Post-Game Talk: Orange County Duck, Freshly Choked, Foie Gras Available

[Lord Flashheart]

So with the perspective of time, which team would you say played better in each game? Basically, who "deserved" to win each game?

The reason I ask is because I think a lot of us have this "we should have won in 4/5, but then they choked" impression. But now look at each game and see who actually played better? For example I think we should have won in 5 (lost game 4), but then that's only because we actually won game 5. In truth, I think game 5 was pretty even.

G1: Anaheim>>Chicago
G2: Anaheim>Chicago
G3: Anaheim>Chicago
G4: Anaheim<Chicago
G5: Anaheim=Chicago
G6: Anaheim<<Chicago
G7: Anaheim<<Chicago

So I guess by that count, the right team won the series.

Game 6 I don't agree with, it was a good road game by Ducks, with the exception of those 10 minutes. At worst it was a "=".

 

[DucksFanDFW]

The Blues were the Sharks well before the Sharks were the Sharks.

So, orange isn't the new teal, it's the new blue?

 

[Arthuros]

So, orange isn't the new teal, it's the new blue?

Well, orange is probably the new black.

You know, like where our resident vampire was traded from.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

our vampire >> calgary's werewolf

 

[Mortal Wombat]

Unfortunately for me, I missed the last four games entirely. I don't want to make you guys relive the loss but I would appreciate it if someone took the time to answer these two questions.

1. How was game 7 effort-wise? As in compared to last year. Were the guys "crapping their pants" and afraid to make plays in order to avoid mistakes or were they simply outplayed? Or unlucky?

2. What happened to Andersen (the last 4 games)? Do his numbers tell the truth or did he have to make a bunch of big saves? I guess what I'm trying to ask is that apart from the goals, did he look shaky or confident? Four bad games in a row to end the season would not look too good going forward (thinking about future playoffs).

Also, big thanks to CI for his efforts with the GDTs! They were all beautiful!

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

So the theme from twitter seems to be, season ended too early but we learned a lot.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

So the theme from twitter seems to be, season ended too early but we learned a lot.

So the same theme from the last 3 seasons?

 

[Fighter]

1. How was game 7 effort-wise? As in compared to last year. Were the guys "crapping their pants" and afraid to make plays in order to avoid mistakes or were they simply outplayed? Or unlucky?

The game was exactly like last year's, they started playing when down four goals. IMO our big players were not afraid to make plays or tried to avoid mistakes, they simply played like it was a regular season match and not the game of their life. The effort was shameful until it was way too late.

2. What happened to Andersen (the last 4 games)? Do his numbers tell the truth or did he have to make a bunch of big saves? I guess what I'm trying to ask is that apart from the goals, did he look shaky or confident? Four bad games in a row to end the season would not look too good going forward (thinking about future playoffs).

He was not good, but I also think that the team in front of him didn't help him either. In game 7 I couldn't count how many 2 on 1, breakaways and such were given to the Hawks. When it counted the Hawks were the superior team and they won, I don't blame Freddie much for the outcome of the series, if anything our coach and leaders should take much of the blame.

 

[Mortal Wombat]

The game was exactly like last year's, they started playing when down four goals. IMO our big players were not afraid to make plays or tried to avoid mistakes, they simply played like it was a regular season match and not the game of their life. The effort was shameful until it was way too late.



He was not good, but I also think that the team in front of him didn't help him either. In game 7 I couldn't count how many 2 on 1, breakaways and such were given to the Hawks. When it counted the Hawks were the superior team and they won, I don't blame Freddie much for the outcome of the series, if anything our coach and leaders should take much of the blame.

Thank you, this is what I wanted to know. Sounds like Chicago was very good and managed to stifle our offense. It would be nice to see a healthy Getzlaf in the playoffs for once. He's not the fastest guy to begin with so the sports hernia must have been really frustrating for him. And of course our young defensemen need to keep improving.

 

[mmbt]

He was not good, but I also think that the team in front of him didn't help him either. In game 7 I couldn't count how many 2 on 1, breakaways and such were given to the Hawks. When it counted the Hawks were the superior team and they won, I don't blame Freddie much for the outcome of the series, if anything our coach and leaders should take much of the blame.

Maybe not blaming him necessarily, but he sure wasn't making the kind of saves a Cup-winning goalie does. Crawford definitely came up with more clutch saves over the course of the series, and that's usually enough to change the outcome of at least a game or two. It wasn't a Cloutier-like meltdown, but I sure doubt any neutral fans saw that series and thought, "we could win a Cup with that Anderson [sic] guy."

And I wonder how much of the team's tentative play in games 6 and 7 had to do with Freddie ... many a team has become afraid to make a mistake once they lose faith in their goaltending. Whereas a team that has absolute confidence in their netminder is far less likely to suffer from such a loss of mental edge.

 

[Duck Off]

The game was exactly like last year's, they started playing when down four goals. IMO our big players were not afraid to make plays or tried to avoid mistakes, they simply played like it was a regular season match and not the game of their life. The effort was shameful until it was way too late.



He was not good, but I also think that the team in front of him didn't help him either. In game 7 I couldn't count how many 2 on 1, breakaways and such were given to the Hawks. When it counted the Hawks were the superior team and they won, I don't blame Freddie much for the outcome of the series, if anything our coach and leaders should take much of the blame.

I think Freddie deserves much more blame than you're saying. He was average to poor for games 5, 6, and 7. No, it's not all on him, but when you're goalie gets outplayed, you're rarely going to win.

I can't believe how awful Freddie is in breakaway situations. He also played way too deep in his crease for the latter part of this series. Not sure if that was fatigue or nerves, but there were several goals that could have probably been stopped with decent positioning.

 

[caliamad]

We got a little unlucky in overtime early in the series, but Chicago was the team with more poise, energy, and their experience showed in the last 3 games.

We may not like it, but they were the better team. We didn't have that killer instinct and they did.

Tough part is you really can't blame one player, at least fairly. Freddie wasn't amazing and Rakell's line was taken advantage off. Perry/Getzlaf were awful and it looked like Kesler and Beuchemin ran out of gas.

I still don't know how he did it, but Toewes was a difference maker and Keith is a cyborg. Saad was also huge. We just didn't have anyone to match that.

 

[Ducks in a row]

We got a little unlucky in overtime early in the series, but Chicago was the team with more poise, energy, and their experience showed in the last 3 games.

We may not like it, but they were the better team. We didn't have that killer instinct and they did.

Tough part is you really can't blame one player, at least fairly. Freddie wasn't amazing and Rakell's line was taken advantage off. Perry/Getzlaf were awful and it looked like Kesler and Beuchemin ran out of gas.

I still don't know how he did it, but Toewes was a difference maker and Keith is a cyborg. Saad was also huge. We just didn't have anyone to match that.

This is a constant problem against good teams we have had in the playoffs the last 3 years and I hope things will change but until they do will always have doubt.

 

[KingJoffrey]

I think Freddie deserves much more blame than you're saying. He was average to poor for games 5, 6, and 7. No, it's not all on him, but when you're goalie gets outplayed, you're rarely going to win.

Andersen wasn't good in those last games, but after re-watching games I saw how well our D played in first four games. Hawks didn't generate much offence in those games. But in game 6 and 7 Hawks they had free run to our net. They had more scoring chances in those last two games than in first four games combine.

 

[Opak]

We got a little unlucky in overtime early in the series, but Chicago was the team with more poise, energy, and their experience showed in the last 3 games.

We may not like it, but they were the better team. We didn't have that killer instinct and they did.

Tough part is you really can't blame one player, at least fairly. Freddie wasn't amazing and Rakell's line was taken advantage off. Perry/Getzlaf were awful and it looked like Kesler and Beuchemin ran out of gas.

I still don't know how he did it, but Toewes was a difference maker and Keith is a cyborg. Saad was also huge. We just didn't have anyone to match that.

Toews didn't do much when he had to play against Kesler. In the Ducks series, Quenneville pulled Toews immediately after Kesler got on the ice and put him on the ice against Getz. We all know how that worked out for Chicago.

Quenneville did the exact same thing with Kane against Tampa. Apparently Q pulled Kane as soon as Hedman got on the ice, which allowed Kane to get away from him. Later Kane set up Keith for the game 6 goal. We all know how that worked out for Chicago.

Some coaches just know how to use matchups to their advantage and some don't. That's why we lost and Chicago won.