I've been out of pocket for a little while. I got a new job and they actually expect me to work when I'm there. Go figure.
The Ducks are down to their final two games of the season. There are still a few questions that need answers
1) Will the Ducks win the top seed in the west?
2) Who will be their opening round opponent?
3) Can the power play get going?
4) Who is the number one goalie?
My answers are:
1) More than likely, St. Louis is two points back of the Ducks with two games left. The Ducks hold the first tie breaker, ROW, so it looks promising.
2) A more accurate question on the minds of Ducks fans would have been, are the dreaded Kings going to sneak into the eight seed? Calgary looks like they will hold off the Kings, they are in the same situation as the Ducks are with St. Louis, two points ahead and holding the tie breaker with two game to play.
3) The Ducks power play has looked dead the past three games. They have scored one goal in the last nine games and 19 opportunities. The silver lining may be that Bruce Boudreau has been rotating players through the lineup, so maybe more consistency will yield better results.
4) A week ago I had Gibson slightly ahead, but Anderson is fighting it out with him. I am leaning toward Andersen because I think Boudreau has Freddy as his main guy.
Stars at Ducks
The Dallas Stars are at The Pond tonight. The men from big D have been eliminated from the playoff hunt, so they are “playing for pride…
For the Ducks, a win locks up the Western Conference's number one seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The lineup shuffling will continue as Ryan Getzlaf didn't participate in practice today, which may indicate his inactive status for the game. Forwards Tim Jackman and Matt Beleskey return to the lineup which will make Tomas Fleischmann and Emerson Etem healthy scratches. On defense James Wisniewski is the odd man out. Frederik Andersen was the first goalie off the ice this morning, so he is the likely starter.
Based on today's practice, this is the probable lineup
Forwards Sekac-Rakell-Perry Beleskey-Kesler-Palmieri Cogliano-Thompson-Silfverberg Maroon-Wagner-Jackman
Defenseman Lindholm-Beauchemin Fowler-Despres Stoner-Vatanen
Goalies Andersen Gibson
-Ed