5 Bullet Point Observations
* Ondrej Kase is the real deal. He has the ability to be a big contributor to the Ducks in the next few years.
* Where is the vaunted Anaheim defense and goaltending? Over the past seven games, they have allowed three or more goals in five of them.
* Shea Theodore looks like he is increasingly more comfortable as a member of this team. Is it enough, however to make Cam Fowler expendable?
* I was a bit skeptical when the Ducks shipped Michael Sgarbosa to Florida a month ago. Their return is working out better than anyone expected. Logan Shaw has been a very good fit on both the fourth line and penalty kill units.
*Christmas season is the time for bell ringing. In the Ducks case, it means lots of post ringing. The inches are adding up. For a review on the importance of inches in sports, here is Al Pacino:
The Ducks make their final appearance at Joe Louis arena today. In case you dont know, the Joe is scheduled for demolition after this season and the Wings will move into a new facility for 2017-18. After losing Pavel Datsyuk this past year, they seem rudderless. Its not the same Red Wings team we remember, but there is more than enough talent on the roster to give any team fits.
There probably won't be any changes for Anaheim to the skaters from Thursday night's squad who beat Boston 4-3. It does look like coach Randy Carlyle may be making a change from his customary goalie rotation. Jonathan Bernier was the first goalie off the ice in practice today, usually a solid indicator of who will start. If so, Bernier would be making his first back to back starts with Anaheim. John Gibson seems to be in Carlyle's doghouse after getting pulled from Tuesday's loss in Dallas.
Here is tonight's expected lineup:
Forwards Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg Ritchie-Vermette-Kase Cramerosa-Noesen-Shaw
Defesemen Fowler-Vatanen Lindholm-Manson Theodore-Bieksa
Goaltenders Bernier Gibson