On Monday night, Chicago Blackhawks agitator Ryan Garbutt collided with Anaheim Ducks goalie Freddie Andersen and planted him on his keester. Ducks tough guy Clayton Stoner saw to it that Garbutt pay the price for his transgressions.
Stoner got an instigator on that https://t.co/YOqG90sfpp
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 27, 2015
The Blackhawks earned a power play while Andersen was cited for playing for puck outside of his trapezoid. Garbutt got an ice bag to settle down the swelling on his mug after he was pumped by the bigger Stoner.
Try as they might, the Hawks could not solve Andersen.
What's my point?
For as bad as the Ducks forwards and D have been this season, Andersen has been the team's best player.
The Garbutt mugging is part and parcel the story of the season for the Ducks and Andersen.
It's a microcosm for the disappointment that Ducks fans are feeling right now as a result of this nightmarish streak of bad luck.
Bruce Boudreau's team is is deep duck doo doo right now.
Seemingly, they can't do anything right.
The Ducks have been flying around with a voodoo curse on them that they cannot seem to reverse.
It's mystifying and maddening.
How can such a gifted collection of proven offensive performers be shooting blanks for the first two and a half weeks of the NHL season?
Heading into Monday's battle in Chicago, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Jakub Silfverberg, Carl Hagelin, Chris Stewart, Patrick Maroon, and others were guilty of having bagels in the "goals scored" column on their Ducks scoring chart.
Don't ask me what the problem with Anaheim's anemic offense is.
They were selected by many observers to be the Western Conference representative in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals.
How can a team so right in talent, skill, and character have nothing to show for it's efforts at this point in the NHL season?
In its first seven games, the Ducks had been shutout four times. In fact, heading into Monday's action, there were 19 shutouts already posted in the NHL. The Ducks had been victimized on four different occasions.
The Ducks entered the third period in Chicago scoreless in it's past 107 minutes, 45 seconds of play.
After twenty minutes of back and forth action, there was still no score. The Ducks scoreless drought was now 127 minutes and 45 second long and counting.
Late in the third period of the 0-0 tie, the Blackhawks thought that they had scored a goal. Upon further review, it was ruled that the net was off its moorings. The play was reviewed and was ruled No Goal. Rule 78.1 in full effect.
the goal (or non-goal, as was called on the ice) currently under review pic.twitter.com/PM6u6NeoNs
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 27, 2015
Corey Crawford made 37 saves.
Off to three on three OT they went.
Jonathon Toews ended the tug of war with a beauty of a top shelf goal for the OT GWG.
Toews OT winner pic.twitter.com/0WJjYjTRmd
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 27, 2015
Game over. Hawks win.
After the gut-punching loss, Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau tried to keep the message positive: "That's the best game we've played all year. We need to build on it now and not be disappointed. We can't just be a one and done group. We have to do the same thing tomorrow and push it."
There are no moral victories now that the Ducks have been shutout 5 times in their first 8 games.
Andersen made 23 saves in regulation. He is now 0-3-2 on this disappointing season. He has a .940 save percentage to go along with his 1.71 GAA. He has allowed only 10 goals on 168 shots faced.
Anaheim GM Bob Murray should trade Andersen now while he is hotter than a pistol. The Ducks can fortify their offense and D by trading Andersen and replacing him with John Gibson.
The Ducks have scored just 6 goals in 8 games while allowing 20 goals against.
They are 1-5-2.
Andersen will be an restricted free agent on July 1.
It's officially duck hunting season.