Steve Palumbo: "Must win" Ducks hold off Pens

Calm down there Steve. The Ducks need to win a bunch of games. But they don't have to win them all. I'd say they need 7 points from this homestand. They need to catch and surpass the Kings, so Friday's game is important. But let's not start panicking if they lose a game, ok? They will need to be at least third in the division to secure a playoff spot considering where Chicago is right now. That seems likely to me,

That was a fun one last night but the Ducks need to stop letting teams back in it in the 3rd. Emotions will be high tomorrow, must stay out of the box!!!

Calm down there Steve. The Ducks need to win a bunch of games. But they don't have to win them all. I'd say they need 7 points from this homestand. They need to catch and surpass the Kings, so Friday's game is important. But let's not start panicking if they lose a game, ok? They will need to be at least third in the division to secure a playoff spot considering where Chicago is right now. That seems likely to me,
- yzermaneely

I'm calm. They must play with urgency and they used the words "must win." I'm just echoing the sentiment.

theres time still to get in...its not due or die yet.. the ducks will be fine come april.

Calm down there Steve. The Ducks need to win a bunch of games. But they don't have to win them all. I'd say they need 7 points from this homestand. They need to catch and surpass the Kings, so Friday's game is important. But let's not start panicking if they lose a game, ok? They will need to be at least third in the division to secure a playoff spot considering where Chicago is right now. That seems likely to me,
- yzermaneely

"We must hold serve. We know the points available to us, especially those in our own building, are must wins."

"We are all friends here. So let's be frank... I love the Ducks attitude right now, but it might be a bit too late. Every game is a playoff game from here on out. The Ducks have almost no margin for error - partly because of their struggles and partly because the teams around them are not slowing down."

You're not calm. See above bolded. Words matter.

Of course the team is going to say these games "are must win." Imagine the uproar if they said, "huge home stand here, but we'll be happy with 7/10 points."

Anaheim played some excellent hockey yesterday. And TBH, all three of the Pens goals were on Ducks mistakes. In the first period, Fowler could have made an ugly play at the blue line in their offensive zone to keep the puck deep, but chose to skate it out. That led to vintage Pens pressuring the puck, Anaheim gets caught on their heels, the Ducks are in trouble, a turnover happens ... then they're chasing the game in their defensive zone, and sure enough the Pens score. Then there were the penalties. Letang, who got an embellishment penalty earlier in the game, got "interfered" with by Perry. Dude drew a call in my book. Then Bieksa retaliated. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, whatever. Overall this team played great, but plays like those will cost any team points, and the veterans should really know better.

So what were the positives? The Ducks have 3 lines that are capable of scoring. Isn't that something! I don't want to jump to much to conclusions, but Ritchie-Henrique-Kase looks promising. The first line seems like they're comprehending what they need to do to have success. My take is they're really close.

Gibson's been good. A couple of those shots yesterday, ya know, what are you going to do? What's important is he's giving this team an opportunity to win.

The Kings play tonight, Quick is likely to get the start, so tomorrow they have some things going for them. There are no guarantees though. This is the NHL after all.

Oh and one other thing, it seemed like there were a lot of D to D passes when the Ducks were looking to break out, and when that's happening regularly it's because the wingers aren't doing a good enough job of getting open. So get it together wingers!

Tomorrow night is going to be crazy -

the Kings will be manhandled tomorrow night at the Honda center

the Kings will be manhandled tomorrow night at the Honda center
- rubberduckies

Sounds like a plan.

"We are all friends here. So let's be frank... I love the Ducks attitude right now, but it might be a bit too late. Every game is a playoff game from here on out. The Ducks have almost no margin for error - partly because of their struggles and partly because the teams around them are not slowing down."

You're not calm. See above bolded. Words matter.

Of course the team is going to say these games "are must win." Imagine the uproar if they said, "huge home stand here, but we'll be happy with 7/10 points."
- quackup

Yes if you read the bold phrase by itself it's panicky. When you read the whole context I explain why.

the Kings will be manhandled tomorrow night at the Honda center
- rubberduckies

I’m afraid I agree. 4-1 Ducks

Hello Steve

I Have a feeling that a lot of the skaters tonight will not be looking for pucks!!! brouhaha tonight multiple times!! go Ducks !!

Tonight should be an excellent game. The thing I was most impressed with last time these teams met was LA's zone entries on the PP. It was the long pass to the winger, followed by the stop at the blue line with the long pass back to the defenseman, which made the PK flat footed at the blue line. Be ready for that!

Otherwise, it's going to be a battle. Quick's projected to get the start, so it's important the Ducks make the most of their chances. Montour's been on a dry spell, so it's time to get trigger happy with that nasty slapper.

Put 'em on net and make 'em count!

Just curious, has Francois Beauchemin been a healthy scratch lately or has he been injured? I've looked around but can't find the answer.

I Have a feeling that a lot of the skaters tonight will not be looking for pucks!!! brouhaha tonight multiple times!! go Ducks !!
- rubberduckies

I stand corrected... no fighting

And the Kings losing streak extends to 6 games. Gravity folks - gravity.

Beauchemin has been a healthy scratch a handful of times this year. When the lineups allotted it, he's been a scratch on back-to-backs for precautionary fatigue purposes. I think he was scratched for the Colorado game because Holzer (Anaheim's #7 defenseman) had only had 1 game in the past 20 or so. So all in all he's a regular who's been healthy, but has been scratched for management purposes.

Otherwise, it's been great to have Beauchemin back in a Ducks sweater! The guy has a knack for hammering an effective point shots. He was a big contributor to the game winner tonight!

Sweet, thanks for the information!