Ducks Narrowly Escape in 5-4 Victory

Ducks Goalie Jonas Hiller  makes a pad save to keep the game tied at 3.  One of his 21 saves on the night.

About halfway through the first period in last night's Ducks game, the mood in Anaheim was that of jubilation, as the Ducks had taken a quick 3-0 lead in Calgary over the Flames.  It looked like they were going to chase a second goalie in as many games, as Flames Goalie Mikka Kiprusoff looked lost between the pipes.  However, a complacent penalty kill led to the Flames first goal of the evening towards the end of the period, and a full-strength goal in the last minute of the period cut the Flames deficit to one heading into the first intermission.  Things were looking bleak and they were only going to get worse.

The second period left quite a bit to be desired.  The Ducks had all of 3 shots on goal, and were facing a constant attack from Calgary.  The defense is what really struggled, as they couldn't get the puck out of their zone, forcing long shifts for everyone.  Toni Lydman came back down to earth, and while Cam Fowler was a nice addition in his first game back, you could tell he wasn't 100%.  Bryan Allen brought some physicality on defense, which is something that was lacking in the first game, but there is only so much you can do when you are pinned back for an entire period.  Calgary scored around a minute in the second period, but thankfully couldn't get anything going against a lackadaisical Ducks team for the rest of the period.  Jonas Hiller was a big part of that, coming up with some huge saves on defensive breakdowns.

UNH Alum Daniel Winnik added two goals to his season tally, which is now a league-leading 4 goals.

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau must have had said something amazing during the second intermission, because team hero/newcomer Daniel Winnik added his 4th goal of the season (his second goal and third point of the evening) to put the Ducks back on top 4-3.  A few minutes later, Team Captain Ryan Getzlaf added his second goal of the game to give the Ducks a two goal advantage.  Calgary would spend the rest of the third period trying to answer back, and while they would add another goal, they came up just short in tying the game before the end of regulation.  The Ducks didn't look great, but they escaped from Canada going 2-0-0 on the road trip.

Positives:
- Daniel Winnik looked marvelous once again as the Third Line proves its worth the extra ice time.  If the fourth line starts scoring, the Ducks might have the most complete offense in Hockey.
- Ryan Getzlaf returns to Calgary and regains his confidence.  He played his junior league hockey in Calgary with the Hitmen, and he looked comfortable leading an otherwise quiet first line.
- Jonas Hiller made some big stops, especially when the game was tied 3-3 for a majority of the 2nd period. The goals he did let in were mostly due to the massive amounts of traffic the sloppy Ducks defense let pile up in front of him.

Negatives:
- Corey Perry still looked lost for most of the game, although he did have another flash of brilliance with his assist on Getzlaf's second goal (the game winner).  Maybe coming back to Anaheim will help him get his legs back underneath him.
- The Defense, especially during the penalty kill, was dreadful.  Lydman and Fowler were serviceable, but the rest of the blue-liners were giving up far too much possession and couldn't handle a little pressure from the Calgary offense.  This will be the most troubling aspect of the team moving forward, as it seems like the offense is already in mid-season form.

I know it's only two games into the season, but Ducks fans have to feel pretty good right now.  The team is in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, and leads the NHL in goals scored (12).  Next up is the Home Opener against Corey Schneider (please!) and the Vancouver Canucks on Friday (7pm, PrimeTicket).