Cue up the haters. You’ll soon be hearing how our Ducks are bullies and goons. We’re bad for hockey. We slash and get away with it. Blame the refs, as Denver Post beat writer Adrian Datar does here.
Never mind the Avs slew foot artistry that didn’t get called. The slash on Corey Perry. And my fave ref_u_suck moment calling Palmeri for delay of game when the game video clearly showed it was Bonino who shot the puck over the glass. Ah well, they knew it was a Duck right? Close enough, eh? The Boxscore is reporting the refs were Kevin Pollock and Rob Martell.
If you saw the game you don’t need me to tell that our Ducks started slow, ran into penalty trouble and fell behind 2-zip. It was by far the worst period of the season.
Hiller was solid.
Assume Gabby delivered an F-bomb laced motivational speech between the first and second period. It was also probably a good thing Coach practiced special teams drills at practice the day before. The Avs converted on just one of six PP opportunities.
At the open of the second stanza Ducks used their forechecking game to pound the Avs and take control. J.S. Giguere was at times brilliant using a kick save to thwart Corey Perry on one attempt. Perry wouldn’t be deterred and kept hanging around the low slot. He got our Ducks on the scoreboard at 6:59 on a brilliant pass from Getzlaf who was himself setup from the point by Francois Beauchemin. At 9:24 Teemu Selanne scored his 250th PP goal to tie the game. The score moved Selanne ahead of Phil Esposito for 3rd all time. The goal also tied Luc Robitaille for 11th all time. T remains two goals behind Jaromir Jagr for tenth.
The Avs would respond 40 seconds later when John Mitchell sent a soft wrist shot past Hiller. The puck seemed to go between the arm and body of the Ducks goalie. Definitely one he’d like back.
Ducks tied it up again when Getzlaf spotted a loose puck behind Giguere and pounced on it for an easy tap in. The third ended 3-3. Our Ducks would take two points when Corey Perry redirected a Ryan Getzlaf feed past Giguere with 56 seconds to go in OT.
Franclois Beauchemin enjoyed a career night assisting on all four Ducks goals. Frankie’s TOI was 25:59. He also blocked two shots and was credited for a hit.
BackCheck's Blog 
As I was watching the first period I was reciting the fifth symphony ala F-bombs…I had to pinch myself to confirm it was 2013 and not 2010/2011…It was definitely ugly. However, we came out smelling like a rose… Gabby is the real deal! We are fortunate to have him…Hope we can shut down the princesses tonight.
Bob how is the resigning of Perry going?
We had several games, when we played poorly in the first period. Actually the whole game against Columbus was ugly. Every team is trying to get the lead and almost everybody starts with a tempo-game and we are not able to handle it. We cannot rally successfully every game from 2 goal deficit. It would be costly against the Kings. They are improving.
However, I was happy with Getz and Perry. It was the first game of this season when the Twins played very well. I do not think it was a perfect performance, but it was enjoyable to watch them during the second and third period. Perry had seven shots OG, showed good positioning and quick hands. Getzy impressed me with his FO skills, good defensive plays, crisp passing, and improved acceleration (at least he was trying to skate faster). He also shoots more. But BB still has to talked to him about his unwillingness to stay around the crease when others have the puck. He proclaimed himself to be a passer, but that’s not enough. He must try to be a complete player.
The Ducks need the Twins to score at least 1 goal every game. Yesterday the did much more.
Hiller was OK, maybe a little bit nervous, but he also made some spectacular saves.
“We can’t fall two goals behind the Kings.” Very predictive cz