CANUCKS (1-1-1) at DUCKS (2-0-0)
Location: Honda Center in Anaheim, CA
- The Anaheim Ducks open the home portion of the schedule against the Vancouver Canucks; the same team they thrashed on the road, 7-3, to begin the season.
- The key here is to forget what happened on opening night and look at the big picture. Anaheim is trying to start the season 3-0 in an effort to establish themselves as a real threat not only in the Pacific Division but also in the Western Conference.
- The Ducks have relied heavily on offense to get them their first two wins. While scoring a ton of goals is certainly nice - it won't change the fact that the NHL is a league reliant on defense and goal tending. Right now Anaheim is 24th in the league is goals against; giving up an average of 3.50 goals per game.
- It will be interesting to see how Jonas Hiller plays tonight. He has been good but not great in his first two starts. My hope is that a little home cooking will help him find his game and he can be a positive factor for the Ducks. Through his first 120 minutes, Hiller has stopped 47 of 54 shots for an .870 SV% with a GAA of 3.50. If the Ducks were 0-2 we would be calling for Viktor Fasth to be the guy between the pipes.
- The Ducks will also have to tighten up the penalty kill. They are the worst team in the NHL on the PK at a putrid 42.9%. On the flip side, Anaheim is number on the power play with a 60% conversion rate. Something has to give here folks.
- Who's Hot? Why the Ducks third line of course! Andrew Cogliano, Saku Koivu and Daniel Winnik have combined for 14 points (five goals, nine assists) with a +15 rating through two games. Can they keep this up? Let's hope so, at least until Anaheim's big guns get going.
- Who's Cold? Ducks sniper Bobby Ryan has zero points with only one shot on net this far. He was arguably Anaheim's best offensive player in the second half of last season. Bruce Boudreau's club is going to need more of that if this team is going to be successful from here on out.
- The Canucks are still trying to trade Roberto Luongo, even after the debacle on opening night. Cory Schneider looked more like himself in beating the Calgary Flames the other night. He stopped 34 of 36 shots in the win and now Canada can go back to their regularly scheduled Luongo rumors.
***
Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboHTW
Email me at [email protected] 
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»