Tag Archives: Ryan Kesler

Game report: Ducks 4, Blues 3 (shootout)

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Key play: Ryan Getzlaf scored the deciding goal in a shootout and the Ducks rallied for a 4-3 victory Friday over the St. Louis Blues at the Honda Center. The Ducks erased a 3-1 second-period deficit and improved to 2-2 in shootouts this season.

Pivotal performer: Ducks center Ryan Kesler scored in the first and third periods, his seventh and eighth goals of the season. Kesler’s last multi-goal game was Dec. 5, 2014 against the Minnesota Wild. He has four goals in his last five games. Kesler was an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick (see below).

Dropping the gloves: Kesler scored a takedown during a second-period fight with the Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko objected to Kesler’s tough but legal check that leveled St. Louis center Jori Lehtera along the boards.

Quote, unquote: “Big,” Kesler said of rallying to win. “Going into the third we knew we had to buckle down and claw back and I thought we did a good job of that. It would be tough not getting that extra point, even it was going to be a shootout loss. I thought the guys battled hard and we deserved that extra point.”

Injury update: Ducks defenseman Simon Despres is close to returning to the ice, a team spokesman said. Despres has been sidelined since suffering a concussion in the Ducks’ loss Oct. 16 to the Colorado Avalanche. He sat out for the 36th game Friday. The Ducks expect to know more about Despres return to the ice Saturday.

Ducks center Ryan Kesler: ‘We’re going to make the playoffs’

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The Ducks went into Monday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks at the Honda Center with a less-than-stellar 8-11-5 record. They were in fifth place in the Pacific Division, six points out of a playoff spot and eight behind the first-place Kings. They also had the 29th-best offense in the 30-team NHL with only 46 goals.

Ducks center Ryan Kesler isn’t worried, however.

“If we keep playing like we are we’re going to get into the playoffs,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time. This team is too good not to be in the playoffs. We had a bad start. We played deep into the playoffs last year and, to be honest, maybe some guys weren’t ready to start the season. We’ve found our game and it’s coming. There’s still a lot of hockey left to play and we’re ready for the challenge.

“Anything that could go wrong went wrong at the beginning of the year. Guys were hitting posts and missing open nets. It’s happens. It’s the law of averages, though. It’s going to even out. We’re going to break out. … I’m too old to worry anymore. Nothing really worries me. We’re going to have fun. We’re going to enjoy this challenge and we’re going to make the playoffs.”

 

Read what Ducks center Ryan Kesler said about staying positive and enjoying hockey again

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Center Ryan Kesler of the struggling Ducks had a good deal to stay about staying positive and enjoying the game of hockey after a 4-1 loss Friday to the New York Islanders. Here’s some of what he said:

“Back to work tomorrow and we’ve got to come in positive. We’ve got the last 10 out of 14 points or whatever. We’ve got to start being positive around here. It’s been way to negative. We have to realize we’ve been playing good hockey. We just haven’t had the bounces. Just relax and play. It shows on the ice.

“We’ve just got to keep staying positive and bring that fun energy to the rink. The last couple of days it hasn’t been fun, to be honest. We’ve got to bring the positive energy like it was last year and we’ll be fine. We played pretty well for spurts in this game. We’ve got to get that energy back.

“There’s been spurts. It all comes back to the mindset and just being positive. It’s the whole group. The whole group has to get back to having fun and winning. … Even when they scored early, I thought our guys battled back. It’s a mindset. We’ve got to get back to having fun again and it being loose around here. It’s like walking on eggshells around here right now. We’ve just got to get back to having fun and enjoying hockey again.”

Ducks center Ryan Kesler’s quote of the night

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Ryan Kesler scored his first goal of the season during the Ducks’ 4-3 overtime loss Monday to the Arizona Coyotes at the Honda Center. He also had an assist and he and wingers Carl Hagelin and Jakob Silfverberg formed the Ducks’ best and most productive line. Said Kesler: “Being up 2-0 and giving that lead up and then battling back like we did, it’s tough. At least we salvaged a point tonight. We’ll take the positive. It’s 3-on-3 hockey (in OT) and anything can happen.”

 

Game report: Coyotes 4, Ducks 3 (OT)

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Key play: Mikkel Boedker scored on a breakaway after intercepting an ill-advised drop pass by Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf to give the Arizona Coyotes a 4-3 victory 1 minute, 18 seconds in overtime Monday at the Honda Center. The Ducks gained a point for the fifth consecutive game, but their winning streak ended at four in a row.

Pivotal performer: Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen scored on a deflection of left wing Andrew Cogliano’s centering pass after making a dash through the Coyotes’ defense a moment earlier to score the tying goal at 11:43 of the third period. The Ducks and Coyotes went to OT deadlocked at 3.

Breaking the ice: Center Ryan Kesler scored his first goal of the season, converting on a deflection of Vatanen’s perimeter shot and giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead at 6:49 of the opening period.

Quote, unquote: “For whatever reason we seemed out of sync tonight, as a line, as a unit,” Getzlaf said. “That (the OT drop pass) was another example of it. I thought ‘Pears’ (Corey Perry) was coming inside and he went outside. That was the case all night. As a line, we didn’t carry our weight.”

Between the pipes: Frederik Andersen return to the net one game after backup Anton Khudobin stopped 31 shots Saturday in a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks, his fifth career shutout. The Coyotes’ Anders Lindback started in place of Mike Smith, who is set to play Tuesday against the Kings.

Injury updates: Ducks center Rickard Rakell skated with his teammates at the morning skate after sitting out the last two games because of an upper-body injury. Left wing Jiri Sekac continues to be sidelined by a sprained right ankle that’s expected to keep him out for a month.

Ducks center Ryan Kesler says he believes in his teammates and the coaching staff

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Here’s the reaction of Ducks center Ryan Kesler when asked Friday about GM Bob Murray’s statement that he’s going to be patient with coach Bruce Boudreau in the wake of a 1-7-2 start to the season:

“It’s nice to hear from your GM that he believes in this group, because we believe in this group. Everybody loves playing for Bruce and Trent (Yawney, an assistant coach). We have a good group in here. Like I said, the first six games, it’s a write off. The last three games, I thought we played really well. We outskated some of the fastest skating teams in the league. I like the way we’re trending. Once we win a game, the dam’s going to open and we’re going to see a lot of faces around here that are smiling, a lot of guys having a good time with it.”

Game report: Coyotes 4, Ducks 0

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Key play: Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi set up the second of Anthony Duclair’s three goals with a dash down the left wing in the first period Wednesday at the Honda Center. The Ducks simply couldn’t keep up with Domi and the Coyotes and fell with a thud 4-0 to fall to 0-2-1.

Pivotal performer: Duclair scored a hat trick for only the second, third and fourth goals of his career in his just 21st career game in the NHL. Duclair scored twice in the first period and again in the third as the Coyotes took a four-goal lead.

Quote, unquote: “We’ve just got to wake up,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “We’re playing like a team that’s not playing for anything right now. It’s accountability throughout our locker room, and we’re going to have to start doing that starting tomorrow. We got embarrassed in our building.”

Quote, unquote (part 2): “I thought we came out in the second and we were better, but we’ve got to find a way to put the puck in the net,” Ducks center Ryan Kesler said. “That’s the bottom line. We’re a good team when we work as a five-man unit. We’re not on the same page right now. We’re working hard, but sometimes we’re not working smart.”

Dropping the gloves: The Ducks’ Cam Fowler didn’t like the high hit Coyotes forward Brad Richardson put on defense partner Sami Vatanen and fought with the Coyotes’ forward. It was Fowler’s first fighting major, according to the website hockeyfights.com.

Lineup change: Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau scratched defenseman Clayton Stoner and replaced him with Josh Manson, who made his 2015-16 debut.

Up next: The Ducks’ four-game homestand continues Friday, when the Colorado Avalanche visits the Honda Center.

Ducks center Ryan Kesler’s quote of the night

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Here’s what Ducks center Ryan Kesler said about the team’s lackluster effort during a 4-0 loss Wednesday to the Arizona Coyotes at the Honda Center: “It’s frustrating. We’re as mad as anybody. It’s not the type of effort we want. If we think we’re just going to come in on Friday and it’s magically going to happen, it’s not. We need to put our work boots on. That starts with will and passion.”

The Ducks play host to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Jakob Silfverberg not seriously hurt in Ducks’ win over Sharks

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Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said winger Jakob Silfverberg wasn’t injured seriously after the San Jose Sharks’ Raffi Torres hit him in the head in the first period of Saturday’s exhibition at the Honda Center. Silfverberg could have returned to the game, according to Boudreau. But there was no reason to play him in what would become a 5-1 victory over a squad of the Sharks’ young players.

Torres was ejected from the game and faces a suspension from the NHL at 12 minutes, 45 seconds of the first period. Silfverberg was bloodied on the play.

“Same player every year,” Ducks center Ryan Kesler said. “I played with the guy (with Vancouver). He needs to learn how to hit. That has no part in our game anymore. He came from across the ice and only made contact with his head.”