Bakersfield eliminated from ECHL playoffs.

The Bakersfield Condors, the Ducks’ ECHL affiliate, saw its season come to an end Saturday with a 7-4 loss to Stockton in Game 5 of their Kelly Cup playoff series.

Timo Pielmeier allowed six goals on 33 shots in the loss and finished the playoffs with a 1-2-1 record, 3.39 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in four games. Jean-Phillippe Levasseur went 3-2-1, 2.61 GAA and .914 save percentage.

Kyle Calder, who had two assists Saturday, led the Condors with five goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games. MacGregor Sharp had a goal Saturday to bring his totals to three goals and eight points in 10 games. Ducks prospects Maxime Macenauer, Stu Bickel and Eric Regan also suited up for the Condors in the playoffs (team stats here).

Sexton, Clark, Salcido shut out in Hamilton.

Consider this a belated, Ducks-related, American Hockey League playoff update.

Since the Ducks do not have an AHL affiliate this year, tracking their prospects’ postseason progress is a more haphazard endeavor than usual. Three (Dan Sexton, Brian Salcido and Mat Clark) are with the Manitoba Moose, who tonight lost Game 1 of their seven-game series against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Needless to say, each was held scoreless.

On Wednesday, defenseman Nathan Oystrick had two assists in the Chicago Wolves’ 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in Game 1 of their series. Shawn Weller, playing for the Abbotsford Heat, contributed the second of three goals in a 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans. Heat defenseman Mark Mitera was held scoreless.

The Ducks’ ECHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, begin play in the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs tomorrow against the Stockton Thunder. Kyle Calder, MacGregor Sharp, Ryan Donally, Maxime Macenauer, Matt McCue, Eric Regan, Stu Bickel, Timo Pielmeier and J-P Levasseur are all competing in the series for Bakersfield.

Selanne, Getzlaf ‘questionable’ for Wednesday.

The good news for the Ducks is that the injuries to Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne aren’t as serious as they could have been, considering neither was able to finish Sunday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

The bad news is, with the team’s playoff hopes leaving them in the position of having to win nearly every game remaining, both forwards are questionable for Wednesday’s game against Chicago.

An MRI exam Monday revealed a slight sprain in Selanne’s left shoulder. He will be evaluated again tomorrow morning and is currently listed as day-to-day. Getzlaf also had an MRI on his sprained left ankle, which revaled inflammation in the area but no further damage. He is also day-to-day.

Meanwhile enforcer George Parros, who was struck by a puck in Sunday’s morning skate, sustained a “contusion/laceration” on the side of his head and is likely to practice tomorrow and be available Wednesday.

The Ducks have recalled forward Kyle Calder from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Calder collected no goals and two assists in 14 games with Anaheim earlier this season. With the Marlies, he had 11 goals and 24 points in 31 games.

Ducks 4, St. Louis 2.

As the page turns on 2010, the Ducks have at last figured out the secret to success: Just play every game at home.

A come-from-behind win over the Blues on Thursday was the Ducks’ fifth straight at Honda Center, and it gave them a jolt of confidence that they can only hope lasts into the weekend.

Rugged defenseman Barret Jackman scored his first two goals of the season to stake St. Louis to an early lead before the Ducks scored the game’s final three goals over the final 12 minutes to grab a much-needed win.

“At times, it wasn’t a pretty hockey game, but we found a way to win,” head coach Randy Carlyle said. “That is the most encouraging thing for us because we found a way to lose these hockey games before. This time we found a way to win it.”
Continue reading “Ducks 4, St. Louis 2.” »

Calder assigned to AHL Toronto.

The Ducks have assigned left wing Kyle Calder to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Calder was placed on waivers on Dec. 28 and was not claimed by another NHL team.

The 30-year-old forward appeared in 14 contests with Anaheim this season, collecting two assists and eight penalty minutes. He made his 2009-10 season debut with the Ducks on Nov. 16 after signing a one-year contract with Anaheim on Oct. 28 and playing five games for ECHL affilaite Bakersfield. He scored 3-3=6 points with a +4 rating in five games with the Condors this season. Calder attended the Ducks’ 2009 Training Camp on a tryout basis in September.

Bodie up; Calder goes on waivers.

The Ducks recalled right wing Troy Bodie from AHL Toronto on Monday after placing forward Kyle Calder on waivers. Calder has until 9 a.m. Tuesday to be claimed by another team, and can be reassigned by the Ducks if he goes unclaimed.

Bodie had8 goals and 13 points with 56 penalty minutes in 32 AHL games this season split between the Toronto Marlies and San Antonio Rampage, where he started the season. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound winger went scoreless in four games with the Ducks last season, his first in the NHL.

The 30-year-old Calder had no goals and two assists in 14 games with Anaheim this season after signing a one-year contract on Oct. 28. After participating in the Ducks’ training camp on a pro tryout contract, Calder was sent to Anaheim’s ECHL affiliate in Bakersfield, where he scored three goals and six points in five games.

Report: Lupul out of tonight’s lineup.

Ducks radio analyst Dan Wood, writing on the team’s official Web site, reports that Joffrey Lupul won’t play tonight in Detroit:

Lupul, who has scored four times during a three-game goal streak since returning from a seven-game absence caused by back spasms, will be sidelined this time because of problems with a leg.

“I think there is some correlation,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said after the club’s morning skate. “I think there is some complication from an injection he had. The leg is going numb on him.”

Lupul did not skate either in the team’s late-afternoon practice Thursday at Joe Louis Arena or this morning, but showed enough progress that he remains a possibility for Saturday night’s game at Columbus, Carlyle said.

In the meantime, the Ducks expect veteran winger Kyle Calder to return against Detroit after having missed the past six games because of an eye injury suffered during practice Nov. 28. Calder plans to wear a visor temporarily in order to protect the eye.

The return of Kyle Calder.

Kyle Calder had plenty to complain about.


At 5 a.m. Sunday, the telephone rang in an Anchorage, Alaska hotel room, informing Calder to grab the next flight to Pittsburgh to join the Ducks for Monday night’s game against the Penguins. Roughly an hour later, Calder was on his way to the airport. At midnight, he landed in Pittsburgh.

He arrived to a less-than-ideal NHL situation: The Ducks had lost three straight and made it four with a 5-2 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champs.

But Calder isn’t complaining.

“That’s the way the league is,” he said. “You have to be professional about it and go to work.”

Continue reading “The return of Kyle Calder.” »

The latest on the Ducks’ injuries, and how they’re affecting the lineup.

Petteri Nokelainen probably summed it up best.


“I play with whoever they put me out to play with,” he said, “Right now it looks like we’re playing with everybody right now, especially when we’re two guys short in the middle.”

Those two guys — centers Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter — didn’t take part in a full practice Tuesday with their teammates. Koivu at least attempted to start, after skating for a half-hour on his own, but lasted about 15 minutes before walking off the ice. Carter, who bruised his foot in Columbus when it absorbed a teammate’s shot in practice, didn’t skate at all.

Continue reading “The latest on the Ducks’ injuries, and how they’re affecting the lineup.” »