Deuces Wild
There is a recurring theme in today's blog as the Ducks are in Philadelphia for the second part of back-to-back road games. Part one, went very well yesterday. The Ducks easily handled an under talented Buffalo Sabres squad, 5-1 for win number two on the early season.
This was a game the Ducks should have won handily and they did just that. The team dominated in all facets of the game, offense, defense and special teams. They outshot Buffalo 44-12. Coach Bruce Boudreau was not only happy with the result but also with his squad's work ethic. In his postgame interview with Ducks.com, he said, “we did what we planned to do. I was a little worried after the [first period] when you outplay an opponent that bad and it’s only a 1-0 game. You have to give our guys a ton of credit because they did the same thing in the second period. They came out with the same energy. There was no let up. That’s a 60-minute game, and that’s what you need to survive.…
Rookie William Karlsson scored his first two goals of his career. The first was an all Swede goal as he beat Sabres goalie Neuvirth with a nasty wrist shot. He was assisted by fellow countrymen Hampus Lindholm and Jakob Silfverberg. On his second goal, Karlsson eagerly put the puck past an unaware Neuvirth from right in front of the net.
The power play looked sharp early on when Corey Perry scored his fourth goal of the year (for those of you following the theme that's two time two). It would have been nice if they converted on another of their other five opportunities with the man advantage.
Patrick Maroon got one of the assists on Perry's goal. Unfortunately, his game ended in the second period when he hurt his knee as a result of a questionable Josh Georges hit. He really clicked on the top line with Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. As a matter of fact, the staff was considering letting Maroon stay on the line when Dany Heatley returns from his groin injury. Boudreau told the OCR, “With Heatley coming back, we were wondering what position he was going to play. If he went back to that line or move over.…
In the interim, either Emerson Etem or Matt Beleskey will move up to the top line and Rickard Rakell will probably move to the wing and back-fill the open line. Another forward will probably be recalled from Norfolk to be the 13th forward.
Tyler Myers
Yesterday, Ek reported on the Ducks' interest in Sabres 6' 8… defenseman Tyler Myers. If Myers was trying to impress the Ducks yesterday, he didn't do a very good job. I'm very conflicted about Myers. The guy has talent but hasn't been a consistent performer over the course of his career. Part of his lack of success has to do with playing for a perennially bad Sabres team. The other part has to be on him. His intermittent results on the ice tells me that at 24 years old, he still has some maturing to do.
For his size and talent, the $5.5M cap hit over the next five seasons isn't bad, but would be an albatross around the Ducks neck if he is a bust. I believe that Myers has had to carry a low talent Sabres defense corps the past few seasons. A move to a team like the Ducks would mean he could shed the Messiah role he was given in Buffalo and thrive. Additionally, he would benefit from being around some established veterans like Francois Beauchemin and Ben Lovejoy.
Even though he has been a mixed bag of quality throughout his career, the Sabres will command a high price to acquire his services. The Ducks can put together a nice package that would be good for the Sabres without denting their own armor. Some combination of Marcus Petterson, a young forward such as Emerson Etem, a veteran defenseman like Bryan Allen (with an expiring contract) and a first round pick (which will be late) in exchange for Myers and hopefully a second round pick, but probably a third would get it done.
If the Ducks do get Myers, who sits?
Today's Game Preview
The Flyers are on the docket today. Frederik Andersen earned his second win on the year yesterday so there is a good chance that Pennsylvania native John Gibson will get today's start in the Ducks net. If so, Gibson needs to make the most of this start because the way the schedule sets up, it might be another two and a half weeks before he gets another. Here is the projected lineup:
Forwards Belesky-Getzlaf-Perry Etem-Kesler-DSP Cogliano-Karlsson-Silfverberg Rakell-Thompson-Jackman
Defense Lindholm-Beauchemin Fowler-Lovejoy Stoner-Vatanen
Goalie Gibson Andersen
A win tonight would give the Ducks a 3-1 record to start the season. Not bad for a four game cross-country road trip.
-Ed