Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau saw it coming. He saw his team starting to sit back. He saw his team starting to cheat more and he saw his team heading in the wrong direction.
"There's always a very big buildup to that [outdoor] game. I thought with two days off instead of one day off, it would be an advantage for us. But evidently, it wasn't. We didn't play anywhere near the way we should have. It's been coming….we've got to pick up our socks because everybody's waiting for us. It's no surprise now. The target's on our back."
Those were Boudreau's words following last nights 4-2 loss at home to Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild.
The Ducks did not look good. They survived a sloppy first period and two Luca Sbisa penalties thanks to Dustin Penner's 13th goal of the season. But it was all down hill from there.
The second period was probably one of the Ducks worst periods of hockey this season. Minnesota took a 2-1 lead just 13 seconds into the middle frame and never looked back. The Ducks took two more penalties and were out shot by an 11-4 margin.
Despite a late push by the Ducks and a 18-11 shot advantage, the wheels fell off in the third period as the Wild broke open the game with two more goals. A late Mathieu Perreault tally and a couple of hit posts made the game appear closer than it was.
Parise finished with a goal and two assists. It was Parise's first points since returning from a a broken foot. The former New Jersey Devils captain was too much for the Ducks as he led his team to an important win. Minnesota now has a four point cushion over the Phoenix Coyotes for the top Wild Card spot in the West.
Back to the Ducks...
The Ducks took too many penalties (5) and took too many shifts off. Jonas Hiller gave up four goals on 33 shots and blah. blah, blah...a loss is a loss.
Mind you this is the same Anaheim team that up until 10 days ago had not lost in regulation at home. Now they have lost two of three at the Honda Center and head towards the Olympic break with a few more question marks than anticipated.
It's not all doom and gloom though. You can't expect Anaheim to keep winning at the pace they were. Let's look on the bright side. The Ducks dropped to 39-11-5 with 83 points, but still lead the Sharks by nine points in the Pacific and lead the Hawks and Blues by six points for number one overall in the NHL.
Anaheim is 7-3-0 in the last ten games, while Chicago is 3-3-4 and St. Louis is just 6-4-0.
These things happen. Time to put it to bed.
Anaheim has the next three games at home before heading on the road to face Nashville and then a three week break for Sochi. Anaheim needs a strong finish before the break because I think once the NHL resumes the tables may turn a little bit and some of these teams with several players participating in the game may struggle to find their own team rhythm when we resume. Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboHTW
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