GDT: G1 Ducks @ Sharks | 7:30 Pac

[Deuce22]

It was the first game...... no doubt in my mind Cam will be our #2 once settled in.

Lindholm and Manson were already better, and if Montour is allowed to play his game he will blow by Cam as well.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

K finished watching the game.... not the prettiest game but at least the powerplay clicked a bit.

Rakell is amazing... and with our injuries the coaching staff seems to give him even more free range. If our powerplay can be solid... I think Rakell will have 85-90 points this year.
Silfverberg showed a lot more ability than just a defensive/shooting winger... he was a good puck distributor... again with the injuries/hold out Silf will be relied on... and I wont be shocked if he starts showing more to his offensive game... would be cool to see him break out a little bit.
Comtois- Great 1st game, didn't really look out of place out there... kinda looks like what I think a lot of us hoped Ritchie could be when he was drafted/brought up... obviously still a lot to learn/grow but he set the bar for himself pretty high.

Steel- I don't like the line he was on in general... steel is a high iq player in the offensive zone... give him some players with offensive talent and youll see the better/best steel... Aberg/cogliano arnt going to bring out his best, but maybe RC threw cogliano on his wing to allow him to play comfortable in his 1st game... center is a tough position for a young guy. He wasn't awful/good... pretty unnoticeable but im hoping they give him kase/silf/rakell/comtois at some point.
Henrique had a steady game... been a great add since the day we got him... seems to always be engaged/working hard.
Montour is going to have a monster season
Lindholm was pretty consistent as always, never flashy but always can count on him to make the right play
Gibson.... I really think hell get the vezina this year... He is a top 3 goalie in the league no doubt.

Didn't notice Terry/Sheerwood/streets/Aberg/cogliano all that much.

Fowler was complete garbage.... couldn't tell who was worse Burns or him.... that might have been fowlers worst game as a duck.

But it was game 1, so a lot can change... I expect fowler to bounce back... and I expect guys like Terry/Steel/Lundestrom/SHeerwood to be a little more comfortable in the up coming games and see a bit more from them.

Hopefully the powerplay can continue to click, I liked what I saw from it today.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I would imagine Lundestrom will draw in to replace Steel next game?

I freely admit that the 4th line was better than I expected to be.

Idk if I I agree with every other game... I think maybe you let steel play 2 or 3... not sure its good for a young players mentality to be swapped out every other game. Plus how do they build chemistry/consistency

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I am excited to see what lundestrom can bring to the table tho

 

[bsu]

K finished watching the game.... not the prettiest game but at least the powerplay clicked a bit.

Rakell is amazing... and with our injuries the coaching staff seems to give him even more free range. If our powerplay can be solid... I think Rakell will have 85-90 points this year.
Silfverberg showed a lot more ability than just a defensive/shooting winger... he was a good puck distributor... again with the injuries/hold out Silf will be relied on... and I wont be shocked if he starts showing more to his offensive game... would be cool to see him break out a little bit.
Comtois- Great 1st game, didn't really look out of place out there... kinda looks like what I think a lot of us hoped Ritchie could be when he was drafted/brought up... obviously still a lot to learn/grow but he set the bar for himself pretty high.

Steel- I don't like the line he was on in general... steel is a high iq player in the offensive zone... give him some players with offensive talent and youll see the better/best steel... Aberg/cogliano arnt going to bring out his best, but maybe RC threw cogliano on his wing to allow him to play comfortable in his 1st game... center is a tough position for a young guy. He wasn't awful/good... pretty unnoticeable but im hoping they give him kase/silf/rakell/comtois at some point.
Henrique had a steady game... been a great add since the day we got him... seems to always be engaged/working hard.
Montour is going to have a monster season
Lindholm was pretty consistent as always, never flashy but always can count on him to make the right play
Gibson.... I really think hell get the vezina this year... He is a top 3 goalie in the league no doubt.

Didn't notice Terry/Sheerwood/streets/Aberg/cogliano all that much.

Fowler was complete garbage.... couldn't tell who was worse Burns or him.... that might have been fowlers worst game as a duck.

But it was game 1, so a lot can change... I expect fowler to bounce back... and I expect guys like Terry/Steel/Lundestrom/SHeerwood to be a little more comfortable in the up coming games and see a bit more from them.

Hopefully the powerplay can continue to click, I liked what I saw from it today.

You didn't notice Sherwood?

 

[bsu]

Conveniently ignoring that Fowler ****ed up because he had to cover for your boy Montour's **** up.

How was this Montour f*** up? Just curious. Fowler turned it over, Montour did what he could to get the puck off the guys stick to prevent an all out 2 on 1 to help Fowler which he did, Fowler doesn't play the body at all on the boards and gets dangled then Montour is trying to prevent a cross crease pass since it's 2 on 1...

 

[ScarTroy]

You didn't notice Sherwood?

Seriously, that guy was flying out there. If he can keep this up, he's a huge addition to our bottom 6.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

How was this Montour **** up? Just curious. Fowler turned it over, Montour did what he could to get the puck off the guys stick to prevent an all out 2 on 1 to help Fowler which he did, Fowler doesn't play the body at all on the boards and gets dangled then Montour is trying to prevent a cross crease pass since it's 2 on 1...

If you're able to skew reality and believed it was Montour that made that ill-advised cross ice pass, then yeah, you can blame Montour. Also, Fowler could have done a better job "bailing out Montour" by taking the body instead of trying to be fancy with his stick. heh

 

[LuGBuG]

Lindholm and Manson were already better, and if Montour is allowed to play his game he will blow by Cam as well.

Respectfully disagree but that's my opinion

 

[HanSolo]

How was this Montour **** up? Just curious. Fowler turned it over, Montour did what he could to get the puck off the guys stick to prevent an all out 2 on 1 to help Fowler which he did, Fowler doesn't play the body at all on the boards and gets dangled then Montour is trying to prevent a cross crease pass since it's 2 on 1...

If you're able to skew reality and believed it was Montour that made that ill-advised cross ice pass, then yeah, you can blame Montour. Also, Fowler could have done a better job "bailing out Montour" by taking the body instead of trying to be fancy with his stick. heh

Yeah I'll admit that at the high speed of the play I thought Montour just got burned. That's my bad.

 

[duckaroosky]

Looks like I missed a banger last night.

 

[Reveille1984]

If you're able to skew reality and believed it was Montour that made that ill-advised cross ice pass, then yeah, you can blame Montour. Also, Fowler could have done a better job "bailing out Montour" by taking the body instead of trying to be fancy with his stick. heh

If you're expecting Fowler to ever take the body, you're going to be waiting a very long time

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

You didn't notice Sherwood?

I was in and out of the game(yankee game was main concern)... so admittly i prob missed a lot of stuff

 

[AngelDuck]

I’m amazed so many hockey fans thought Gibson was overpaid. He’s one of 5-10 players in the league that can win a game on his own.

And we get him for all his prime years

As long as he stays healthy it is not looking like we’ll miss the playoffs anytime soon.

I think I’m comfortable saying he’s taken over for Getz as the best player on the team at this point. And that’s not Getzlaf’s fault at all

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I’m amazed so many hockey fans thought Gibson was overpaid. He’s one of 5-10 players in the league that can win a game on his own.

And we get him for all his prime years

I feel like most of the mainboards havnt really watched gibson... people love to single out the injuries

 

[Deuce22]

I think we have to be encouraged but what we saw last night. Yes, we got outshot by a ton, but that's RC's way. Considering the lineup Ducks iced, I would have be overjoyed with a point, got two. Was encouraged by Rowney and Sherwood, much better than I expected. Small sample, but PP looked like it has a different vibe. Loved the PK, especially with Getzlaf not out there. Yeah, Gibson got us two points, but the rookies weren't terrible and the special teams were great.

 

[snowave]

for a first game of the season against a superior Sharks team, I was impressed. Sure, lots of mistakes and things to build on, but also lots of positives. Excited about some of the new guys, and it really didn't look like same ole same ole out there.

 

[Deuce22]

I feel like most of the mainboards havnt really watched gibson... people love to single out the injuries

If Gibson played for a Canadian team, he'd be recognized as the best young goalie in the game by the media.

 

[Reveille1984]

I’m amazed so many hockey fans thought Gibson was overpaid. He’s one of 5-10 players in the league that can win a game on his own.

And we get him for all his prime years

The only real strike against him is his injury history, but I think the main factor behind this is that he plays for the Ducks honestly and not many people get a chance to watch him. If he was on a "major market" team I think he'd get a lot more coverage. He seems to be the type that likes to fly under the radar though.

 

[LuGBuG]

My thoughts were Getzlaf looked as I expected, slow and unmotivated but I'm not worried about him he will find his game.

Rakell looked okay and I presume will continue to get better.

Terry struggled a bit but also found himself with the puck a lot. I feel like after a few more games things will really slow down for him and he will be looking great. Just needs a little more time to adjust.

Sherwood was solid

Steel I feel the same as Terry.

Comtois should be given a chance with Getzlaf and Rakell if Terry doesn't work out.

And Gibby well...... we got a W and he is why.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I’m amazed so many hockey fans thought Gibson was overpaid. He’s one of 5-10 players in the league that can win a game on his own.

And we get him for all his prime years

As long as he stays healthy it is not looking like we’ll miss the playoffs anytime soon.

I think I’m comfortable saying he’s taken over for Getz as the best player on the team at this point. And that’s not Getzlaf’s fault at all

I'm not willing to go as far as that last part. But I'll agree with the rest. I was trying this morning to think of an analog to what Gibson did last year, carry an inferior team to a superior record with outstanding but underappreciated play. My mind keeps going back to the latter Grant Fuhr years, but he was already kind of a legend by then, even though people started crapping on his numbers. Giguere's pre lockout work maybe, but that team was always competitive, just untalented. I think maybe the best comparison is like 94-97 Guy Hebert.

 

[Terry Yake]

terry really needs to hit the weight room and put on some muscle

its just too easy for guys to out-muscle him right now. if he bulks up he'll be set

 

[mightyquack]

That was an amusing NBC broadcast, all the fawning over Karlsson all night and his biggest highlights were getting put on his bum by Street and getting made to look silly by Montour. Also didn't think the game was nearly as tilted as NBC were claiming with all their but shotcount!1!1!!1 stuff felt like their shots were quite inflated with a ton of low percentage shots.

Have to say, was pleasantly surprised how Anaheim played - especially in terms of the breakout, there was a lot more speed and the least amount of sidewards passes I've seen from an RC coached team and tempo was noticeably higher but the big test for the team will be to see how they play when they face some adversity as hopefully they don't fall back into old habits like they have over the years. Gibson was pretty great, I had to laugh when McGuire constantly went on that Gibson looks calm and confident because of his new contract when Gibson was playing the exact same way last season, so much for being hockey experts.

Fowler-Manson were the worst two players on the ice for Anaheim, both were all over the place all night. Schenn I actually thought looked quite solid, given he should be in that 10-14 minute 3rd pairing range I think he might end up being a lowkey solid pickup for Anaheim as he seems a guy who knows his limitations and makes sure not to overplay it (something a certain other Anaheim #2 failed to do).

On the forwards I thought Comtois and Sherwood were the best of the new guys - I wouldn't be surprised if Comtois sticks for more than 9 games with the team his combination of size and speed is a pretty interesting proposition and if he's getting decent NHL minutes I'm not sure sending him back to juniors is the best move or at least sending him back to juniors for the vast majority of the season. Steel was pretty meh for me - he showed a couple of nice touches and obviously has great vision but unsurprisingly is quite a bit off physically to handle the NHL right now, I suspect he'll be in San Diego within a week or two. I hope Terry is told to stop trying to bring the puck inside in the defensive zone - given he is a stick figure out there and gets out-muscled easily it's way too risky. Rowney looked solid in the 4c role, but not getting my hopes up much on that front since it seemed his biggest issue was his consistency and going through stretches of looking like an NHL'er and then looking like an AHL'er but a decent enough start.

Overall a solid enough start from Anaheim and a good base to build on. Certainly hope this is the start of a 'new' Anaheim style of hockey and not a false dawn.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I’m amazed so many hockey fans thought Gibson was overpaid. He’s one of 5-10 players in the league that can win a game on his own.

And we get him for all his prime years

As long as he stays healthy it is not looking like we’ll miss the playoffs anytime soon.

I think I’m comfortable saying he’s taken over for Getz as the best player on the team at this point. And that’s not Getzlaf’s fault at all

I don’t think he is overpaid, but I do think his contract is 3 years too long. Name the last goalie who’s been good for 8 straight years, let alone the last injury prone one.

 

[mightyquack]

I don’t think he is overpaid, but I do think his contract is 3 years too long. Name the last goalie who’s been good for 8 straight years, let alone the last injury prone one.

Even if he has 1 bad year out of 8 would that suddenly make the contract bad? If you're expecting 8 straight years of good play from a goaltender then outside of some of the best goaltenders in history you'll struggle to find many who have that sort of consistency. Even the 'best' goaltenders in the current NHL (likes of Quick, Price, Rinne, Bobrovsky etc) have had a bad season here or there.

Personally I think the 8 year contract is actually less of a risk then a 5 year contract then hoping you can extend him again when he's 31 as a free agent as then you'd be looking at giving him a Price type contract which is disastrous. Despite the narrative seemingly being these days you don't 'need' an elite goaltender these days I'd much rather have one than not have one especially given Anaheim has struggled to find a consistent top level goaltending for the last decade since Jiggy declined.