Anaheim Ducks

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. EST; TV: CN8, CSN). Hockey is so much better with animosity. The Capitals and Flyers don't get along much, including an interesting bit of back and forth between the coaches today. Japers has the preview for your review.

By Greg Wyshynski • Reassessing the Dallas Stars' two-headed GM monster and asking yet again: What is it, exactly, that Brett Hull does? [Dallas Stars Blog] • Pavel Datsyuk and his Detroit Red Wings teammates discuss his awesome skills competition goal against the Minnesota Wild. Which Dats has decided t...

By Matt Romig Playing without Teemu Selanne (13 power-play goals) and the suspended Corey Perry (13 power-play points), the Ducks could be forgiven for short-circuiting on special teams. Not so Sunday (or at all, for that matter). Ryan assisted on Chris Pronger's second-period power-play goal and s...

By Greg Wyshynski The Western Conference was overwhelmed by Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks voters, as Ryan Getzlaf (716,569 votes) will skate with Patrick Kane (917,551) and Jonathan Toews (809,599) up front while Brian Campbell (784,476) will be teamed up with Scott Niedermayer (637,316). Jea...

By Ross McKeon No. 2 star: Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets The rookie goaltender did it again, recording his third straight shutout and fifth overall since making his NHL debut in early November. Mason stopped all 27 shots the host Anaheim Ducks threw at him.

By Greg Wyshynski • There's a chance that Danny Briere could be back from injury for the Philadelphia Flyers by their Jan. 6 game against the Washington Capitals. If, you know, he wasn't Danny Briere. [Philly.com] • Patrice Bergeron is placed on IR. Boo. [Bruins]

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: "The Art of the Stanley Cup Playoff Beard" ... A ruthless critique of Alyssa Milano's NHL fashions for women ... The NHL's new third jerseys caused a stir, like those for the Hurricanes and Thrashers ... Detroit man dresses in Lions gear, touches Stanley Cup and chants "Crosby" t...

By Joe Zedalis Denials will come from Atlant Thrashers GM Don Waddell and Minnesota Wild counterpart Doug Risebrough (they always do), but the whisper around the NHL is that those teams have been discussing a huge deal involving superstar forwards Marian Gaborik and Ilya Kovalchuk.

By Sean Leahy During his first shift against the Edmonton Oilers last night, Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne suffered a laceration to his left thigh, as the bottom of his skate blade caught his leg as he was falling down. Dan Wood of the Orange County Register's Ducks Blog has the rest of the details:

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. EST; TV: KDOC, OPPV). Yes! Ducks and Oil! Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke their pride on the line in a battle of ... sigh ... we sort of miss this rivalry already. Does it carry over to the Leafs or not? Jonas Hiller vs. Dwayne Roloson tonight, as per Goalie Post.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Washington Capitals at New York Islanders (7 p.m. EST; TV: VS). Brent Johnson gets the start for the Caps. A new book counts down the greatest Washington Capitals of all time. Rod Langway over Alexander Ovechkin? Meh. Mike Gartner sixth, behind Dale Hunter? Whoopee!

By Ross McKeon Like Chicago's Keith, Pronger was effective at both ends of the ice, leading his team in ice time and providing a pair of assists. Pronger had the second assist on the winning goal, put two shots on net, was a plus-3 and skated 25:26 during Anaheim's 4-2 win over Minnesota.

By Greg Wyshynski As for this highly-anticipated Pacific Division showdown, won by the Sharks 2-0, the Ducks skated away confident they could compete with the San Jose juggernaut. Here's how San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto saw the game:

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSS, CSP, Yahoo! Sports). The Jackets won the first matchup between these teams, but Nashville is still on a 16-1-1 roll over Columbus. Wonder if Hitchcock still wants to "kick their ass."

By Greg Wyshynski • Did Roberto Luongo suffer a setback at practice for the Vancouver Canucks? [Vancouver Sun] • Earl Sleek and Mike Chen face off in a segment of "it's about damn time" in preparation for tonight's showdown between the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks. [Battle of California]

By Ross McKeon Honorable mention: Continuing the goalie theme, Scott Clemmensen stopped 26 of 27 shots to move to 7-1 in his last eight as the Devils frustrated the high-scoring Penguins. … Phil Kessel tied the league-best this season by extending his point streak to 13 games in Boston's loss. … Olli Joki...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Eric Staal scored the backhand winner in the third, off a nice feed from Sergei Samsonov, in the Carolina Hurricanes' critical 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Ray Whitney had two goals in the win, and Michael Leighton stopped Alexander Ovechkin on a penalty shot. ......

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Having rejected the New York Rangers' offer of a 10-day conditioning assignment in Hartford, Peter Prucha returned to the lineup and cashed in a plum rebound of a Scott Gomez shot to tie the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-2. Dany Sabourin gave up goals on all three Rangers shoo...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). If the Stars are upset over this whole Avery thing, they're playing the right team. Not because Edmonton is an easy game, but because there's always Stortini if someone needs a hug.

By Ross McKeon Dishonorable mention: When Vancouver loses this season there's not a lot of mystery why. The Canucks have a grand total of 17 goals scored during their 11 defeats. … We know they played in Columbus the night before while the Red Wings were resting, but the Ducks getting outshot 47-16 in Detro...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. EST; TV: RSW, FSOH). Huzzah! Roberto Luongo skates again! Even nuttier: After he rejected a $20 million, two-year offer, the Canucks are still trying to convince Mats Sundin to play in

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Rob Niedermayer had two goals and Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two helpers in the Ducks' win. ... Craig Anderson made a surprise start, but it paid off for Florida Panthers coach Peter DeBoer: his goalie made 37 saves in a 4-0 shutout over the New York Rangers. He earned another s...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Sidney Crosby had two second-period goals to rally the Penguins. ... Jeff Carter scored his league-leading 16th goal for the Flyers. ... Michael Ryder had two goals and Phil Kessel notched his 12th in the Boston Bruins' emphatic 7-2 win at the New York Islanders. ... Marian Hossa no...

By Greg Wyshynski This negotiation had the drama of Tina Fey agreeing to play Sarah Palin on "SNL," but here goes: Damien Cox of the Toronto Star writes that "the deal is done" and former Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke is ready to take over as the new president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. From t...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. EST; TV: FSD, RSW, Yahoo! Sports). The Wings are pretending that Luongo's injury doesn't change anything about this interesting Western Conference showdown. Detroit will be without Tomas Holmstrom, who has been told to "shut it dow...

By Greg Wyshynski • Breaking News: Brenden Morrow will miss six months with a torn right ACL. Nice knowing you, Dallas Stars. [Dallas Stars Blog] • Mike Green is getting healthy. Sergei Fedorov could be back. But as the Washington Capitals prepare for a big showdown with the San Jose Sharks this weekend, Alexan...

By Greg Wyshynski His legal, devastating hit on Mike Green of the Washington Capitals last night jogged the 'ole memory about Pronger Blog, and it turns out we've missed a fruitful bounty of material and some spectacular insight into the mind of The Suspension Waiting To Happen.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Washington Capitals at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EST; TV: CSN, FSPT). Alexander Semin, Shaone Morrisonn and Sergei Fedorov are out and Jose Theodore is in, according to Capitals Insider. Anaheim's Jonas Hiller gets the nod again for the Ducks between the pipes, and Rob Niedermayer re...

By Greg Wyshynski • Icethetics does it again, with clear shots of the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators third jerseys. The front of this SNES tribute is a fail. [Icethetics] • Rostislav Klesla is out for a week for the Columbus Blue Jackets with a wrist injury. [Jackets]

By Greg Wyshynski 3. Erik Cole, Edmonton Oilers 4. David Jones, Colorado Avalanche 6. Aaron Voros, New York Rangers 7. Darcy Tucker, Colorado Avalanche 8. Brooks Laich, Washington Capitals 3. Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals 8 4. Steve Ott, Dallas Stars 7 9 6. Shane O'Brien, Vancouver Canucks

By Greg Wyshynski The Ducks' backup keeper stopped 29 shots to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0, for his first NHL shutout. Some of the saves went beyond the norm: A poke-check of a rebound may have robbed Kyle Calder of a goal, and a huge stop on Brian Boyle in the third period preserved the lead. Hiller played w...

By Greg Wyshynski • Did the Vancouver Canucks steal their third-jersey logo from a bakery? And if so, is it a sly symbolic tribute to Kyle Wellwood? [Kurtenblog] Preview: Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EST; TV: FSS, FSPT). The Ducks haven't played since Sunday. For what it's worth, Jimmy the Moo...

By Greg Wyshynski • Will Burke's resignation from the Anaheim Ducks finally put to rest rumors that Ken Holland will leave the Detroit Red Wings? We hope so. The Steve Yzerman rumors are way more fun. [Snapshots] • The Los Angeles Kings vaguely discuss their mysterious third jersey. [Icethetics]

By Greg Wyshynski Let's get one thing out of the way. Burke owes us nothing at this point. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007. A lot of people had a lot to do with that - Pierre Gauthier, Bryan Murray, the coaches, the scouts and the players - but Burke is the one who got Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, and ther...

By Greg Wyshynski A day in the life of the Boston Bruins' Peter Schaefer is pretty damn funny. And like our lives, if ends with cable nudity. [Stanley Cup of Chowder] Some call it unorthodox, others call it annoying. Whatever the case, FSN is keeping the "Rinkside View" on Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings gam...

By Greg Wyshynski Dishonorable Mention: As you can see in the image above, Jason Spezza of the Senators may have been jobbed out of a goal by replay, which was inconclusive regarding where Carolina keeper Michael Leighton actually gloved the puck. ... Good goalies have bad games: Jean-Sebastien Giguere was p...

By Greg Wyshynski • There are likely privacy concerns at the heart of this situation, but the New York Rangers have "refused to share the results of medical tests performed on 2007 1st round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov" that were requested by Russian officials. [Beyond the Blueshirts]

By Greg Wyshynski • Paul Kukla asks some prominent hockey scribes where they think Mats Sundin is headed. The New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks loom large. [Kuklas] • Relive last night's incredibly wild and fun Nashville Predators/Calgary Flames game via a live blog summary. [Five Hole Fanatics]

By Greg Wyshynski • Brent Johnson is in goal for the Washington Capitals, and Alexander Semin/Viktor Kozlov Sergei Fedorov/Alexander Ovechkin may be rolled out on the same line tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Remain calm ... all is well. [Japers' Rink]

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Columbus Blue Jackets (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, FSOH). Bethany's Hockey Rants is reporting that Steve Mason will be in goal tonight for the Jackets, making what would be his NHL debut. Columbus also announced that Nikita Filatov will not be going to play in juniors,...

By Greg Wyshynski Jared Boll, Columbus Blue Jackets (One-year fight record: 8-14-5; 2007-08 pay: $545,00) David Clarkson, New Jersey Devils (One-year fight record: 10-6-5; 2007-08 pay: $555,000) Daniel Carcillo, Phoenix Coyotes (One-year fight record: 10-6-5; 2007-08 pay: $525,000)

By Ross McKeon Honorable mention: Islanders' goalie Joey MacDonald stopped 35 of 36 shots for a win on the road. … Two more short-handed goals for the Islanders gives them a league-leading six. They had 10 last season, sixth most in the league. … Speaking of the Isles and short-handed goals, the first of whi...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Calgary Flames (10 p.m. EST; TV: FSAZ, RSW). Five Hole Fanatics is wondering if and when Matthew Lombardi and Robin Regher will be back in the lineup. Meanwhile, the Coyotes recently traded Drew Fata. Did you notice?

By Greg Wyshynski • The Ottawa Senators are aware of the perfect storm headed their way tonight: A Washington Capitals team coming off an awful loss and getting Alexander Ovechkin back in the lineup. [Ottawa Sun] • Finally, at least the Colorado Avalanche won something last night: Cody McLeod landed more t...

By Greg Wyshynski • Bruce "Malkin to the Kings" Garrioch reports that Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke plans to aggressively enter the Mats Sundin Derby, which is no doubt news to Brendan Morrison. Our friend Lyle Richardson takes on the rumor and others. [Spector]

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EDT; TV: RSW, KDOC). Brian Sutherby, Ryan Carter and George Parros are providing good energy minutes for the Ducks, who are rolling right now. Meanwhile, this Canucks blog ripped off Leahy's idea for Vancouver, but the Nelson and Kyle Wel...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. EDT; TV: CPPV, FSW). Finally, two teams hoping to get to the .500 mark. Some lineup changes for the Canucks, as they face a Kings team with a reunited O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown line.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EDT; TV: FSD, FSPT). Let's just see how "turned around" these Ducks actually are after their successful road trip. Tomas Holmstrom has finally figured out how to keep his ginormous rump-roast out of the crease. Battle of California believe...

By Greg Wyshynski • Eddie Cahill, a.k.a. Jim Craig from "Miracle," took in the Detroit Red Wings/Los Angeles Kings game last night and was promptly signed to replace Jason LaBarbera as the Kings' starting goaltender. (Jokes ... LaBarbera's been OK, by Kings standards.) [Life in Hockeywood]

By Greg Wyshynski • The New Jersey Devils place Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston on injured reserve. Money well-spent! [Fire & Ice] • The New York Islanders reveal their new third jerseys, which look like they were stolen from Mike Bossy's personal collection. [Islanders]

By Greg Wyshynski There were actually two instances of former players' vengeance tonight. Nikolai Zherdev returned to Columbus with the New York Rangers, playing through cheers and boos for a three-point night (1-2-3) in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. But Hossa gets the nod here, breaking a 1-...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. EDT; TV: CSBA, FSFL). Some injury worries for the Sharks about Joe Thornton, but the big guy should be in action tonight against the Panthers. Thomas Vokoun should be in goal for Florida.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Dallas Stars at New York Islanders (7 p.m. EDT; TV: KDFI, MSG). The Stars limp to the Island after a 5-0 loss to the Devils last night, as Sean Avery is taking a beating from the Jersey media for clamming up. Great news for the Islanders: Chris Campoli is expected back on the ice tonight. An...

By Greg Wyshynski • Welcome to the blogosphere, former New York Rangers GM Neil Smith, who takes us behind closed doors at NHL general managers meetings. [Toronto Sports Media] • The Buffalo Sabres will miss defenseman Craig Rivet for at least two weeks after knee surgery. [Buffalo News]

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets (7:30 p.m. EDT; TV: RSW, SNET-P). Freddy Modin was placed on IR by the Jackets, who are hoping to welcome back Manny Malhotra soon. Nikita Filatov will play on a line centered by Jiri Novotny. Meanwhile, the Vancouver special teams are in the...

By Greg Wyshynski • Some brilliant math over on Battle of California regarding the Anaheim Ducks' struggling trio of Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry. "Using some ridiculous pro-rating math, thus far it's looking like the Ducks will pay some $68.15 million for this trio of forwards to score a comb...

By Ross McKeon Dishonorable mention: The Anaheim Ducks are 0-3, losing to three different Pacific Division rivals – San Jose, Phoenix and Los Angeles. … Colorado goalie Peter Budaj has surrendered 13 goals on 69 shots. An .812 save percentage is not going to cut it. … The Penguins blew a 2-0 lead in the span of...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. EDT; TV: FSOH, CSBA).  The Sharks and newbie coach Todd McLellan are trying for the first 4-0 start in franchise history. Marcel Goc should make his first start tonight. Meanwhile, Chimera-Brassard-Voracek is a smokin' hot line f...

By Greg Wyshynski • Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold: "I think it's very fair to say we're a playoff team." [Pioneer Press] • The Washington Capitals received some major league love from the Washington Times this week. Even the Redskins were jealous. For, like, a minute. [OFB]

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks (10:30 p.m. EDT; TV: CBC). Todd Bertuzzi once again returns to Vancouver, skating with the Flames for what has to be last chance No. 3. The boys at the Kurtenblog will be doing a live blog of all the action. Make sure to stop by and say hello when either Ke...