Last night the Ducks began their 6 game, 12 day eastern road trip. Unfortunately, they are off to an inauspicious beginning after dropping a 2-1 decision in South Florida against the Panthers. Anaheim goalie John Gibson once again kept his in the game, but his teammates lack of scoring proved to be their downfall. Chances were there for the Ducks to tie (and possibly win) that they failed to capitalize on.

Adding injury to insult defenseman Sami Vatanen left the game in the second period following a Jonathan Huberdeau hit along the boards. He did not return. Right wing Ondrej Kase was a healthy scratch last night as coach Randy Carlyle opted for a more physical lineup. After his “recall” from San Diego earlier in the day, Shea Theodore was a healthy scratch.

The Rumor Mill

A cursory check of Ek's rumor chart shows only one Ducks logo. It represents a 10% chance Anaheim trades for former team member Francois Beauchemin. Even that percentage should go down with the defenseman being mentioned as a big cog in a Matt Duchesne trade to L.A.

Ducks GM Bob Murray doesn't let his trade talks go public. He follows the Lou Lamoriello rules of dealing with other teams. Rule 1) Thou shalt not alert the media to our negotiations. Rule 2) If thou violate rule 1, any deal is off the table. That is why we rarely hear anything he is planning.

Rethinking My Position

I've been “meh” on a Cam Fowler for James van Riemsdyk trade with the Leafs. After rolling it over in my mind a while longer, I've moved to a solid maybe. A top pair defenseman is worth a whole lot more than a left wing whose best season was 61 points, but under the right circumstances a deal could be made:
IF Murray feels that his championship window is closing with Getzlaf/Perry/Kesler, and...
IF he thinks he can resign JvR at a reasonable price and...
IF the Leafs were willing to take Clayton Stoner's contract off Anaheim's hands for a good prospect such as Kirby Rychel or Kasperi Kapanen.

The Ducks are in the driver's seat on this one.

Ducks @ Tampa

The Ducks are in Tampa to take on the Lightning in game two of their road trip. Vatanen's status remains up in the air and for now is a game time decision. Kase is back in the lineup, pushing out Jared Boll. Gibson started last night which means Jonathan Bernier draws today's assignment guarding the Ducks' goal. Here is you probable Anaheim lineup:

Forwards
Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Ritchie-Vermette-Kase
Cramarosa-Thompson-Shaw

Defensemen
Fowler-Bieksa
Lindholm-Manson
Theodore-Holzer/Vatanen

Goalies
Bernier
Gibson

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