In the shadow of last nights victory over the Red Wings, I bring you today's news. I have an update on the injury situation via MVN, the winning name in the Name the rivalry contest is now up for vote and other miscellaneous news.
Injury update via MVN
In spite of this being the Ducks only “day off” between three games in four days, the Ducks nonetheless held a full practice. The Ducks practiced about 45 minutes and went through most of the usual drills. The players were in an upbeat mood, thanks to last night’s 6-3 win over Detroit. They are looking to carry that positive momentum into their game tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators.
Petteri Wirtanen benefitted the most from the practice. He was recalled from Portland to fill in the holes left by injuries to Todd Bertuzzi and Todd Marchant in Sunday’s game against the Wild. Coach Randy Carlyle said that Wirtanen is a Pahlsson-like player. He’s a solid, safe player, albeit young and still developing. Wirtanen was the best option available in Portland, especially as Ryan Carter has a groin strain and Jason King has also had a groin pull, not to mention that his wife is due any day now.
After the practice, updates were handed out on the injured players. Todd Bertuzzi is still having symptoms from his concussion. Until they subside, they cannot go to the next step in the process. That step is starting to work out and see if symptoms return. The league requires a minimum of one week being symptom free before being allowed to return.
Read the rest here - Link
Ducks weekly report has been posted
FULL HOUSE: The Ducks recorded their 37th consecutive sellout last night vs. Detroit, drawing 17,174 to Honda Center...the 37 sellouts include 25 regular season and 12 playoff games...in August, the Ducks capped season ticket sales at 15,000 and started a waiting list for future orders...Anaheim recorded 25 total sellouts last season, the most since the 1997-98 season...the club's average attendance (16,377) and percent capacity (95.4%) were also the highest since the 1997-98 season.
HOME COMFORTS: Including a 2-1 record this season, the Anaheim Ducks are 48-12-12 in their last 72 regular season games at Honda Center dating back to Nov. 25, 2006...the Ducks have a .680 winning percentage (91-34-33, 215 pts.) over the last 158 home games, earning at least one point in 124 of those 158 contests (19-6-8 in the last 33 home games of 2002-03 season and 19-11-11 in 2003-04)…Anaheim finished the 2006-07 regular season with a home record of 26-6-9, tying the club record for home wins in a season (26-10-5 in 2005-2006)...the Ducks also went 10-2 at home in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, clinching all four series wins at Honda Center.
DID YOU KNOW?: Anaheim’s last two games against Minnesota and Detroit at Honda Center represented just the fifth set of back-to-back home games in franchise history…in 10 back-to-back home games all-time, the Ducks have posted a 6-4-0 record…the last time Anaheim played home games on consecutive nights was in March 2003...on Mar. 12, 2003, the Ducks defeated Chicago, 5-3, and then earned a 3-2 overtime victory over San Jose the next night.
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Earl from BOC has a look the "The London Effect"
Well, it’s been a combined 10 games played since the Ducks and Kings split games in London, and of course results have been less than stellar: combined only two of those games have resulted in BoC wins, and both those wins came midway through the third period. Combined, the teams have been outscored 11-8 in the first period, 19-13 in the second period, and 19-14 in the third.
Now of course each of these teams has some issues outside of the London travel: the Ducks have been playing with an injury-compromised roster since day one, and the Kings are still trying to figure out how to work with their new lineup, from the net on out. But still, I think it’s clear that there is more going on here than bad rosters—between the shortened training camps and the intercontinental travel, King and Duck results have been adversely affected by the bizarre start to the season.
Read the rest here - Link
The name the rivalry contest is closer to a winner
Fans are voting now on a nickname for that great National Hockey League rivalry in the Los Angeles area ' and "Freeway Face-off" is the early leader.
Yes, it's that regional faceoff between the Los Angeles Kings and the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. FSN West (Kings) and FSN Prime Ticket (Ducks) figured the six games the bitter rivals play each year merited a moniker along the lines of New York's Subway Series. So they asked fans to submit their selections online.
The first phase of the contest got started Sept. 29, the same day the Kings defeated the Ducks, 4-1, on neither team's ice: the match was played at the O2 Arena in London, England. The teams split a pair of matches by 4-1 scores, the NHL's first-ever games in London.
Read the rest here - Link
A Preview of the Ducks vs Wild
The Anaheim Ducks are the defending Stanley Cup champions while the Nashville Predators were one of the league's best teams last season. The first three weeks of 2007-08 have proven just how little that means now.
The Ducks look to continue their success against the Predators on Wednesday night when the teams open their season series at the Honda Center.
After splitting their first two games against the Los Angeles Kings in England, the Ducks (3-4-1) lost three straight before rebounding to win two of their last three contests.
Samuel Pahlsson snapped a tie with a short-handed goal midway through the third period Monday, leading Anaheim to a 6-3 victory over visiting Detroit.
The goal was the first of the season for Pahlsson, who missed the first five games while recovering from sports hernia surgery.
Chris Pronger and Ryan Getzlaf each had three assists for the Ducks, whose six goals matched their combined total from the previous four games.
Defenseman Kent Huskins opened the scoring 1:56 into the game with his first NHL goal.
"It was a great feeling," said Huskins, a sixth-round draft pick by Chicago in 1998 who played in 33 regular-season games and 21 playoff games for the Ducks in 2006-07. "Our team's been having some problems scoring some goals, so to be able to contribute like that felt pretty good."
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An article on Kent Huskins from the Ducks official site
In less than one year’s time, Kent Huskins has gone from toiling in the minor leagues with a lack of self-confidence to a player firmly established on the Ducks.
A highlight of Huskins’ turnaround came on Monday night, as the 6-3 defenseman netted his first career goal on a wrister that hit Detroit’s Dominik Hasek’s shoulder and flipped into the net to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead in a game they would eventually win 6-3.
Huskins holds the puck from his first NHL goal.
“It was definitely a bit of a shock,” Huskins said after Tuesday’s practice. “Things happened pretty quickly out there. To see it flutter in was a great feeling.”
Overall, Huskins has played well this season, as he’s tied with Francois Beauchemin and Corey Perry for the best plus/minus rating on the team with +3.
Huskins’ solid play was something coach Randy Carlyle thought was possible when the team signed the defenseman as a free agent in 2005, but the results shown in the 2005 and 2006 training camps were not indicative of the player Carlyle had once previously coached.
“For whatever reason the two previous training camps he had with our hockey club (before this season) were terrible,” Carlyle said. “I had him in Manitoba (during the 2004-05 season). Both he and Joe DiPenta had played together there. In a lot of ways he was a higher level player than DiPenta and DiPenta has played two years in the league here.”
Huskins, along with Carlyle, searched for reasoning behind the lackluster camp performances.
“I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Huskins said. When you get into your fourth or fifth year as a pro, it becomes a do-or-die situation. You know this might be your last chance."
Read the rest here - Link
Dux in Tux is back again
On November 10th the Anaheim Ducks players and coaches will hang up their skates and take on a new role as “celebrity waiters” for the Eighth Annual Dux in Tux presented by Honda at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Report & Spa. At Dux in Tux, the entire Ducks roster will be on hand, clad in tuxedos to treat guests to a night of quality service and fine dining in support of Ducks Care, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. This season Dux in Tux will honor the nonprofit recipients of the Ducks Care 2007 charitable grants and recognize them for their exemplary work in the community. Don’t miss your chance to spend an evening alongside the Anaheim Ducks while helping to give back to the Southern California community by supporting Ducks Care.
For more information on the Eighth Annual Dux in Tux presented by Honda, please contact the Community Relations Department at 1-877-WILDWING.
Download the Invitation (PDF)
Pepsi Family Four Packs are back
You can purchase a Pepsi Family 4-Pack to select Ducks home games. Packages include:
- 4 Tickets
- 4 Pepsi's
- 4 Wienerschnitzel Hot Dogs
Starting at $66!
$2 from each pack sold will benefit Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Pepsi Family 4-Pack games for the 2007-08 season include:
Oct. 17 vs. Nashville
Oct 25 vs. Phoenix
Nov 7 vs. Phoenix
Dec 5 vs. Buffalo
Dec 12 vs. Vancouver
Dec 19 vs. Colorado
Jan 2 vs. Columbus
Jan 9 vs. Toronto
Feb 20 vs. Colorado
Mar 12 vs. Vancouver
Stanley Cup there when he arrived with hockey's most cherished prize on Thursday, August 9. 
after Kent made his NHL debut with the Ducks this season, Almonte became much more of a hockey town. Kent contributed to Anaheim's Stanley Cup victory over the Senators, much to the dismay of the local fans from Ottawa. 
last season, our fair-but-fickle city will always draw Brian Burke back. 
