At Friday night's home opener goalie Frederik Andersen was again sharp as he led the Ducks to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. After falling behind early, Andersen kept the Ducks in the game until Andrew Cogliano scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game in the third period. Cory Perry put in the eventual game winner half way through the period for Anaheim's second consecutive come from behind win.
I called out Cogliano after taking a bad penalty in Philly which lead to a Flyers goal. Its only fair he gets his props after showing great hustle to get the puck on a Wild turnover that led to his breakaway goal. Wild left wing Zack Parise admitted Cogliano's goal turned the game around. In his postgame comments he said, he said, "That shorthanded goal doesn’t help. We were in pretty good control of the game until then, and then the game-winner. We had the right idea to make the right play and we didn’t execute it, and it’s in the back of the net and that’s the game."
The Ducks have now won four games in a row. Coach Bruce Boudreau thinks the team is off to a good start, but knows the Ducks still have plenty of work to do to remain on top. He told Ducks.com, “The size of the win is based on what really good teams are capable of doing. We have to get better if we want to stay at that level. That was the lesson that we learned. That’s why it was a big game. They were a very good team. We’re grateful for the win, but we know we have to get better.…
An interesting side note, Rickard Rakell has gone from pre-season favorite to be the third line center to healthy scratch. His benching led to Chris Wagner's NHL debut. With his impressive play so far in his rookie season, William Karlsson is now the team's third line center.
Today, the St. Louis Blues come to the Honda Center. Frederik Andersen again starts in net with Jason LaBarbera as his backup. John Gibson remains with the Norfolk Admirals where he won his last start. Devante Smith-Pelly worked with the first line yesterday. Mark Fistric missed practice due to illness but he wasn't expected to play today.
The Ducks face a Blues team that is among the favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup. They catch a small break today as Blues all-star center Paul Stastny will be held out of the game due to injury. The Ducks lineup shouldn't change much.
Forwards DSP-Getzlaf-Perry Cogliano-Kesler-Etem Beleskey-Karlsson-Silfverberg Wagner/Rakell-Thompson-Jackman
Defensemen Lindholm-Beauchemin Fowler-Lovejoy Stoner-Vatanen
Goalies Andersen LaBarbera
-Ed