Almost every hockey fan has seen a seriously bad call made by the officiators but this one is probably the worst I’ve seen in a long time.
The Detroit Red Wings were looking for a game-tying goal and they got it.  The only problem was that it was deemed a non-goal and I can’t understand how anyone could make this call.  It’s clearly in the net, fricking Alex Auld has to scoop in and dig it out and they still claim it wasn’t conclusive?  It’s pretty obvious that it was a goal but the Red Wings ended up losing 3-1 and …read more

Jean-Sebastien Giguere has recovered from the groin pull he suffered late last month and, while he recuperated, Jonas Hiller started the last six games but, unlike Carey Price, Giguere has made it very clear that he wants his #1 spot back and he’d go to extreme measures to avoid being anyone’s backup.

“I’d rather retire than be a backup goalie,” Giguere said. “Something needs to happen. You get a guy like (Hiller) that’s going to be a free agent at the end of the year and myself, making the money I’m making, either I’m leaving or he’s leaving.  I want to …read more

The Anaheim Ducks have dropped Kyle Calder and Jassen Cullimore from their roster and while it’s unfortunate, it’s hardly surprising. 
Calder is 36 years old and I hate to say it but he might be done.  He has spent nine years in the NHL and while that is nowhere near as long as some other players’ careers, it feels like he’s just run out of steam.  He’s a hard worker sometimes he’s really on his game but I consider this situation as being similar, in a way (obviously not the same, though) as the one with Theoren Fleury.  Sure, …read more

After a disappointing record last season (one win in seven games and a 4.35 GAA), goaltender, Justin Pogge, has been sent to the Anaheim Ducks and, in exchange, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a conditional draft pick in 2011.

Bah.  Kinda saw this one coming when they signed Jonas Gustavsson, right?
This is one of those deals that I really barely care about at this point.  The truth is that I believed that Pogge could develop into a pretty decent goalie but Toronto hasn’t been a great place for a developing netminder.  It’s interesting that he was with the Toronto Marlies …read more

James Wisniewski accepted a one-year deal (no salary details were made public) with the Anaheim Ducks.  He began the 2008-2009 season with the Chicago Blackhawks but finished with Anaheim.  In total, he dressed for 48 games and had 30 penalty minutes.

I don’t know if it can be attributed to his addition to their lineup but they they had a 11-5-1 record for those last 17 games of the season.  It sounds like GM Bob Murray is giving him some credit for it, though.  Of the deal he said: “James Wisniewski was a big part of our team’s turnaround last season.  …read more

After much speculation, it’s being reported that veteran defenceman, Scott Niedermayer, will be staying with the Anaheim Ducks after he was offered a one-year contract worth $6 million. 
Many people were wondering if he would retire after this past season but, clearly, he has decided to return to the NHL.  He had a decent season in 2008-2009 scoring 14 goals and amassing 59 points. 
I personally think he’s great in the Ducks lineup but I also think that he’s accomplished enough to warrant retirement.  He’s one the Stanley Cup four times and he’s won both the Norris and the Conn …read more

The Anaheim Ducks are not giving up and they proved that last night as they faced elimination in Game 6 against the Detroit Red Wings.  Both teams were physical (which you really don’t see too often from the Red Wings) and you could tell that this was an intensely played game.

The game remained scoreless through the first period and then the Ducks scored on a power-play in the second and the entire feel of the match changed.  By the end of the second, they had a 2-0 lead (that second goal by Perry was downright insane).  Johan Franzen scored the …read more

The Detroit Red Wings can thank Johan Franzen and Marion Hossa for being a huge part of their huge 6-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks last night.  The Western Conference semifinal series is now tied at two games each.
Franzen led the Wings to an early lead by scoring two goals in the first period while Hossa scored twice in just over three minutes to break the 2-2 tie and put Detroit up by one.  Franzen added an assist on Hossa’s first goal.
The game marked the first time that we saw a crack in Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller’s pristine veneer.  …read more

It was another intense game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings but it was the Ducks that emerged victorious at home, in the Honda Center, last night.  As has been the case in the postseason, goaltender Jonas Hiller, came up huge for his team and made 45 saves (18 in the third period alone!)

The whole game was hard-fought but I honestly thought that the Ducks would either fall to the Red Wings or things would be decided in overtime again when I saw the intensity Detroit brought to the third period.
It was close, actually, since a goal …read more

The Anaheim Ducks had to remain focused on the game after watching defenceman, James Wisniewski, taken off the ice on a stretcher.  He was injured when he was his in the head by the elbow of Detroit Red Wings forward, Tomas Holmstrom. 
I’m not exactly sure what the nature of the injury truly is, to be honest, since when I was watching the game, the commentators blamed it on him getting hit in the chest with the puck (it looked that way to me too, initially).  Apparently, he was actually hurt when Holmstrom skated by and delivered the elbow shot …read more