The Ducks ended 2014 on a sour note by losing 3-0 to the Sharks Tuesday night. It was a game of missed opportunities for Anaheim. They certainly had their chances, but couldn't convert in a meaningful way. What was worse is that the scoreboard wasn't the only place the Ducks lost. It felt like the team fell apart after the breaks started piling up against them.
Corey Perry summed it up in his post game comments. He told Ducks.com, “We put ourselves behind the eight ball right away. We took three penalties in the first period. You can’t play that way against a team like that. We let our emotions get the best of us. We learn from our mistakes. We’ve addressed it already and we move on.…
Over the course of an 82 game regular season, even the best teams have a mentally off day. That happened in 2014 and its over.
Its now 2015 and time to turn the page. If Kyle Palmieri dresses tonight, the Ducks will have a healthy team for the first time all season. The Ducks roster has been hamstrung since opening day and they still put up the best record in the NHL this season. Provided Anaheim can stay healthy, the rest of the NHL should be worried.
Blues at Ducks
The St. Louis Blues are in town tonight as two of the Western Conference's best teams square off. Frederik Andersen returns to the Anaheim nets after Tuesday's loss. According to recent reports, Andersen will start almost all of this month's games. Backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov may not play until January 30 against Chicago.
Dany Heatley cleared waivers and was sent to the Norfolk Admirals. He was joined by Max Frieberg, who played reasonably well during his brief audition with the big club. Corey Perry's return on Tuesday sent Rene Bourque to the press box. If Palmieri comes back, Devante Smith-Pelly will probably be demoted to the fourth line and Emerson Etem is likely to be scratched. Tonight's probale lineup is as follows:
Forwards Maroon-Getzlaf-Perry Beleskey-Kesler-Palmieri/DSP Cogliano-Thompson-Silfverberg Jackman-Rakell-DSP/Etem
Defensemen Fowler-Lovejoy Lindholm-Beauchemin Stoner-Vatanen
Goalies Andersen Bryzgalov