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Ducks Still Have Plenty of Spoiling Left in Them

March 21, 2012, 4:47 PM ET [6 Comments]
Steve Palumbo
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Already secure in the role of spoilers, the Anaheim Ducks will try to slow down the St. Louis Blues chase for the President's Trophy tonight at the Honda Center.

Coming off a satisfying 5-3 win over their Pacific Division rivals, the San Jose Sharks, the Ducks have a chance to knock off another playoff bound team while pulling themselves back to the .500 mark.

Anaheim, 31-32-11, has been in a bit of a funk going just 4-7-1 in its last 12 and have basically fallen off the playoff map but that doesn't mean they have nothing left to play for. With five of their eight remaining games against Western Conference teams jockeying for playoff positions, they can still have a significant impact on the Stanley Cup race.

In the last two and a half weeks of the season, Anaheim will play St. Louis, Vancouver, San Jose, Phoenix and Calgary. The Blues and Canucks are separated by six points in the race for the leagues best record and the number one seed while the Sharks, Coyotes and Flames occupy the nine through eleven spots . All three teams are within three points of the seventh seed in a crowed lower half of the conference.

The Ducks have a great opportunity to alter the playoff road map by finishing the season strong. They did manage to hurt San Jose's playoff hopes in Monday's win, while avoiding a third straight loss themselves. The Sharks have fallen out of a playoff position and currently sit tenth in the West.

Tonight Anaheim will attempt to hold the Blues back, at least for a bit. St. Louis has won seven of their last 10 games but are just 1-1-1 in the last three.

Bobby Ryan has been outstanding lately and with any luck he will continue his torrid pace. Ryan hasn't gone more than two games without a point since the beginning of February, compiling eight goals and 10 assists in his last 23 games. Ryan also leads the Ducks forwards with five points (2g 3a) against the Blues this season, improving his his career goal mark against St. Louis to 11.

Bruce Boudreau may have found some third line magic when he put Ryan on a line with Nick Bonino and rookie Kyle Palmieri. The trio combined for eight points (3g 5a) in the win over San Jose. Should be interesting to see if they can maintain that level of play for the rest of the year. Keep an eye on this line.

The Blues have lost four in a row at the Honda Center and are 2-13-1 with a tie in their last 17 trips to Anaheim, including a 4-2 loss back on Oct. 16.

Let's hope the Ducks continue their home mastery of the Blues, while throwing another monkey wrench into the Western Conference playoff race.

Who says the season is over? Even teams that have no shot at a postseason spot need to have something worthwhile to play for.

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