If you’re wondering why there haven’t been too many posts lately…
1. Ducks aren’t much to blog about right now.
2. I suck.
But really, lets reflect on the past few games and the month of Movember. First off, go Jonas Hiller(no not his performance, but his newish mask). I think his mask is awesome. It’s classy, for a good cause and he beat Timmy Thomas to the task ! The white is completely opposite of what he’s had, it has a picture of every current duck on the roster, and even little Cam Fowler has a moustache on it, check it out below if you haven’t already !
Few things I would like to touch base on:
1. Getzlaf’s(the whole RPG line for that matter) poor performance
2. Lubo’s Injury and Fowler’s role on the blue line
3. Potential roster changes
So, how ’bout that top line. Lets see, Perry has an even 14 points, 7 goals and 7 assists, followed by Getz’s 12 points with a whopping 4 goals(in 20 games) and 8 assists and last but definitely not least B-Ry has 9 points at 5 goals and 4 assists. Projected to be if not the best, one of the most dominant and offensively heavy top lines in the NHL, I am certainly not impressed. At this point Teemu is making the youngsters look like a bunch of amateurs, and he’s in his 40s…. Everyone is always quick to say, lets change up the lines, lets change up the lines. But lets be real here, Ducks always start slow. They’ll pick it up after the all star break(hopefully sooner). Right now it seems absurdly slow, having the lowest goals per game average in the NHL. My only problem is that they back themselves in a corner, where they’ll make a race for that 8th or 7th seed, and end up playing a top notch team like San Jose or Nashville(disgusting) or even Dallas(wait WHAT ?!). Pick it up top line, I’d hate to see the RPG line get split up.
Lubo’s out. Well, now what. It’s time for Cam to really step up. Lubo really does lead our defensive bunch on the blue line. Lydman is getting old, losing value but still a threat, Foster has been a solid addition and is off to a great start, Brookbank I’ve never been crazy about but no complaints so far, and Sbisa is a stud as always. On the PP, I love seeing Fowler and Beauchemin on top. These two are awesome offensive defenders who can really hit the net. Ever since Scotty has left, there hasn’t really been a guy who has filled his leadership role on defense. Visnovsky, to me, is that guy. He makes the big time plays on defense, he plays with everything he’s got, and he puts up numbers on offense. You can tell that he has a voice in the locker room and without him in the line up it is somewhat frightening. If he hasn’t proven himself already, now is his time. Lets see if Cam !
Just as quick as everyone wants to see the RPG line get split, the Ducks are being picked apart that some roster adjustments need to take place. Some of the articles I’ve read have included Koivu being traded, Lydman being traded, picking up Weiss, and even going after Parise(?!). Some of these seem somewhat potential roster moves, but Parise ? Really now ? To me, the Ducks need to score. The puck isn’t going in the back of the net, and that won’t come from prospects or other misc. young guns we have in. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Smith-Pelly and MacMillan, but we may need some veteran scoring opportunities coming from our second or third lines. When seeing guys like Cogliano put the puck in the net, I love it. Cogliano is a hard working third or second liner that is getting some great opportunities in Anaheim. I would love to see another one of him. Weiss currently has more points then any of our centers, he wouldn’t be terribly expensive and for a team that is going through a complete overhaul Florida might not be too difficult to trade with. Koivu isn’t going anywhere, he’ll fin(n)ish out his career in Anaheim with Selanne by his side. Lydman on the other hand, I don’t see him going anywhere either. Works really well with Lubo at his side. Coming from a team like Buffalo he wasn’t really used to his full capacity. Lydman is a solid fit with the Ducks. The Ducks haven’t seen too many roster changes since they let go of Moen, Pahlsson and Andy Mac. Come to think about it, the Ducks could use one of them right about now…
Promise to keep updating more, and give you guys more reads ! And how bout Crosby ? 2 goals and 2 assists on the first game back ? Cross your fingers its some sort of fluke….
