GDT: Game 5: Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks | 7:30 PM

[Kalv]

id even put the ducks in that category we may be borderline team but if we make it in were a tough 1st matchup.

I think some of our fans are taking it for granted from the old days. We have lost almost all the players and coahes from that era, and we are far from being the dominant playoff team, that only needs to get in to be succesfull imo. Hell, we don`t even know it, because we simple can`t get to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that ''playoff team'' tag went to the other socal team

 

[deekortiz3]

Im actually less impressed with this sharks team, then i have been in a while. I dont think they are built to beat the teams they are going to have to play to get to the cup. Blues Kings would be the favorites even with the slow start, the kings just need to get in and they are made for a playoff series, id even put the ducks in that category we may be borderline team but if we make it in were a tough 1st matchup.

Yeah, that is why I mentioned wanting to see how we adjust our game to compete against the Ducks and Blues. These are by far the two teams that I would hope to avoid having a playoff series against. I am excited though to see what adjustments the new coaching staff members make to make us look better against them though.

TMac on his own has never been one to adjust anything but from the look of things so far he is giving his assistant coaches a lot of freedom do run things the way they want to.

 

[deekortiz3]

I think some of our fans are taking it for granted from the old days. We have lost almost all the players and coahes from that era, and we are far from being the dominant playoff team, that only needs to get in to be succesfull imo. Hell, we don`t even know it, because we simple can`t get to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that ''playoff team'' tag went to the other socal team

I know agreeing with this might be seen as trolling but I do agree with that assessment.

It is interesting though that while I am not sure that the team is equipped to go all the way in it's current state or even make the playoffs the Ducks are definitely equipped to take a team or two to the limit and just wear them down over the course of a playoff series if they make it in.

And hey if they can make it through a team or two then anything is possible from that point on.

 

[Ducksgo*]

So do we see more time with Etem? I would like to, where's everyone's head at? Kid has speed and played a very good game for us tonight

 

[bumperkisser]

So do we see more time with Etem? I would like to, where's everyone's head at? Kid has speed and played a very good game for us tonight

that "first rounder" line was good. palmieri was the worst on that line. sad to see because he started off the year decent, but hes really been unimpressive lately..
perry needs to get his **** together, he made some weak soft plays out there
selanne was rough but he at least picked it up towards the latter half

our second looked the best its been so far this season. not great but definitely pretty good.
3rd line was great
1st line i thought was good too... if perry can wake up that line will actually be pretty dominatn
4th line was good too, palmeiri wasn't very good though

our d was solid. really enjoyed souray tonight and obvs fowler was good

our frigin PP.. we really need to fix this.. can we please hire a new special teams coach. whatever hes trying to do out there DOESN'T WORK. it didnt work last season when BB had half a season and its not working now. god our PP looks atrocious..

 

[kicken]

Hiller is not good enough. End of.

 

[Sean Garrity]

that "first rounder" line was good. palmieri was the worst on that line. sad to see because he started off the year decent, but hes really been unimpressive lately..
perry needs to get his **** together, he made some weak soft plays out there
selanne was rough but he at least picked it up towards the latter half

our second looked the best its been so far this season. not great but definitely pretty good.
3rd line was great
1st line i thought was good too... if perry can wake up that line will actually be pretty dominatn
4th line was good too, palmeiri wasn't very good though

our d was solid. really enjoyed souray tonight and obvs fowler was good

our frigin PP.. we really need to fix this.. can we please hire a new special teams coach. whatever hes trying to do out there DOESN'T WORK. it didnt work last season when BB had half a season and its not working now. god our PP looks atrocious..

Someone can correct me if I am mistaken, but when BB took over our PP was a top 10 unit with Fowler and Vis at the point Getzlaf on the half wall, Selanne on the other and Perry in front. Now, and even last year, it seems BB wants Getzlaf to be the trigger man almost. I'd prefer to play Souray at the point, Fowler and Getzlaf roam, Selanne on his same half board, and Perry still in front of the net. By no means am I a hockey guru nor will i claim I know more than the coaches, but there is no excuse for a team with this much talent to have a piss poor PP.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

This game was reminiscent of some of the last season games during the "surge". Play hard, outplay the opposition most of the time, sucky PP and no primary scoring.

Getzlaf was pretty good once again, on both ends of the ice. Beleskey shouldn't be on PP, ever.

 

[Theridion]

My Review

Game was great. Entertaining. Ducks outplayed SJ for most parts of the game.

I know there's a knock against the PP and PK units, we're goina need a stretch of successful PK's and a hot PP in order to get the focus away from special teams.

but 5 on 5? This team was rolling lines over the boards. And they were taking to a very hot SJ team.

Yeah, some success on the PP or a ref's skate might have gotten in the way of a win, but if the Ducks play that kinda game from here on out, there's no doubt they make the playoffs and can be successful.

The defending wasn't perfect, but it was pretty effective. SJ has a lot of talent, and even in a game that was very open at times, the Ducks D did a pretty good job of keeping SJ in the corners... None of that Sedin cross ice passing in front of the net junk and Anaheim defenders are scrambling to dive into passing lanes... Defenders skated and pinned people against the boards.

I don't think I've seen as much stickwork from our forwards coming back and defenders in a game in a long time. They were pressuring SJ players even before they received their passes. Maybe SJ decided they were going to avoid dumping the puck in and fighting for it at all costs, but the Ducks were able to really break up a lot of plays as SJ entered the zone.

They were on top of their game. They hit some posts, they missed a LOT of rebounds... They missed chances, and they had more chances than SJ. And they had better chances than SJ. You replay that game 100 times and the Ducks probably score a few more times and maybe SJ's weak goals don't go in.

Lord Flashheart said, "This game was reminiscent of some of the last season games during the "surge". Play hard, outplay the opposition most of the time, sucky PP and no primary scoring."

I couldn't disagree more.

The Ducks turned it on this game, especially when SJ put pressure on the Ducks. The Ducks stepped up and responded when SJ stepped up their game. SJ then relaxed at times and the Ducks kept going, seemingly encouraged by their opponent stepping down.

In previous seasons, when the Ducks would push with no reward, it tended to be against apathetic teams who were looking to give the Ducks a win and the Ducks couldn't even take it.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Still mad at the game. Our goalie has got to make that save!

 

[Fighter]

Bad way to lose a great game.

I take the point, must say despite the SO loss I've been impressed with this team. GO DUCKS!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I couldn't disagree more.

The Ducks turned it on this game, especially when SJ put pressure on the Ducks. The Ducks stepped up and responded when SJ stepped up their game. SJ then relaxed at times and the Ducks kept going, seemingly encouraged by their opponent stepping down.

In previous seasons, when the Ducks would push with no reward, it tended to be against apathetic teams who were looking to give the Ducks a win and the Ducks couldn't even take it.

That's fine. But I did type "last season", as in singular not plural.

Nevertheless, this is the type of game I was referring to.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I think some of our fans are taking it for granted from the old days. We have lost almost all the players and coahes from that era, and we are far from being the dominant playoff team, that only needs to get in to be succesfull imo. Hell, we don`t even know it, because we simple can`t get to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that ''playoff team'' tag went to the other socal team

We have a good 1st line that can dominate a game, a 2nd line that could get hot but they have also played well defensively, and a 3rd line that is always on the right side of the puck and work well together. The 4th line will only be better by the end of the season as long as were going to build it around young kids.


Anyway i was sayin if we get into the playoffs were not an ideal first round matchup didnt say anything about dominating a playoff series. Especially vs a team like the sharks who have that monkey on their back, and the lil thing going against them can get them off thier game.

 

[Duck Off]

What? Teemu made some good plays. He wasn't as bad as Perry (he picked it up at the very end) and Allen.

When I heard of the Allen signing I thought he'd be a darkhorse for signing of the year. That he'd be a defensive specialist the way Lydman was when we first signed him. Maybe it was the lockout but he hasn't been that guy at all. He can't make or receive passes, for every correct poke check he makes, he makes a big blunder. Not a fan of his at all so far. Souray looked good tonight I thought. Allen? Not so much.

I just disagree. Selanne looks terrible at ES this year. He loses every battle along the boards and aside from the shift where he hit the post, he wasn't dangerous at all. Ryan is at least hitting and playing solid defensively.

I don't think Allen is that bad. He's been somewhat of a disappointment but not awful. He and Souray have been similar this year. I just wish only one of them would have been signed and we used the others money to address one of two holes in the top six.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Allen is fine til he has to make decisions with the puck.
Souray OTOH played a very good game last night he made a bunch of good defensive plays

 

[Exit Dose]

Allen is fine til he has to make decisions with the puck.
Souray OTOH played a very good game last night he made a bunch of good defensive plays

Or till a forward forces him into a footrace. I think he's a better defenseman than people give him credit for, but I still think he's a poor fit for Fowler.

 

[quentez]

Time to switch the shootout-takers. Let Koivu and Ryan at least give it a try. Perhaps even Rakell and Palmieri as well.

And about Allen. The first few games I saw him play I couldn't really see him justify being paid three times as much as Brookbank.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Am i the only one that hates shootouts, penalty shots used to be super exciting because they were rare, but they killed that.

Id rather see 10 mins of 4 v 4, overtime is usually the most exciting period of the games right now... then the shoot out comes and kills it. Yesterdays games overtime was so exciting, just extend it forget the shootout.

I wouldnt mind 5 4v4 then 5 3v3, could you imagine the excitement in 3 v 3.

 

[DarthYenik]

Am i the only one that hates shootouts, penalty shots used to be super exciting because they were rare, but they killed that.

Id rather see 10 mins of 4 v 4, overtime is usually the most exciting period of the games right now... then the shoot out comes and kills it. Yesterdays games overtime was so exciting, just extend it forget the shootout.

I wouldnt mind 5 4v4 then 5 3v3, could you imagine the excitement in 3 v 3.

Every real hockey fan hates the shootout. I'd rather see, like you said, more OT. But I wouldn't mind that if it's a tie, both teams either get no points or just a point each. A shootout is just cheap.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Every real hockey fan hates the shootout. I'd rather see, like you said, more OT. But I wouldn't mind that if it's a tie, both teams either get no points or just a point each. A shootout is just cheap.

I dont like ties either... i want an atmosphere where teams are playing for the win.

 

[Quack Shot]

I would hate a tie, I don't mind having a shootout, OT should be longer though. In 50 years shootouts will be part of the game and no one will hate them anymore.

 

[bumperkisser]

the 10 minute 4v4 or a 5 and a 5 3v3 would be somethin gi'd definitely back.
if i had a choice i'd rather pick the 10 minute 4v4 than the split. just because I feel like 4v4 theres enough ice surface and its still very much a team game.

looking forward to our next game at home
Hiller was pretty good last game despite that 1 boo-boo.. he made some great saves in OT and was quite solid throughout the entire game. it sucks that he let that one in but o well...

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Every real hockey fan hates the shootout. I'd rather see, like you said, more OT. But I wouldn't mind that if it's a tie, both teams either get no points or just a point each. A shootout is just cheap.

I'm a real hockey fan. I love the shootout.

 

[12ozPapa]

Hate the shootout. OT, ties, etc. that was all just fine. Shootout should be in the All-Star game and that's it. It's a gimmick.

 

[caliamad]

My Assessment of the game:

We dominated 5 on 5... except when the Thornton line was out there and then we seem to back off / play scared... probably because of the 1st goal...

We dominated ... because Sharks were playing without their top 2 defenseman (Boyle and Burns)... i mean that can't be overstated

We dominated ... because the refs gave us a lot of pansy calls. This really seem to affect both teams in opposite directions... sharks were on their heals most of the 2nd period because of this

What I like:

How we battled, after they scored both times, we didn't give fold tent or have many bad shifts, we really came back at them, especially in overtime.

The defensive coverage except on the first goal. Not only did we keep shots down but we kept opportunities down.

PK seemed a lot better. I'm worried we are overusing Perry and Getzlaf though... I would prefer we use them only in the 3rd period and only on the 2nd half of the power play.

Etem and Rakell they look like NHL players. They got trapped one shift in the 3rd period but they didn't panic. I think the trio of Palmieri Etem and Palmieri lacks size though.

Belesky on the first line. I thought he did well all game

What I didn't like:

Hiller on that 2nd goal - he has to make that save. He had traffic but that was a weak goal and on a night he had plenty of defensive help.

Not taking the puck to the net enough... too much perimeter play for me.

Bonino - He improved but not enough for me to consider him worthy of playing between Selanne and Ryan. He's not bad defensively but they need more spark on O. Someone with a bit more size and willingness to crash the net would be nice.


The officiating this game. Some may argue it was in favor of the ducks, but I had the pansy calls in the 2nd and then several no calls in the 3rd. Officiating like that is a joke and should be reviewed out of the game.