GDT: Gm 54: Ducks at Blues, @ 5pm Pacific

[Hockey Duckie]

Record: 16-30-7 (39 pts), 8th in West
Last 10: 3-7-0
Streak: 1 Loss


vs

Record: 24-19-7 (55 pts), 4th in West
Last 10: 6-3-1
Streak: 1 Win

Series Record: Ducks 2, Blues 5

Gm 7: Blues 6, Ducks 1
Gm 8: Blues 4, Ducks 1
Gm 22: Blues 5, Ducks 4
Gm 23: Blues 3, Ducks 2
Gm 35: Ducks 4, Blues 1 (win)
Gm 36: Ducks 3, Blues 2 OT (win)
Gm 53: Ducks 1, Blues 3​

St Louis plans to go all out in this game. If they win, then Arizona cannot catch them as they have 50 points with three games left. The most Arizona can accumulate is 56 points. A win for the Blues gives them 57 points, eliminating Arizona, but not yet the Kings. The Kings have 46 points with six games left. If the Kings win all six games, then that's 12 points, for a total of 58 points. St. Louis is one of those six games left for the Kings. If the Blues just beat the Ducks and Kings, then they're automatically in the playoffs.

Draft Position Watch

Draft	Position	Watch	5-May
Pos	Team	GP	Wins	Losses	OTL	Pts	.	Streak	Last 10
1	Buffalo	54	15	32	7	37		W2	4.6.0
2	Anaheim	53	16	30	7	39		L1	3.7.0
3	Vancouver	47	19	25	3	41		L6	3.7.0
4	New Jersey	53	18	28	7	43		W1	4.5.1
5	Columbus	53	16	25	12	44		L2	1.5.4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Vancouver is in a downward spiral and Buffalo has improved its play. Anaheim is facing a playoff team in its final three games, who could be missing Fowler in tonight's game.

Player Spotlight: David Backes

Backes turned 37 four days ago. Tonight, he will play against the team he started off with, the St. Louis Blues. If tonight is his last game, then he's playing in a very familiar area.

David came to the Ducks via a trade deadline. Anaheim sent F Kase to Boston for F Backes, prospect RHD Andersson, and a late first round pick. That pick became RW Jacob Perreault. In Anaheim this season, Backes has played in only 14 games, potting 3 goals and an assist.

Backes is one of the stronger bottom six centers the Ducks have on the roster, but Anaheim has been in the youth transition. David doesn't say anything bad. He simply goes to work. Wished we could have played him more, but the youth movement is being pushed for the second season in a row. I hope his work ethic rubs off on the youth.

Three cheers for the old man!

...

Been busy, so this will be a quick and dirty GDT preview.

Let's go, Ducks!

Click to read more...

 

[bsu]

Pls score and then lose by 1 goal.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Salute to David Backes on one heck of a career. Still very much a useful player as a 13th forward, too, but he deserves to go out on his own terms.

Helps that even though I think they probably should have gotten one more asset (perhaps another 2nd), this looks like Bob's best work since the Bobby Ryan trade. Still a looong way to go but Perreault looks like a player and Andersson's been a nice surprise in a small sample.

 

[MCB]

Anyone know if drysdale is playing?

 

[Mr Rogers]

Anyone know if drysdale is playing?

Yes indeed

 

[MCB]

Yes indeed

Thank you

 

[Goose of Reason]

 

[bsu]

That looked soft on first view.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Veteran PP unit actually looked competent for once

 

[bsu]

Larsson been playing well

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Veteran PP unit actually looked competent for once

Our bar is so low.

 

[DigiDuck]

Hard not to like a guy like Backes. Well deserved tribute.

 

[MCB]

Ok comtois

 

[bsu]

That was the best fight Comtois ever had. He sucks ass as fighting.

 

[duckaroosky]

That was a much better fight than what's been going on in the rangers-caps game

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Good scrap. Comtois is a good fighter when he picks his battles (though I hope it’s very infrequent)

 

[bsu]

Good scrap. Comtois is a good fighter when he picks his battles (though I hope it’s very infrequent)

No he's not lol

 

[DigiDuck]

Kind of a random fight but ok. Maybe it'll light a fire under one of the teams.

 

[MCB]

It was no rangers caps game but still entertaining

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Our bar is so low.

It’s a PP QB’d by Shattenkirk, it’s a win if there’s not an odd-man rush going the other way

 

[DigiDuck]

Goddamn does Zegras have some great hands.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

No he's not lol

You beat me to the edit button.

 

[Mr Rogers]

I really didn’t see anything there

 

[bsu]

Stolarz is not good. He had a lucky game or two but yeah I don't think he is nhl quality.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Benoit/Shattenkirk pairing is having a rough period