Ducks 6, Wild 2.

It’s not every day that a hockey player proudly displays his stick after scoring a goal – that might be considering taunting in the etiquette-laden NHL – but it’s not every day that a player scores a goal with an opponent’s stick either.

Bobby Ryan’s second-period goal and celebration, after scoring with Mikko Koivu’s stick, will be the lasting memory from the Ducks’ win Sunday at Honda Center.

It was almost enough to overshadow the first career hat trick for Corey Perry, which included his first career penalty shot in the second period. Perry also scored 19 seconds into the game for the fourth-fastest goal from the start of a game in franchise history.

The line of Ryan (goal, two assists, +4), Perry (three goals, two assists, +3), and Ryan Getzlaf (two goals, assist, +3) accounted for all of the Ducks’ scoring. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky had a pair of assists.

Jonas Hiller needed only 20 saves for the win. More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Ducks 5, Florida 3.

The Ducks pushed their winning streak to three, moved into a virtual tie for the Pacific Division lead, and beat a team that they’re expected to beat – all good things.

Their 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers will be remembered for none of these things, however, because George Parros scored two goals.

Parros took a behind-the-net pass from Kyle Chipchura to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the first period, then made it 3-0 in the second period on another one-timer from the slot off a feed from Chipchura. The game’s final 33 minutes seemed as much about getting Parros the hat trick as getting the win.

“I wanted the hat trick for sure,” Parros said following the first multigoal game of his career. “It was a great
feeling. Glad our line could finally contribute. We can’t rely on the
top two lines every night. It definitely helps to chip in.”

Parros also had a fight and Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan also scored goals. Jonas Hiller stopped 29 of 32, including a brilliant third-period stop on a Stephen Weiss wrister.

The Ducks host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.

Columbus 4, Ducks 3.

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:

Continue reading “Columbus 4, Ducks 3.” »

Ryan, Wisniewski, Mikkelson receive qualifying offers.

Soon-to-be restricted free agents Bobby Ryan, James Wisniewski and Brendan Mikkelson have received qualifying offers from the Ducks, while minor-league forwards Shawn Weller and Bobby Bolt have not. Neither has goaltender Jean-Phillippe Levasseur, with whom the Ducks are negotiating a long-term contract.

The deadline to for teams to extend qualifying offers is 2 p.m. (Pacific) today.

Ryan is almost certain to command an offer sheet July 1 if he has not already re-signed with the Ducks. General manager Bob Murray has attempted to re-sign Ryan with a five-year contract offer in the $20-25 million range, but the sides have yet to reach an agreement despite the fact that talks began early last season. The 23-year-old forward scored a career-high 35 goals in 2009-10, his second full NHL season.

In a season shortened to 69 games by injuries and suspensions, Wisniewski finished with three goals and 30 points. The hard-hitting defenseman nearly went to arbitration with the Ducks last year before signing a 1-year contract worth $2.75 million.

Mikkelson, who turned 23 last week, has split the last two seasons between the NHL and AHL, collecting four assists in 62 games with the Ducks.

If a qualified player receives an offer sheet from another team, the current team then has the right to match the offer sheet or will receive a combination of draft picks in return (see below, courtesy of TSN):

Below $863,156 No Compensation
$863,156-$1,307,812 Third-round pick
$1,307,812-$2,615,625 Second-round pick
$2,615,625-$3,923,437 First- and third-round picks
$3,923,437-$5,231,249 First-, second and third-round picks
$5,231,249-$6,539,062 Two first-rounders, a second-round
pick and a third-round pick.
$6,539,062 or more Four first-round picks