Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

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November 18

Orange County Register

"There's no rest for the weary, especially when the weary have lost 10 of their past 13 games. Despite returning to Orange County from the East Coast at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Ducks held an early afternoon practice and went back to square one after they went 0-3-1 on a road trip. Centers Saku Koivu (groin-muscle) and Ryan Carter (foot) remain unavailable, so Coach Randy Carlyle continues to tinker with the second, third and fourth lines. His latest combination has winger Joffrey Lupul on the checking line with Todd Marchant. The two played together briefly in Monday's loss to Pittsburgh as Lupul logged a season-low 9:48 minutes of ice time. They might not be together by the time the ..."

Ducks' Calder happy to be back

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November 17

Orange County Register

"Kyle Calder trudged off the ice at Mellon Arena, plopped himself down in front of his stall and starting pulling off his gear in a routine he has repeated thousands of other times in his NHL career. But this particular day was different, and Calder knows it. After a summer in which he went unsigned and had to resort to a pro tryout to fight for a job, the 30-year-old winger is back in the league with the Ducks and was in the lineup for Monday night's 5-2 loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. "That's where I wanted to be all year," Calder said. "It's good to be back. There are long roads and long rides ahead for a lot of people. It's a tougher road, but it's good to ..."

Penguins send Ducks packing

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November 17

Orange County Register

"Minutes after speaking to his players in a closed-door meeting following a dreary 5-2 loss Monday to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle wore a look of exasperation within the bowels of ancient Mellon Arena. A winless trip that cemented their current status as the worst team in the Western Conference became the breaking point. "We're regressing right now instead of progressing," Carlyle said. "And we have to stop that. That's what I told them. I told them as a group (that) we didn't execute to an NHL level. And that we have to take the necessary steps to put in some more time and effort to improving our skills and improving our structure with our team. "And we're going to do ..."

Cooke, Penguins skate way past Ducks

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November 17

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"The Penguins beleaguered power play finally scored and a host of young defenseman acquitted themselves fairly well in a 5-2 victory over Anaheim tonight at Mellon Arena. Matt Cooke scored twice, and Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal and Martin Skoula also scored for the Penguins. Also, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury ended a personal four-game losing streak. Cooke started the scoring only 1:31 into the first period. Anaheim star Ryan Getzlaf threw a blind pass into the slot, and Cooke picked off the pass and beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the stick side with a backhand for his second goal of the season. The Penguins struck again less than four minutes later and, for the first time in 30 attempts, finally ..."

Depleted Penguins defeat Ducks, 5-2

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November 17

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Bill Guerin's contribution to the Penguins' 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks last night at Mellon Arena won't get a catchy nickname. You know, like the Gordie Howe hat trick, which consists of a goal, an assist and a fight. But it was a microcosm of the talents that have allowed him to play 1,206 games in the NHL, and figure to keep him here for a few more. "It's kind of the way I've played my whole career," he said. "I'm playing my best when I'm doing things like that." Things such as making the Penguins' first goal possible by setting an impenetrable screen that prevented Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from seeing Matt Cooke's backhander from the slot at 1:31 of the first. Like ..."

Ducks' defense takes some hits

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November 15

Orange County Register

"It was 20 minutes of hockey that Jonas Hiller wished were different, but they have been indicative of the start to his season. Hiller was peppered for four third-period goals as he failed to stem the tide Saturday night while the Ducks erased three different deficits in an eventual 7-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Afterward, Hiller was critical of the defensive effort in front of him. "We can't play against them (with) that trading-chances game," he said. "They have too many skill players. We've got to stay to our structure. We did it for a while but at the end, everybody was just trying to score and not really thinking about what they have to do defensively in playing their man. "It was ..."

Familiar result for Ducks in Detroit

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November 15

Orange County Register

"By the time Henrik Zetterberg finished off a third-period hat trick with an empty-net goal to close a wild final stanza, the Ducks left the ice wearing the same collective forlorn look as they did in last season's Western Conference semifinals. Except this latest battle against the Detroit Red Wings featured a team that is no longer near the conference's elite and merely looking to escape the bottom. Again, it was a night where the Ducks ultimately came up short as Detroit's five-goal third answered every challenge made in a 7-4 victory Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena in the first game between the teams since the Red Wings advanced with a Game 7 victory. The teams combined for eight ..."

Henrik Zetterberg's hat trick in third cooks Ducks

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November 15

Detroit Free Press

"Henrik Zetterberg's hat trick in the third period helped the Red Wings to a 7-4 win over the Ducks tonight at the Joe Louis Arena. Zetterberg's goal at 9:10 of the third looked to be the difference-maker, but Ryan Getlaf (one goal, three assists) scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 14:27 tied the game. But Zetterberg scored again at 15:29 to take the lead for good. Darren Helm added an insurance goal at 17:45. Zetterberg then scored an empty-netter at 19:59 to elicit the hat tosses from the crowd. "It was pretty crazy back and forth," said Zetterberg, who recorded his fourth NHL hat trick. "Too much back and forth. But we won the game. That was most important." The Red Wings led, 2-0, after ..."

Henrik Zetterberg's third-period hat trick lifts Red Wings

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November 15

Detroit News

"Lest there was any doubt about Henrik Zetterberg being among the ultra-elite centermen in the NHL hockey league, witness his five-point performance in leading the Red Wings to a rollicking 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. "He's playing as good as he ever has right now," Niklas Kronwall said. "Shift after shift he's out there against the other team's top line. Z just kind of took it over tonight." That he did. He scored three goals in the final 10:50 to keep the Wings on top of a wild seesaw ride in the third period. "It was just nice to get the two points," said Zetterberg, who now has eight goals and 14 assists on the season. "I had a lot of chances early. I think I ..."

Jackets climb out of their rut

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November 14

Columbus Dispatch

"Two nights after getting blown out of their own rink, the Blue Jackets played the Anaheim Ducks last night seeking redemption -- from their fans, their coaches and the hockey gods. The sloppy, halfhearted play that has pockmarked the early part of the season -- it's burned them twice already -- was mostly eliminated in a 3-2 shootout win before 15,577. Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius were the Blue Jackets' goal-scorers, in regulation and the shootout, and goaltender Mathieu Garon made 32 saves and stopped two Anaheim shootout attempts. The Blue Jackets, to the relief of many, looked nothing like the club that was blasted 9-1 by Detroit on Wednesday. "We knew that was a bizarre game for ..."

Koivu injury leavesChristensen in limbo

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November 14

Orange County Register

"Excuse Ducks forward Erik Christensen if it seems like he's checking on Saku Koivu and his strained groin muscle on an hourly basis. "I'm going to check on him at 6:30," Christensen said jokingly. It has come to that for Christensen, who was literally out of the team's plans when he was put on waivers Nov. 2. Nine days later, the five-year veteran found himself centering the second line when Koivu pulled up lame before Wednesday's loss to New Jersey. Christensen got an encore Friday night against Columbus as Koivu remains day-to-day. But while he has remained with the Ducks since he hit the waiver wire, there are no illusions that he's suddenly part of their future. "I think I'm ..."

Shorthanded Ducks play point game

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November 14

Orange County Register

"Each small step forward for the Ducks has come with so much difficulty that it wasn't surprising a 3-2 shootout loss Friday night to the Columbus Blue Jackets was met with some relief and acceptance. The Ducks, playing without injured centers Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter, essentially played with just three lines and rode their horses in order to scratch out a needed point with a game looming today against surging Detroit. "We knew we were going to be leaned on and we did a good job of staying in this hockey game," center Ryan Getzlaf said after logging more than 28 minutes. "We were right there and had our chances. Unfortnately, it didn't come out the way we wanted it to." In a start to the ..."

Koivu injury leaves Christensen in limbo

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November 14

Orange County Register

"Excuse Ducks forward Erik Christensen if it seems like he's checking on Saku Koivu and his strained groin muscle on an hourly basis. "I'm going to check on him at 6:30," Christensen said jokingly. It has come to that for Christensen, who was literally out of the team's plans when he was put on waivers Nov. 2. Nine days later, the five-year veteran found himself centering the second line when Koivu pulled up lame before Wednesday's loss to New Jersey. Christensen got an encore Friday night against Columbus as Koivu remains day-to-day. But while he has remained with the Ducks since he hit the waiver wire, there are no illusions that he's suddenly part of their future. "I think I'm ..."

Wings aren't interested in Jean-Sabastien Giguere

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November 13

Detroit News

"Media and internet rumors circulating out of the general managers' meetings in Toronto earlier this week intimated that the Anaheim Ducks are seeking trade offers for $6 million goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, now a back-up to Jonas Hiller. Whether those rumors are true doesn't matter to the Red Wings. They are not interested, either way. General manager Ken Holland, though he would not talk specifically about Giguere, said he has not talked trades and doesn't expect to talk trades with any team any time soon. The Wings, with $12 million of salary on the injured list with Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Jason Williams and Andreas Lilja -- all of whom are expected back at some point ..."

NHL reinstates Henry Samueli as owner of Ducks despite legal woes

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November 13

Los Angeles Times

"The NHL reinstated Henry Samueli as owner and governor of the Ducks on Thursday, even though he's awaiting sentencing for lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission about stock-option backdating at Broadcom Corp., the computer chip maker he co-founded. Samueli was suspended indefinitely by the NHL after he pleaded guilty to a felony in June 2008. He agreed to a plea bargain that would have spared him jail time but the deal was rejected. Samueli has petitioned the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider reinstating his plea bargain. Samueli will be sentenced after the trials of two former Broadcom executives, co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III and former chief financial officer ..."

Giguere says he wants to stay ... and be No. 1

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November 12

Orange County Register

"Fully aware of the uproar created from his outspoken frustration about his backup status, Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said he does not want a trade and only wants a chance to win back his starting job. "I want to be part of this team," Giguere said Wednesday. "I want to be a No. 1 here in Anaheim. This is the team I've been playing for the last 10 years. I absolutely love playing here. I think this team has great potential. I want to be here." Giguere said he was being sarcastic about calling it a career Monday when he told the Los Angeles Daily News that he'd rather retire than back up Jonas Hiller if he cannot regain the starting job. However, the 32-year-old veteran said he ..."

Power play failures cost Ducks

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November 12

Orange County Register

"Just when you thought it was safe to buy into the Ducks ... Any momentum created by back-to-back victories at home last week was squashed at least for now as the New Jersey Devils rode second-period goals by David Clarkson and Zach Parise to a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at Prudential Center. Little has broken in favor of the last-place Ducks (6-8-2) thus far and that didn't change as they opened a tough four-game trip against the NHL's hottest team. The Devils won their sixth in a row largely behind their suffocating penalty-killing unit. Not only did they erase all six of the Ducks' power plays but got a big insurance goal from Parise with 12.7 seconds left in the second against Jonas ..."

NJ Devils take their 8-0 road record to Pittsburgh; Patrik Elias hopes to play

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November 12

Newark Star-Ledger

"Can they keep it going on the road? Two wins short of tying the NHL record for road victories at the start of a season-- the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres set the standard-- the Devils headed for Pittsburgh and their game Thursday night at Mellon Arena. "We're not talking about standings or talking about streaks," captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. "We want to just keep moving and play our next game. It's a good atmosphere that way." Zach Parise said the Devils fear no one on the road. "We're comfortable on the road," he said. "We're confident. We know we can win." Patrik Elias was back in the lineup after missing the last game with soreness in his leg, but he didn't feel great after the Anaheim ..."

Langenbrunner, Zach Parise lead New Jersey Devils to 3-1 win over Anaheim

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November 12

New York Daily News

"Martin Brodeur liked the memories Wednesday night. Playing the Ducks, the Devils celebrated their 2003 team, which won the Stanley Cup by beating the then-named Mighty Ducks. Brodeur said seeing old teammates and reliving the memories motivates the younger Devils. Wednesday night, those younger players pushed the Devils past the Ducks. Zach Parise scored his first shorthanded goal of the season and David Clarkson scored his fifth goal of the year as the Devils extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 win over the Ducks at home. "It's a special year since we play all three teams we beat for Stanley Cups, so it's nice to celebrate them," said Brodeur, who made 31 saves. "It was ..."

Familiar face remains for Ducks' Niedermayer

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November 11

Orange County Register

"There's not a whole lot of nostalgia remaining for Scott Niedermayer when he comes to New Jersey. The Devils no longer play at Continental Airlines Arena, where Niedermayer helped the club win three Stanley Cups. Many of the faces from those glory years are gone, too, since Niedermayer left to join the Ducks in 2005. One constant, though, is New Jersey president and general manager Lou Lamoriello, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night as a builder partly for his longtime service to the Devils. "When I was there, he was the Devils," Niedermayer said. "I was very fortunate to be part of his organization because he obviously runs a good one and puts together teams that ..."

Giguere: "I'd rather retire than be a backup goalie."

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November 10

L.A. Daily News

"Ducks goaltender Jean- Sebastien Giguere was in full health Monday and will accompany the team on a four-game road trip starting Wednesday in New Jersey. But for how much longer? Now that he's recovered from the strained groin he suffered on Oct. 24, Giguere has an opportunity to wrest the No. 1 job from Jonas Hiller, who has started the last six games. If Giguere cannot regain the starting job, he said "I'd rather retire than be a backup goalie." "Something needs to happen," Giguere said. "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." Hiller, 27, is due $1.3 million in the ..."

Hard road ahead for Ducks

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November 9

Orange County Register

"The last time the Ducks were about to embark on a daunting road trip, the season had just started and the standings were not a pressing issue. One month later, they find themselves in a sizable hole as they prepare for their second big sequence away from home. After a 4-3 victory Saturday over Phoenix that closed a set of nine of 10 games at Honda Center, the Ducks were 13th in the Western Conference standings. They took Sunday off and will resume practice Monday before they leave Tuesday for a four-game trip. Those three idle days means that by the time they take the ice against New Jersey on Wednesday, they could be 14 points behind San Jose in the Pacific Division. As a team that was in ..."

Ducks continue their winning ways

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November 8

Orange County Register

"Leave it to an embarrassing game at home to snap the Ducks into shape. Not even two weeks have passed since their meltdown against bottom-feeding Toronto,but the Ducks are now enjoying the payoff for the improved play since that game as they defeated the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3, in front of 15,269 Saturday night at Honda Center. The Ducks (6-7-2) can have some peace of mind as they leave for a four-game trip to the east, although that peace was nearly eviscerated when they tried their best to blow a four-goal lead in the third period. But they survived and have won a modest three of five since that 6-3 loss to the then-winless Maple Leafs, which was their fourth consecutive defeat at home. ..."

Ducks are struggling to find their rhythm

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November 7

Los Angeles Times

"Optimism -- of the cautious variety -- could be heard in the Ducks' dressing room after practice at Anaheim Ice on Friday, the day after a 4-0 shutout of Nashville. "We're still not a winning team," said winger Bobby Ryan, who has four goals in the last five games. "That pressure is not going away until we right the ship." Teemu Selanne, the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer whose eight goals rank second on the team to Corey Perry's 10, said the Ducks' 2-1-1 record in the last four games is a start after falling into last place in the Pacific Division. "This game is all about confidence," Selanne said. "We've gotten confidence the last four games. We played pretty good. We all know we can ..."

Anaheim Ducks cruise past Nashville Predators

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November 6

Tennessean

"Shea Weber plays a key role in so many facets of the Predators' game that it's hard to figure where the team most will miss the injured defenseman. In Thursday's 4-0 loss to Anaheim, however, his absence on the power play looked particularly significant. The Predators had just started clicking with the man advantage over the past five games, posting five power-play goals, after a horrific start to the season. But with Weber - who leads the Predators in power-play ice time and power-play goals (three) - sidelined because of a foot injury, Nashville looked impotent with the man advantage against the Ducks. The Predators failed five times, and all five opportunities came with Nashville either ..."

Predators' Jordin Tootoo returns to ice

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November 6

Tennessean

"Predators forward Jordin Tootoo made his season debut during Thursday's 4-0 loss to Anaheim. He looked as energetic and as irritating as usual, hammering Anaheim's Ryan Carter with a good open-ice hit in the first period and drawing a Ducks' retaliation penalty afterward. But Tootoo also took a penalty that led to Anaheim's first goal. He was called for slashing goalie Jonas Hiller's pads after Hiller made a save on one of Tootoo's four shots. The Predators killed off Tootoo's penalty but were still down a man four seconds later when the Ducks scored the game's first goal. Tootoo hadn't quite been able to make it back into the play when the goal was scored. "I felt pretty good,'' said ..."

Predators, without top two scorers, held scoreless at Anaheim

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November 6

Nashville City Paper

"The Nashville Predators allowed two four-on-four goals 1:46 apart in the third period and lost 4-0 to the Ducks in Anaheim on Thursday. The defeat came in the first of a four-game road trip and snapped the Predators' three-game win streak. It was the fourth time in 14 games Nashville (6-7-1) has been held without a goal. The Predators played without their top two scorers, forward J.P. Dumont and defenseman Shea Weber, both of whom were injured. They did, however, have Jason Arnott and Jordin Tootoo, who had missed seven and 13 games, respectively, with injuries. Anaheim's Teemu Selanne scored his second goal of the night at 8:05 of the third period, 13 seconds after Nashville's Joel Ward ..."

Ducks prey on Predators

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November 6

L.A. Daily News

"Against an offensively toothless Nashville Predators squad, a 4-0 victory Thursday was the reasonable, expected result for the Ducks. Not to mention a welcome result. "I'm going to savor a win here," head coach Randy Carlyle said, "because it's been kind of tough." The Ducks (5-7-2) had lost six of their previous seven before Thursday, when Teemu Selanne scored twice, Todd Marchant and Bobby Ryan tacked on two more, and Jonas Hiller logged his fifth career shutout before 14,298 at Honda Center. The 40-save effort was Hiller's first shutout of the season - but the fourth time Nashville has been blanked in 14 games. "I gave up a couple of rebounds, but our defensemen were doing a great job ..."

Hiller shuts out Predators

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November 6

Los Angeles Times

"Jonas Hiller has taken some shots this season behind a revamped Ducks defense that has given up more than its share. But Hiller stopped everything he faced Thursday, making 40 saves in a 4-0 victory over Nashville at the Honda Center for his first shutout of the season and fifth of his career. Teemu Selanne scored two goals -- both assisted by Saku Koivu -- and Todd Marchant and Bobby Ryan added the others. It looked like a laugher in the end, but the Ducks were clinging to a 1-0 lead much of the game before they broke through for three goals in the third."

Ducks can't match depleted Penguins

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November 4

Orange County Register

"Back when they were among the NHL's elite, the Ducks seemingly got contributions from everyone in their lineup and did all the right things at the right time. On a frustrating Tuesday night, they got a first-hand look at a reigning Stanley Cup champion doing what it took to win. Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar weren't in the Pittsburgh lineup because of injuries and Sidney Crosby didn't have a point but the Penguins showed that they are far more than their stars in scratching out a hard-fought 4-3 victory before 16,128 at Honda Center. Pascal Dupuis' goal at the 9:13 mark of the third – which capped a three-goal flurry by both teams in a 78-second span – decided the game but some clutch ..."

Ducks can't hang on against Pittsburgh

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November 4

L.A. Daily News

"That the struggling Ducks lost to the defending Stanley Cup champions Tuesday should come as little surprise. Here's the stunner: The difference in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-3 win at Honda Center was a pair of goal-line saves late in the third period - one by Sidney Crosby. Corey Perry scored the 100 th and 101 st goals of his career, and Saku Koivu added another for the Ducks, but a pair of pucks that somehow didn't cross the goal line were the lasting memories for 16,128 at Honda Center. Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury probably thought he had made the save of the game with 5:40 to play. His body shifted right, while his glove reached left, to snag a close-range shot by Saku ..."

Crosby save seals deal in victory for Penguins

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November 4

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"Proud papa Troy Crosby had an obstructed view of his son's sinister save late in the third period Tuesday night to help the Penguins preserve a 4-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. "I never got to see it," Troy Crosby said of the leg-stack save that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made in the crease on a shot from Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer with only a few minutes remaining. "If that was me, though, it would have gone through my pads." Well, it stopped at Sidney Crosby, who, as a center, doesn't don goalie leg pads like his father once dreamed of doing in the NHL, and, thus, the Penguins (12-3-0, 24 points) can continue to call themselves the NHL's undisputed ..."

Ducks' Wisniewski suspended two games

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November 3

Orange County Register

"Defenseman James Wisniewski was suspended two games for his hit on Phoenix captain Shane Doan, the NHL announced Monday. Wisniewski will sit out tonight's game against Pittsburgh and Thursday's game against Nashville. He will be eligible to return Saturday against the same Phoenix Coyotes team that was involved in last Saturday's incident. Wisniewski hit Doan high with a forearm in the first period. Doan fell to the ice and stumbled trying to get up but only missed one shift. Referees Paul Devorski and Stephen Walkom did not call a penalty on the play, but the NHL can hand out supplemental discipline in the form of suspension or a fine. The league ruled that Wisniewski was suspended "for ..."

Ducks' Wisniewski suspended for two games

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November 2

NHL.com

"Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski has been suspended for two games, without pay, for delivering a forearm blow to the head of Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan on Oct. 31, the National Hockey League announced on Monday. The Ducks lost the game, 3-2 in a shootout at Jobing.com Arena. The incident occurred at 7:12 of the first period. No penalty was assessed on the play."

Ducks fall to Coyotes in shootout

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November 1

Orange County Register

"Having had plenty of recent experience feeling lousy after a loss, the Ducks were at peace Saturday night as they left the ice following a 3-2 shootout defeat to the Phoenix Coyotes. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle was rather upbeat and somewhat more satisfied with this result than the team's 7-2 rout of Vancouver on Friday, which ended a four-game losing streak. "We played better tonight than we did last night from a coaching standpoint," Carlyle said. "We did more of the little things that we need to do more consistently. And we did them tonight. "You could tell that our confidence level was much higher than it has been." Radim Vrbata delivered the only goal in the shootout as he got a ..."

Coyotes win chippy affair vs. Ducks

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November 1

Arizona Republic

"At times it was like a brawl on an icy street. Other times it was . . . well, kind of the same thing. Pack mentality evolved into pack hostility. In a game that turned ugly early when Shane Doan was decked by a high hit and got uglier, Radim Vrbata scored the only goal in a shootout, giving the Coyotes a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night in front of 6,495 at Jobing.com Arena. "I thought early on we were very good in the game, and the hit on Shane kind of tweaks your team," coach Dave Tippett said. "Shane's our captain, our guy that's our leader out there, and he takes a hard hit. I thought it affected our team a little bit and rightly so. "They want to avenge that hit. ..."

Canucks collapse as Ducks win 7-2

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October 31

Vancouver Province

"Here's the good news: The number of goals the Canucks gave up was fewer than the number of defencemen they dressed. But it was close. With eight defencemen, the Canucks were determined to keep a struggling Ducks team down and off the scoreboard. Instead, Anaheim exploded for a 7-2 win. Guess the Canucks will try dressing 12 defencemen Sunday when they face Colorado, one of the hottest teams in hockey. The Canucks had energy, heart and displayed effort Friday. They pushed the puck, controlled the play and had the lead. It was as surprising as it was brief. The Canucks, with a bizarre, injury-depleted lineup, jumped out to a 2-0 lead but then collapsed faster than the Balloon Boy story. ..."

Canucks drown in the Pond

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October 31

Vancouver Sun

"Scary stuff. No, not Halloween, the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night. The Canucks dressed up as a NHL team at the Honda Center, but didn't fool anyone. Especially the Anaheim Ducks, who snapped a four-game losing streak with a lopsided 7-2 win over Vancouver. With goalie Roberto Luongo and six forwards out, for the second night in a row coach Alain Vigneault loaded up on defence. It worked Thursday night in Los Angeles, when Vigneault used defenceman Aaron Rome as a forward. Friday night, he went one better with his 3-D lineup, adding defenceman Mathieu Schneider to the forward mix. Lightning most definitely did not strike twice. The Canucks scored the game's first two goals, but then ..."

Ducks struggle with identity crisis

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October 29

L.A. Daily News

"Is it the practices? With their losing streak up to four games and getting uglier, that was one question tossed about after the Ducks practiced Wednesday following a day away from the rink. "We've practiced many different ways this year. We've had up-tempo, we've had down-tempo," left wing Bobby Ryan said. "Those things have translated a bit, but I think it's a matter of the guys in the locker room being ready to go for 60 minutes." Wednesday's was a little bit of first and fourth gears. Head coach Randy Carlyle spent much of the early part teaching 5-on-5 technique in the offensive/defensive zones, and much of the latter part was watching the players sprint. It wasn't punishment for ..."

Ducks help Maple Leafs end their winless streak

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October 27

Orange County Register

"Just how low can a hockey team go? If you are the Ducks, you hope you've hit rock bottom after an embarrassing 6-3 loss to the sad-sack Toronto Maple Leafs, who came into Honda Center the NHL's only remaining winless team Monday night. If this isn't as low as it gets, then it could be a long season for a team that envisioned itself as one that could get back among the Western Conference's elite and challenge San Jose for the Pacific Division. Instead, the Ducks are an unqualified mess at the moment. "It was an ugly game," said goalie Jonas Hiller, who made 33 saves in a shaky outing. "Two teams playing the worst in the league right now. We never thought we would be in that situation but we ..."

Ducks GM likes Burke's game plan

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October 27

Toronto Sun

""Crappy." That's how Bob Murray describes how the Anaheim Ducks played during the first few months of the Brian Burke era in southern California. It was the 2005-06 season and the Ducks came out of the gates limping, much in the same manner that the Maple Leafs have kicked off the 2009-10 campaign. "No one really remembers how much we struggled," said Murray, who took over from Burke as Ducks GM last season. "We really had a tough time coming out of the gate. "People forget about that. They forget success didn't come overnight in Anaheim. Come Christmas, we were doing pretty crappy." So, what changed? "Brian stayed the course," Murray said. "We got lucky on a couple of trades, and ..."

Pogge watches, waits

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October 27

Toronto Sun

columnist Mike Zeisberger

"About 160 kilometres north of the bright lights and soupy smog of Los Angeles is the sleepy city of Bakersfield, home of the East Coast Hockey League's Condors. And Justin Pogge. In just a handful of months, the kid once called the Maple Leafs "goalie of the future" has gone from the hotbed of Toronto to this hockey hinterland, where the sport, while supported at the ECHL level, is hardly woven into the community's cultural fabric. In Toronto, Pogge couldn't walk to his car without being recognized. In Bakersfield, he can stride into any 7-Eleven and be just another customer eyeing the Big Gulp machine. Pogge's exit from Toronto came in August when general manager Brian Burke shipped ..."

Leafs finally get it right

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October 27

Toronto Sun

"When it was over, when the Maple Leafs had become the final NHL team to hit the win column this season, a team official gave Jonas Gustavsson one of the game pucks to mark his first National Hockey League victory. If he keeps this up, you can bet there will be plenty more of them. Buoyed by the Monster's spectacular stretching save off Erik Christensen in the first period, the Leafs skated to a well-deserved 6-3 drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. "It was special, sure," Gustavsson said. "I was a bit nervous at the beginning, but that's a good thing. "The biggest thing is, the team got the win. That's the most important part." The Monster, for the record, claims he is no ..."

Leafs get their Ducks in a row

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October 27

Toronto Sun

"The Monster claims he's no saviour. For one night, anyway, the entire city of Toronto might disagree. With coach Ron Wilson constantly preaching that solid goaltending would prove infectious for his struggling Maple Leafs, Jonas Gustavsson did exactly that. Buoyed by some big saves by the Monster early on, the Maple Leafs finally accomplished something last night they hadn't done since April 11. They won a game. Take a deep breath, Leafs Nation. It's over. After the worst start in team history (0-7-1), the Leafs finally hit the win column for the first time in 2009-10 with a 6-3 decision over the Anaheim Ducks last night, becoming the final NHL team in the 30-member league to record a ..."

Leafs end nightmare with Monster win

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October 27

Toronto Star

columnist Damien Cox

"Hours before game time, Ron Wilson gave his explanation on how improved goaltending could, somewhat counter intuitively, help his club's anemic offence. "It goes together," he explained Monday morning. "If you believe you're going to get some saves, you're not as edgy with the puck and the offence will come." Well, rookie netminder Jonas (The Monster) Gustavsson didn't deliver a dazzling shutout or an acrobatic 40-save effort against the Anaheim Ducks Monday night."

Ducks, once strong, show their weak side

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October 27

Los Angeles Times

"The Ducks never minded when opponents and critics called them dirty. Their physicality was a big part of their personality, and Chris Pronger's on-the-edge impulse control made other teams fear them. General Manager Bob Murray said the other day that the current team, with a stream of new faces and youngsters still finding their footing, is still searching for its identity. Actually, the Ducks might have a new identity. They have become soft in their four-game losing streak, a malady that can't be cured in the weight room. Softness isn't measured in hits or penalty minutes but in the weakness of their resolve and inability to handle the slightest adversity. On Monday, they became the ..."

Ducks are on losing end of Maple Leafs' first win

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October 27

Los Angeles Times

"A Ducks team that was struggling to stay afloat scraped bottom and then ran aground Monday, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had been the last winless team in the NHL. The 6-3 loss -- the Ducks' fourth in a row on their home ice -- dropped them to 3-6-1 with a solid grip on last place in the Pacific Division and a load of frustration. The Maple Leafs entered the Honda Center looking like a team that wanted to take out its own frustration on somebody, and the Ducks were too willing to tangle. They came out on the short end, taking a slew of bad penalties that gave the Maple Leafs five power-play goals -- including three while skating five-on-three against the Ducks. "It's terrible," ..."

Former Ducks GM Burke feels right at home, as Toronto defeats Anaheim

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October 27

L.A. Daily News

"Maybe they shouldn't have clapped so loudly for Brian Burke. The 14,291 in attendance at Honda Center gave a warm ovation to the Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager in his return to the Honda Center on Monday, Burke's first game against the Ducks since leaving the franchise he built into a Stanley Cup champion. But that was about the only friendly moment in a game of bad blood that worked against the Ducks, whose 6-3 loss was their fourth straight, all of which have come during their current homestand. The Maple Leafs' first victory of the season (in their ninth game) ended their longest winless stretch to begin a season since the franchise began play in 1917. And their rough-and-tumble ..."

Burke still a man with a plan

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October 26

Orange County Register

"Brian Burke left Toronto this week — or escaped if you look at it another way — to revisit some old stomping grounds and remember what it was like when his teams won. Two years after winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks on a champagne-soaked June night at a boisterous Honda Center, the Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager is back with the NHL's only winless team. Burke looked on in Vancouver — a place he spent six years lifting the Canucks out of mediocrity — as the Leafs fell to 0-7-1 Saturday night with a loss to the Canucks. It is the worst start in the 92-year history of a tradition-rich franchise. Tonight he'll witness his desperate Leafs against his former team with ..."

Ducks defenseman Sbisa gets reassigned

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October 26

L.A. Daily News

"The writing was on the wall Saturday night, when Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa was a healthy scratch in a 6-4 loss to Columbus. The 19-year-old won't be back with the team in the regular season. Sbisa, a native of Switzerland, is expected to be assigned either to his junior team in Lethbridge, Alberta, or a European team. Sbisa appeared in eight games, went scoreless and would have had to remain in Anaheim for the remainder of the season had he played in two more games. Because he is younger than 20 years old, Sbisa can't be assigned to an AHL or ECHL team. "We've probably discussed it for the better part of two weeks here," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said Sunday. "We felt we couldn't ..."

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