday in the form of a quote from disciplinarian Colin Campbell. Here's how the full press release read:

Anaheim Ducks forward Jarkko Ruutu has been suspended for one game for
delivering a late hit to Nashville Predators forward Martin Erat in Game
Four of their Western Conference quarterfinal last night, the National
Hockey League announced today.

The incident occurred 4:00 into the second period and Ruutu was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play.

Ruutu's suspension will be served tomorrow night (April 22) when the Ducks host the Predators in Game Five of the series.

And here's what the hit looked like. Judge for yourself:

The Ducks played like a different team in Game 4 compared to Game 3. In part, they were.

Sheldon Brookbank, Kyle Palmieri and Brad Winchester came out of the lineup; and Andy Sutton, Andreas Lilja and Jarkko Ruutu went in -- but the biggest difference in the 6-3 win seemed to be the Ducks' resolve.

Goals by Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Brandon McMillan in the third period broke a 3-3 tie, and the series shifts back to Anaheim on Friday tied at two games apiece.

Goals by Cam Fowler and Saku Koivu staked the Ducks to a 2-0 lead in the game's first 5:14. Patric Hornqvist answered 34 seconds later for Nashville, and Joel Ward's power-play goal at 5:44 of the second period tied the game at 2.

Teemu Selanne deflected a Getzlaf shot past Pekka Rinne with the Ducks on the power play at 11:41 of the second period to temporarily restore the one-goal lead. But Kevin Klein and Matt Halischuk caught the Anaheim defense napping, with Klein setting up Halischuk for the equalizer at 14:15.

A delay of game penalty to Nick Bonino with 31.5 seconds left in the second period carried over to the third period, and could have given the Predators the break they were looking for. Instead, Perry scored short-handed 1:17 into the third period to give the Ducks all the momentum they needed. Nashville put only three shots on Ray Emery (19 saves) in the entire third period.

The Ducks outshot Nashville 38-22 in the game, and Rinne wasn't around to see the end of it. He was lifted for Anders Lindback after McMillan's goal at 6:46 of the third period.

"We just felt that the way we played the other night, we needed a little bit more size on the back end," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. "We hadn't played Sutton and Lilja in a while. We thought that some of our younger players -- specifically Sbisa and Bonino ... McMillan and Beleskey, those are all very young players -- we just felt they would be more comfortable with a 6-foot-5 defenseman and another 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman on the back end."

A few more notes and observations:

Playing without Bobby Ryan due to a league-imposed suspension, and without their best defensive game plan for reasons unknown, the Ducks needed to steal one to win Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Sunday in Nashville.

Despite trailing 2-0 late in the second period, and 3-2 early in the third, they nearly did.

Mike Fisher's goal at 10:21 of the third period held up as the game-winner, and the Predators' 4-3 victory put the Ducks in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven series.

Teemu Selanne scored goals 30 seconds apart late in the second period to erase the 2-0 deficit. With the Ducks trailing 3-2 early in the third period, Matt Beleskey re-directed a Saku Koivu shot past Pekka Rinne (13 saves) to tie the game again.

It was nearly enough for the Ducks to pull out the road win despite being outshot 37-16 and despite the absence of Ryan, who was suspended for Games 3 and 4 of the series for stepping on Nashville defenseman Jonathon Blum.

Ray Emery (33 saves) held his weight against the barrage of shots, but some defensive-zone lapses by the Ducks did him in -- Martin Erat took advantage of a poor clearing attempt by Lubomir Visnovsky on the game's first goal; Ryan Getzlaf mishandled the puck just before Jordin Tootoo put it in the Ducks' net; David Legwand and Fisher snuck behind the defense to score the Preds' final two goals on Emery's back door.

A few more notes and observations:

The NHL has scheduled a disciplinary hearing with Ducks forward Bobby Ryan for 2 p.m. He faces possible discipline for stomping on the foot of Nashville Predators defenseman (and Long Beach native) Jonathon Blum with 3:30 left in the third period of the Ducks' 5-3 win Friday night in Game 2.

3:02 p.m. update: Ryan was suspended two games by the league Saturday afternoon, meaning he will miss Games 3 and 4 and be eligible to return for Game 5 in Anaheim next Friday.

"The actions by Ryan were both reckless and dangerous," NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said in a statement. "While it was fortunate there was no injury to Blum on the play, the act of using your skate in this manner is unacceptable."

What a difference 48 hours made for Ryan Getzlaf.

He was far from singularly responsible for the Ducks' loss Wednesday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with Nashville. But as the captain went -- three giveaways, only one shot, and a minus-1 rating -- so went the team, whose home-ice advantage was squandered only one game into the series.

Perhaps Getzlaf was merely stating the obvious on Friday morning when he said "we worked so hard for a month, month and a half just to get in - you always run that risk of a little bit of a letdown when you feel that you accomplished something."

Consider it a lesson learned.

Getzlaf and linemate Corey Perry had a goal and two assists, Bobby Ryan had a pair of goals, and the Ducks evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece with a 5-3 win over the Predators in Game 3. The series resumes Sunday in Nashville.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne, who was so masterful as to silence the home crowd at times in Game 1, heard 17,174 at Honda Center chanting his name in mock derision at one point Friday.

Game details in tomorrow's editions. A few more notes:

Count on Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle making more adjustments in Game 2 than his Nashville counterpart, Barry Trotz. That's the expectation, at least, in light of the Predators' 4-1 win in Game 1.

The first change figures to be in goal. Ray Emery was the first of the Ducks' three goalies -- four, if you include Igor Bobkov's late cameo -- to leave the ice at the morning skate Friday. Emery's last playoff game was in this same building on June 6, 2007, when the Ducks beat Emery's Ottawa Senators in Game 5 to win the Stanley Cup.

There could be more changes in store for the Ducks, but Carlyle declined to say who would be coming out or going into the lineup, if anyone.

Trotz said he has some minor adjustments in store.

Francois Beauchemin was the only Ducks player who did not participate in practice Thursday, but head coach Randy Carlyle said the defenseman would be available for Game 2 tomorrow at Honda Center.

"Beauch is resting, what we call a maintenance day. He will skate tomorrow morning and he's available to us tomorrow night," Carlyle said.

Beauchemin is dealing with a lower-body injury, the result of blocking a shot during the regular season. "It's just taking a little more time to heal," he said. "I've been taking medicine for it, and painkillers and stuff. It's good on game days but on practice days it's tough to get out there and force it."

The Ducks' bigger question is in goal.

You can pick apart where the Ducks' playoff opener went wrong: A Matt Beleskey penalty here, a Pekka Rinne save there, a missed assignment or two or three.

Corey Perry, always a man of few words, hit the nail on the head: "We just didn't have it."

As it turns out, the Ducks' late-game magic is predicated on confidence. By the middle of the middle period they had none -- confidence or magic -- thanks to an outstanding performance by Rinne and the Predators' disciplined 'D'.

Even the 5-on-3 power play that preceded Teemu Selanne's goal in the third period was a haphazard hodgepodge of starts and stops. Fortunately for the Ducks, he and Saku Koivu got it together in time to ruin the shutout.

But Rinne's intimidation factor remained intact.

"We played really solid defensively and our strength is penalty killing," said the 6-foot-5 goaltender, who finished with 27 saves. "We did a good job again tonight. We played big, we played physical in our own zone and tried to limit our turnovers. On the other hand, when they turned the puck over, we executed and scored some huge goals and got the momentum going for us. We'll enjoy this game for a bit and try to get it done in the next game."

Check out the game details, and a variety of reasons for the Ducks' letdown from players and coaches, in tomorrow's editions. Some notes and observations that won't make the paper:

Dan Ellis was the first of the three Ducks goalies to leave the ice at the morning skate. That's usually a good sign that he will be the starter, as if the writing weren't on the wall already.

At his post-skate presser, Randy Carlyle at once declined to name his starter and explained why he doesn't: "I'm sure that Barry Trotz and his staff have dissected what all three of our goalies have done. They probably had to do more work because we know who's going to play for Nashville."

Meanwhile, the forward lines stayed the same:

Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry
Blake-Koivu-Selanne
Beleskey-Bonino-McMillan
Winchester-Marchant-Parros
Ruutu-Chipchura-Sexton

Brandon McMillan is definitely skating at right wing. I think I might have mistakenly penciled him down on the left side earlier, maybe because that's the only position other than center he's played in his first NHL season. Switching a productive two-way center to the right side in favor of another rookie (Bonino) who hasn't scored a point in the NHL all season is a bit unexpected, assuming Beleskey, Bonino and McMillan are in the lineup tonight against Nashville.

Carlyle, of course, had his reasons.

The Ducks have announced their local TV and radio schedule for their Western Conference quarterfinal series vs. Nashville:

TV
Game   Date                                 Venue                            Time (Pacific)    TV
1            Wednesday, Apr. 13     Honda Center              7:30 p.m.             KDOC             
2            Friday, Apr. 15                Honda Center              7:30 p.m.             KDOC
3            Sunday, Apr. 17             Bridgestone Arena      3 p.m.                      FSW       
4            Wednesday, Apr. 20     Bridgestone Arena      5:30 p.m.                      KDOC
5            Friday, Apr. 22*              Honda Center              7:00 p.m.             PRIME TICKET
6            Sunday, Apr. 24*           Bridgestone Arena      TBD                      PRIME TICKET
7            Tuesday, Apr. 26*         Honda Center              TBD                       TBD

RADIO
Game    Date                                 Venue                           Time (Pacific)   Radio
1             Wednesday, Apr. 13     Honda Center             7:30 p.m.           KLAA 830AM
2             Friday, Apr. 15                Honda Center             7:30 p.m.           KTLK 1150AM
3             Sunday, Apr. 17             Bridgestone Arena     TBD                    KLAA 830AM
4             Wednesday, Apr. 20     Bridgestone Arena     TBD                    KTLK 1150AM
5             Friday, Apr. 22*               Honda Center             7:00 p.m.           KTLK 1150AM
6             Sunday, Apr. 24*            Bridgestone Arena     TBD                    TBD
7             Tuesday, Apr. 26*          Honda Center              TBD                   TBD

Ray Emery took part in his first full practice Tuesday, one of three Ducks goalies on the ice along with Dan Ellis and Jonas Hiller, but couldn't commit to being ready for Game 1 Wednesday against the Nashville Predators.

"I'm not sure. We'll see how it goes when we get there," said Emery, who has not played since leaving last Wednesday's game against San Jose with an undisclosed lower-body injury. "I'm just happy with the way practice went today and we'll go from there."

Since Hiller has only played in three games since the All-Star Break, that leaves Dan Ellis as the likely starter by default. As usual Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle didn't say who would get the call, but Ellis is the safe choice given his health and solid performances in wins over the Kings last Friday and Saturday.

If there was one general theme to the Ducks' discussion of Nashville Monday, it was toughness. The Predators, who finished second in the Central Division, aren't the flashiest team in the NHL playoffs, but the Ducks aren't allowing themselves to be fooled by that.

"Their whole team is very underrated and can't underestimate them at all," Teemu Selanne said. "Respect that and do our job the best we can. It's going to be a tough series for sure.

"We have to be patient, they have a great system. They are what they are so we have to make sure we don't give them any turnovers and play smart. I expect they'll be low-scoring games and we have to play very tight."

The Predators receiving the most praise Monday were goaltender Pekka Rinne and his goals-against average of 2.12 along with their No. 1 defensive pair of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Ducks goaltender Dan Ellis, who played for the Predators from 2007-10, was effusive in his praise of the trio and the franchise in general.

Ducks goaltender Ray Emery, who has sat out the last two-plus games with a lower-body injury, skated before practice Monday and took shots after according to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.

"Emery is skating," Carlyle said. "Skated before practice and is now taking shots after practice. If he has a decent day he'll probably skate with the team tomorrow.

"We are being conservative with this one. Today's practice was quite lengthy and the ice deteriorates and we want to make sure the lower body is protected."

One goalie that did practice Monday was Jonas Hiller, who is still trying to battle back from a head injury and corresponding vertigo that he has suffered with since late January. Hiller is feeling better but admits that he's not quite sure how close he is to 100 percent.

"Some days I feel pretty well and some days I don't see the puck very well," Hiller said. "I'm on the ice and stopping shots every day so I'm not that far away but there are moments where I kind of don't feel 100 percent and I don't feel like I can help the team enough if I'm playing at 90 percent."

The first question Ducks coach Randy Carlyle fielded Monday was about his starter in goal for Wednesday's Game 1 with the Nashville Predators at Honda Center. Carlyle, as one would expect, was non-committal in his answer.

"I haven't decided yet," he said. "It could be any of the three of them."

The three are Dan Ellis, who has started the last two games and won the NHL's Third Star for his .964 save percentage and 1.21 goals against average in his last three games, Ray Emery - who was on fire before suffered a lower-body injury against San Jose April 6 - and Jonas Hiller, who was an All-Star but has only played twice since Feb. 2 due to a head injury.

Emery and Hiller are working their way back into playing shape from injuries, with Emery having a lower-body injury and Hiller still suffering effects from the head injury he suffered in late January.  Carlyle is happy with his options though.

"With Dan Ellis, look at his record since we've gotten him," Carlyle said. "It's been quite an amazing story and it wasn't for Ray Emery winning six in a row Dan Ellis would have played (all of the games down the stretch). You have to go with the hot hand.

"(Hiller) seems to be improved. If the option is needed or necessary I would go to Jonas Hiller and it makes the decision more difficult as we go deeper in the playoffs."

The unsettled goaltending situation is hardly new to Carlyle. In 2006, he made the call to go with the hot young goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, over the battle-tested Jean-Sebastien Giguere, a call that got the then-No. 6 seeded Ducks to the Western Conference finals. Giguere retook the net the next season, leading the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup championship.

"It's not quite the same because back then we had a veteran in Giguere and a Conn Smythe winner that had a young guy in Bryz take the net from him," Carlyle said. "It's not the same situation this time around.

"Those decisions are tough ones and you are always going to hurt someone's feelings and someone's pride initially. But if the individual realizes that its nothing personal and can get past that, everything works out fine."

While Teemu Selanne skillfully avoided questions Monday about whether or not he'd be with the Ducks in their season-opening trip to Europe next season, the 40-year old future Hall of Famer was clearly excited about the Ducks playing the Buffalo Sabres October 7 in his hometown of Helsinki, Finland.

"It's not going to affect my decision, but it will obviously be very interesting," Selanne said after Monday's practice. "It's going to be a crazy experience and it's a great hockey city, so it should be a lot of fun. I don't know my whole situation yet but if I'm playing it's going to be fun. We just don't know that far."

While Selanne is noncommittal to playing for the Ducks in Finland next October, he's hardly the only Finn that dons a Ducks sweater. The team also features Helsinki native Jarko Ruutu as well as Saku Koivu and Toni Lydman, making the Ducks an extremely popular team in the Scandinavian country.

"We were there in (19)94 with Winnipeg and it was a huge deal even then and now we have so many Finns going that it will be even more special," Selanne said. "The Ducks are the most favorite NHL team for them and if they had votes on who would be the "dream come true" team for them it would be us. So the whole thing is great."

So great that Selanne will show up to celebrate even if he is not playing. That much he was willing to confirm Monday.

"I will be there," he said.

The Ducks had their morning skate today, two days before they start their NHL Western Conference first-round playoff series with the Nashville Predators. The biggest question has to do with the goaltending, as Dan Ellis, Ray Emery and Jonas Hiller all are possibilities to go Wednesday according to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.

Emery, who has been out with a lower-body injury, skated before practice and took shots after practice ended today. If there are no ill effects Carlyle expects Emery to be skating with the team during the regular practice session Tuesday.

Bobby Ryan was back on the Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry line in practice today after being off that line during the last two games. Center Todd Marchant, who had missed the last two games with the flu, was back at practice today.

Thanks to predsontheglass.com for this video out of Nashville yesterday, when Predators head coach Barry Trotz shared his thoughts on the first-round series against the Ducks:

Teemu Selanne has heard the "one more year" chants from the fans. Now he might be hearing it from the NHL.

The league probably wouldn't mind seeing the Finnish Flash on the ice in an Anaheim uniform, rather in the stands, when the Ducks open the 2011-12 regular season in Helsinki's Hartwall Arena against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 7.

The Ducks were one of four teams (the Sabres, Kings and Rangers are the others) chosen to take part in the "NHL Premiere" and "NHL Face-Off," a now-annual tradition of opening the season overseas. It's the first time the Ducks have started a season in Europe since back-to-back games against the Kings in London to open the 2007-08 season.

The European schedule begins with an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 4 against Jokerit of the SM-Liga at Hartwall Arena. After the Friday game against the Sabres, the Ducks play the Rangers in Stockholm on Oct. 8.

The Ducks roster currently features three other Finns, Saku Koivu, Jarkko Ruutu and Toni Lydman. Only Koivu and Lydman are signed beyond this season, however.

After winning the second of the two London games in 2007, the Ducks lost eight of their next 11. Then-GM Brian Burke later said he would have chosen the team's post-European schedule differently, and it will be interesting to see how Bob Murray does it this time around.

The Chicago Blackhawks' 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday means the Ducks will host the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs.

The Ducks had the day off Sunday, but will get back to practice at 10 a.m. Monday with their next opponent in mind.

Update: Here is the first-round schedule:

Game        Date                               Venue                                Time (Pacific)
1                Wednesday, Apr. 13         Honda Center                     7:30 p.m.
2                Friday, Apr. 15                 Honda Center                     7:30 p.m.
3                Sunday, Apr. 17               Bridgestone Arena              TBD
4                Wednesday, Apr. 20         Bridgestone Arena              TBD
5                Friday, Apr. 22                 Honda Center                     7:00 p.m.
6                Sunday, Apr. 24               Bridgestone Arena              TBD
7                Tuesday, Apr. 26              Honda Center                     TBD

*If necessary

What can the Ducks expect from the Preds?

The roller-coaster ride is over. Now the fun begins.

The Ducks couldn't be happier about their position after 82 games -- fourth place in the Western Conference, and guaranteed home-ice advantage for the first round -- thanks to their win and losses by the Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators earlier in the day.

The end result is that the Ducks will either host the Chicago Blackhawks or the Predators in the first round beginning no earlier than Wednesday.

"We found a way to get ourselves into a good position from thinking about where we were a couple months ago," head coach Randy Carlyle said. "You've got to credit our players; they're the ones who put it out on the line night in and night out. It's about a team that's trying to work its way through all the hurdles that it's been presented and now we have an opportunity to play at home."

Here's what the roller coaster looked like: The Ducks sat in third place in the West on Feb. 13. They fell as low as 11th and were there as late as March 8. They rejoined the top 8 on March 20 and did not leave. They began the day Saturday in seventh place and had risen to fourth by the end. Along the way there were subplots galore -- skill, luck, 50 goals, 40-year-olds, vertigo -- and it's been fascinating to watch it all unfold.

The playoff scenarios are simple. If Chicago beats the Detroit Red Wings Sunday, the Ducks will play the Blackhawks. If Chicago loses, the Ducks play the Predators. That and more in tomorrow's editions.

Here are a few more notes:

The Ducks are going back to the playoffs.

Forty-year-old right wing Teemu Selanne virtually punched the ticket himself, scoring both goals for the Ducks, who can still finish as high as fourth but no lower than eighth.

Goaltender Dan Ellis made 23 saves in his first start since March 20, and the Ducks relieved the pressure to clinch in their final regular-season game tomorrow at Staples Center.

"It has been a grind for the last three months," Selanne said. "I really believed that this team deserved to be in the playoffs. This was a big step forward. Now we can breathe a little bit. Tomorrow is another game where we can improve our standing a little bit and maybe get a better seed. We are going to take tomorrow's game serious too."

Check out all the game details in tomorrow's editions. More notes and quotes to come ...

The Ducks must wait another day to clinch a playoff berth after the Dallas Stars handed the Colorado Avalanche a 4-2 loss Thursday.

Aside from whether or not they will participate in the postseason, the biggest question facing the Ducks in their home-and-home series against the Kings is who will be in goal.

Ray Emery did not practice Thursday, one day after leaving midway through the Ducks' 6-2 win over San Jose with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Emery finished the game on the bench, while Dan Ellis finished the final 29 minutes between the pipes.

"I felt a lot better this morning than I thought I would last night," Emery said Thursday. "It's a thing where I'm trying to be cautious, because I'm leery of things I've had in the past and I want to be able to contribute when I'm in there for a long period of time. It's more of me being cautious."

Said head coach Randy Carlyle, "we felt it was best for him to work out off-ice and have a treatment this morning, and we'll make an assessment tomorrow morning at the morning skate."

Emery was not the only Ducks player missing at practice.

The only thing clinched at Honda Center on Wednesday was Corey Perry's Hart Trophy bid. But we'll get to that in a minute.

The Ducks' surprisingly lopsided win over the Sharks did not ensure a playoff berth but was still badly needed. The Chicago Blackhawks temporarily moved into seventh place in the Western Conference standings with an overtime win against St. Louis. Calgary briefly matched the Ducks at 93 points in the standings with its win over Edmonton, putting further pressure on Anaheim to win its game in hand on the Flames.

The Sharks had been steamrolling everyone, but gently applied the brakes Wednesday after locking up the Pacific Division title two days earlier.

Gritty forward Ryane Clowe took the night off. Top players like Patrick Marleau (15:50), Dany Heatley (14:39), Joe Thornton (11:12) and Logan Couture (14:15) didn't get top-player minutes. Backup goalie Antero Niittymaki got his first start in nearly three months -- Jan. 13 was his last -- and the Ducks took full advantage.

Perry completed his third hat trick this season (also the third of his career) in the game's first 31 minutes, causing a mass litter of headgear on the Honda Center ice and pausing the Ducks' onslaught at 4-1. The last of the three goals, a Perry-patented, long-armed flick of the wrist through traffic, made him the league's first 50-goal scorer.

Teemu Selanne and Jason Blake added goals later in the period, and rookie defenseman Cam Fowler got his 10th of the season in the first stanza.

But tonight figures to go down as the night that M-V-P became more than just a loud exercise in wishful thinking.

From the Ducks' PR staff:

On Sunday, Finnish Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Pekka Lintu, along with wife, Mrs. Laurel Colless made an official trip to Honda Center to watch Teemu Selanne and the Anaheim Ducks take on the Dallas Stars. Following the game in a private ceremony, the Ambassador presented Selanne with "The Cross of Merit of the Order of the Lion of Finland." The medal was awarded for Selanne's outstanding role in promoting Finnish sportsmanship and values in the NHL.

The medal was granted to Selanne on Finnish Independence Day (Dec. 6, 2010) by Mrs. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland. Ambassador Lintu and Mrs. Colless traveled to Anaheim to present the medal to Selanne on the President's behalf. It marks the first time a Finnish ice hockey player has received the Cross of Merit honor.

On Independence Day, the Finnish President acknowledges the work and achievements of individual citizens by granting medals and orders of different levels.

Sounds like a rare accomplishment, one that may supercede any awards Selanne earns for playing hockey this season.

Alright, give the man some big awards already ...

Three days after being named the NHL's player of the month for March, Ducks forward Corey Perry was named "First star of the week" for the week ending Sunday. Perry had a league-best eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games. He's been one of the league-appointed three stars of the week in each of the past four weeks, which almost never happens.

Perry leads the NHL in goals (47), is tied for second place in game-winning goals (10) and ranks third in points (47-46--93). He has an active nine-game scoring streak, during which he has tallied 18 points (11 goals, seven assists) and a plus-9 rating.

It's reasonable to expect that some major individual awards will follow. The only player with a realistic chance of catching Perry for the Rocket Richard Trophy, Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, has 44 goals with three games left on the schedule for both the Lightning and Ducks.

As for the Hart Trophy, given to the league's MVP, the list of candidates more worthy than Perry is getting shorter.

It's never a good day when a coach is asked to recall an overturned goal that went against his team, and has to specify which one.

It hasn't been a good weekend for Randy Carlyle and the Ducks.

Back-to-back losses to the Sharks and Stars have put their playoff plans on hold, and this one was frustrating on a couple counts. Namely, Teemu Selanne's goal at 17:56 of the third period and Bobby Ryan's goal at 19:11, neither of which counted in the eyes of referee Brad Meier.

Those tended to overshadow the goals that counted -- by Lubomir Visnovsky, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry -- and the fact the Ducks played like a group worn down by Saturday night's loss in San Jose. The low point was probably a 5-on-3 shift spanning 80 seconds of the middle period during which the Ducks couldn't get off a shot from within 20 feet of Kari Lehtonen.

Ray Emery (27 saves) lost his second game as a Duck, second game of the season, and second in as many days.

Tomorrow's game story focuses on the reaction in the Ducks' room to the calls by Meier, whose crew also missed a too many men on the ice call against Dallas in the second period. There was plenty of steam to be blown off, and Carlyle instructed his players to "do nothing" tomorrow -- no practice, no golf -- just recharge the batteries for another game against the Sharks on Wednesday, with a playoff berth at stake again.

A few more notes:

The latest accolade for Corey Perry might not be the last.

The Ducks' right wing was named the NHL's Player of the Month on Friday. He finished March with a league-leading 15 goals, bringing his league-leading season total to 46 and becoming just the fifth NHL player since Jan. 1997 to score 15 goals in a single month.

The first question he took on a national conference call was about what might be next: The Rocket Richard Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's leading goal-scorer.

"I don't know if you can ever say that you're going to win it," Perry said. "I mean, you have to have a lot of great bounces and teammates to play with. I have to give a lot of credit to them. Recently it's been going well, and you know, I'm just trying to help the team win. That's all I'm worried about."

Perry's 15 goals were the most in a single month in franchise history. Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne previously shared the record (Kariya had 13 in January, 2000 and Selanne recorded 13 in November, 1997).

For the season, Perry is also tied for first in the league game-winning goals (10, also Daniel Sedin and Alex Ovechkin). He's tied for fourth in points (89) and power-play goals (12), and tied for eighth in short-handed goals (3). He also ranks second among all NHL forwards in ice time (22:07), which is also first among all right wingers.

"You just go into every game expecting to play well," Perry said. "Things happened in March that doesn't happen very often. It's one of those things where you go out, you play your game, and you see what happens. But you know, March was a good month, and hopefully there's more to come."

March was a good month for a few Ducks.