Tag Archives: Sami Vatanen

Ducks’ list of free agents (restricted and unrestricted)

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Free agency begins July 1, and Ducks general manager Bob Murray figures to be busy. Here’s a list of the Ducks’ unrestricted free agents (those eligible to sign with other teams without the Ducks having the right to match their offers), via the indispensable website generalfanager.com:

Forwards Shawn Horcoff, Jamie McGinn, David Perron, Mike Santorelli, Chris Stewart, defenseman Korbinian Holzer and goaltender Anton Khudobin.

Here are the Ducks’ restricted free agents (those whose rights the Ducks continue to hold):

Forwards Brandon Pirri and Rickard Rakell, defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen and goalie Frederik Andersen.

 

Game report: Rangers 2, Ducks 1

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Key play: Kevin Klein scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the New York Rangers went on to take a 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Ducks at the Honda Center. The Rangers also ended the Ducks’ 9-0-1 point streak on home ice.

Pivotal performer: Klein more than made up for a first-period giveaway that led to Jamie McGinn’s goal that gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 14:03. Klein scored the first goal for the Rangers off a long rebound and then had the puck deflect off his stick for their second one.

Quote, unquote: “I thought they deserved at least one,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of going without a power play opportunity for only the third time this season and the first time since a 2-1 victory Dec. 19 against the New Jersey Devils.

Between the pipes: John Gibson returned to the Ducks’ net after Frederik Andersen played the last two games as Boudreau continued his two-on, two-off rotation. Antti Raanta started for the Rangers in place of Henrik Lundqvist, who is expected to play tonight against the Kings.

Injury updates: Ducks defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Sami Vatanen didn’t play against the Rangers. Bieksa sat out for the second consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. Vatanen couldn’t play for the third game because of an upper-body injury.

Ducks defensemen Kevin Bieksa, Sami Vatenen questionable to play against Devils

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Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said Sunday that injured defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Sami Vatanen were “questionable” to play Monday against the Devils at the Honda Center. Korbinian Holzer and Clayton Stoner will replace them if they can’t play against New Jersey

Bieksa suffered a lower-body injury during a 5-2 defeat Friday against the St. Louis Blues. Vatanen was forced from Wednesday’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche because of an upper-body injury. Boudreau wasn’t sure when they might play again, but called them “day to day.”

“I don’t think either of them is long term at all,” Boudreau said. “I think it’s a short term thing and, hopefully, they’ll both be back before the end of the week. Right now, it’s just day to day.”

Boudreau said he didn’t know if there was any consideration made to recalling Shea Theodore or Brandon Montour from the Ducks’ American Hockey League team in San Diego.

 

 

Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen named to Team Finland for the World Cup of Hockey

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Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen was named Wednesday to Team Finland’s preliminary roster for the World Cup of Hockey next fall in Toronto. Vatanen was one of 16 players named to the team. He helped Finland win a bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and will be one of the more veteran players on a World Cup roster that doesn’t include Teemu Selanne.

“Of course it’s a big honor every time Finland cheers you on,” said Vatanen, 24. “It’s a big pride thing for me to represent Team Finland. It’s a little different right now. I think I’m the oldest D-man on the roster right so it’s totally different to what I’m used to. I’ve been in a couple of tournaments, so I know how to do those things. If I can teach the younger guys. We have Teemu and Saku and they can help us. It feels very different. I don’t think I’m that old right now.”

 

 

Game report: Ducks 1, Sabres 0

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Key play: Sami Vatanen scored the only goal the Ducks needed to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 on Wednesday at the Honda Center for their sixth consecutive victory. Vatanen sent a wrist shot through traffic and into the net at 3:20 of the second period for his ninth goal of the season.

Pivotal performer: Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen’s last shutout was Jan. 27, 2015, against the Vancouver Canucks. He hadn’t recorded one in 57 games before blanking the Sabres on 26 shots to improve his record to 10-0-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average in his last 11 decisions.

Quote, unquote: “When he’s on, he can make the save that nobody else can make,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of Andersen, who had his fourth career shutout. “We’ve seen it time and time again. … He’s a big man who is very mobile in the net.”

Streaking captain: Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf’s second-period assist on Vatanen’s power-play goal gave him at least one point in nine consecutive games. He has four goals and 10 assists during the streak pushing his season totals to eight goals and a team-leading 48 points. He set a team record by recording his eighth career 40-assist season, passing Teemu Selanne, who had seven.

Lock-down time: The Ducks went into the game with a 20-0-3 record when leading after two periods. Their flawless mark in regulation play in 2015-16 was put to the test when they took a 1-0 lead into the third period against the Sabres. Make it 21-0-3, though, after they held on to beat Buffalo.

Game report: Canucks 2, Ducks 1 (shootout)

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Key play: Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen appeared to save Alex Burrow’s third-round shot in a shootout, but the puck trickled behind him and into the net for the deciding goal and the Vancouver Canucks went on to take a 2-1 victory Monday at the Honda Center.

Pivotal performer: Goalie Ryan Miller’s poke check on the Ducks’ Corey Perry’s third-round attempt preserved the win for the Canucks. Jakob Silfverberg scored in the first round against Miller, who then stopped Rickard Rakell in the second.

Line changes: Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau went back to more familiar line combinations Monday, reuniting center Ryan Getzlaf and right wing Perry. They were on separate lines for Saturday’s season-opening 2-0 loss to the Sharks in San Jose.

Between the pipes: Andersen started for the Ducks and made 24 saves during regulation plus the 5-minute 3-on-3 overtime; Miller was in goal for the Canucks and made 28 saves.

Quote, unquote: “It was fine,” Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said of facing the Canucks for the first time since an off-season trade. “It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Like I said before the game, I was hoping that once the game started it would feel like just a normal hockey game and it did. There were a couple of times during timeouts you look over, and it’s a little different. But I felt like once the puck dropped and the game started, it was business as usual.”

Up next: The Ducks’ four-game homestand continues Wednesday, when the Pacific Division rival Arizona Coyotes visit the Honda Center.