So the Ducks looked like the were energized and ready to kick some butt. It was a hard checking game that saw the return of Sammy Pahlsson. It was an exciting game that was a nice cap to the banner raising. Here is a quick news link to some of tonight's coverage. Please look for the rest tomorrow.
Game Stats
Anaheim Ducks Official Coverage
By Adam Brady
AnaheimDucks.comANAHEIM, Calif. – After their Stanley Cup title was honored prior to the game, the Ducks went out and did something they did a lot during that magical season – they pulled out a victory at home.
Francois Beauchemin buried a one-timer from the point with 6:25 left in the third period to help the Ducks overcome a rough start and edge the Bruins 2-1 in Anaheim’s home opener at Honda Center.
The announced crowd of 17,285 was the 35th straight sellout for the Ducks, dating back to last year. Most of those fans arrived in their seats early enough to watch an emotional tribute to the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions, that included the lowering of the Stanley Cup from the scoreboard and the raising of the Pacific Division, Western Conference and Stanley Cup champions banners to the rafters. Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne, both clad in suits as they each continue to mull retirement, were part of the introductions of every Ducks player. They earned the loudest ovations of the night, followed by the inevitable chants of “One more year!”
After the puck was finally dropped, the Ducks came off just as sluggish as they did during a road swing following London in which they went 0-2-1 at Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh.
That was partly due to the 20 minutes between their warmup and the start of the game, a delay caused by the lengthy ceremony.
"It’s no excuse, but it’s always hard to get back to the game and be ready to play," Beauchemin said. "The first five minutes were kind of tough."
It cost them early in the first as Boston’s Chuck Kobasew found the net just 1:05 into it. Kobasew skated by Pronger in the Anaheim zone and took a shot from the left faceoff dot that slid through Ilya Bryzgalov’s five hole.
"It was obviously a breakdown that happened early in the game," said Ryan Getzlaf. "They came out and skated and we weren’t really prepared."
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AP Coverage
Ryan Getzlaf scored the tying goal and assisted on the game-winner in the third period, helping the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks defeat the Boston Bruins, 2-1, on Wednesday night in the teams' only meeting this season.
Francois Beauchemin scored with 13:35 remaining in the third, allowing the Ducks to snap a three-game losing streak and notch their first victory in North America.The Ducks improved to 2-3-1. They split a two-game series with the Los Angeles Kings in London to open the season, then lost at Detroit in overtime, at Columbus and at Pittsburgh.
Getzlaf slid the puck over to Beauchemin and his slap shot was deflected off the stick of Boston's David Krejci past goaltender Tim Thomas for a 2-1 lead. Shane Hnidy also got an assist.
The Ducks had barely cleared the remnants of their pre-game Stanley Cup championship celebration from the ice when the Bruins scored a minute into the game.
Chuck Kobasew notched his second goal of the season for the Bruins, who fell to 1-2-0 on their season-opening road trip.
Playing 4-on-4, Anaheim tied the game when Getzlaf scored at 10:52 of the second. Kent Huskins' slap shot was blocked by Thomas, but Getzlaf skated in and beat Thomas' gloveside with the rebound.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 18 saves for the Ducks to win for the first time.
Thomas stopped 28 shots.Read the rest here - Link
MVN Coverage
There was a video reviewing the Ducks run to the Cup that was narrated by TV commentator, Brian Hayward. While that was going on, the banners that were to be raised were lowered, waiting to be unfurled to the ceiling . The Western Conference Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy were brought out. The owners and executives came out. As each round was reiterated, young skaters reminded the crowd of Heart, Passion, Sacrifice and Destiny with the flags they skated around the arena. After the video was over, the Stanley Cup was lowered from the ceiling and placed in the spotlight. The camera focused on the newly engraved names of the Ducks players and roared in approval.
Time for introductions of the owners, management and staff. Brian Burke received a huge ovation in appreciation for what he has done for the team’s personnel. Then it was time to introduce the players, newest first then the captains, Chris Kunitz, Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger bringing up the rear. Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer then came out and chants of “one more year!” filled the building. How can you not be able to make a decision about retirement after that? Apparently they still cannot make a decision and gave a press conference to the media in attendance between the first and second periods stating just that - still no decision.
The captains got to unfurl the Pacific Division banner in white, followed by Niedermayer, Selanne and Jean-Sebastien Giguere helping to unfurl the Western Conference Championship banner in black. The Samuelis unfurled the the orange Stanley Cup Championship banner and they all went up to the rafters amid more camera flashes than at a celebrity event.
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OC Register Coverage
Francois Beauchemin fired a slapshot from the blue line at 13:45 of the third period, scoring his first goal of the season to lead the Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night at Honda Center.
All of the excitement in the air on this historic night when the Ducks raised three banners to the rafters, including one for winning the Stanley Cup, left the building one minute, five seconds into the game.
Chuck Kobasew slipped the puck past Ilya Bryzgalov, and the Bruins had a 1-0 lead.
The Ducks were slow to get going and had only a couple of good scoring chances in the opening period. One came when Travis Moen's shot hit the side of the goal. The other was just before the end of the first period when Ryan Getzlaf fired a slapshot at Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas from the left circle. Thomas kicked it away with his pads.
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LA Times coverage on Pahlsson's return
Samuel Pahlsson sat in the press box throughout the Ducks' season-opening trip. To say that he was uncomfortable would be a gross understatement.
"It's a little weird for me," the soft-spoken Pahlsson said. "I haven't really watched any games from the [box]. I always want to be in. You want to be there with the guys."Pahlsson was back in his accustomed place on the Ducks' checking line Wednesday night against Boston after sitting the first five games while recovering from off-season hernia surgery. They were the first games the Swede has missed since Feb. 5, 2003, when he sat out a 2-1 loss at Edmonton.
It also brought to an end his club-record consecutive games streak at 275, the seventh-longest active streak in the NHL. The streak, however, was never a big deal to Pahlsson.
"I don't know if I take a lot of pride in setting some kind of a record," he said. "You want to play every game and help the team win. That's what it is. No one wants to sit on the side."
Pahlsson was third on the Ducks last season in ice time, averaging 17 minutes 21 seconds, and won 52.6% of his faceoffs. Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said he doesn't want to misuse his defensive stalwart, who didn't have a training camp.
"I don't think you can expect a guy to go out and play 30 minutes," Carlyle said. "That's unrealistic. We're going to have to monitor and keep a close eye on the minutes and the faceoffs and how tough those minutes are.Read the rest here - Link
