The Ducks went Tubthumping last night. “I get knocked down, but I get up again.… Every time the Kings jumped ahead, the Ducks came back. Not only did they come back from two goals down, twice; they made John Quick, arguably one of the best goalies in the NHL, look bad while doing it.
Duck antagonists will use the inevitable “The Kings had to play Jamie McBain on defense… argument. They did, but Anaheim also used Josh Manson in place of Francois Beauchemin. I'm not knocking down the Kings, they are the defending champs, rather I want to build up the Ducks. They had every reason to give up and they didn't.
For the first time in the past two weeks it felt like the Ducks shifted into a higher gear. The Duck rally came after goalie Federik Andersen was pulled by coach Bruce Boudreau in the second period. Maybe the team realized Andersen saved their bacon time and again when they couldn't buy a goal of their own and they owed him one.
Replacement goalie Jason LaBarbera wasn't stellar, he allowed two goals of his own, but he made some tough saves down the stretch to keep the Ducks in the hunt. LaBarbera staged a rally of his own in the shootout. After allowing Marion Gaborik's opening shot in, he stopped Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar on successive attempts.
Maybe the most impressive aspect of the game was the physicality of play. Anaheim and L.A. combined for 80 hits, with the Ducks winning the battle 44-36. A newcomer to the SoCal rivalry, Ryan Kesler was the Ducks main man. He scored two goals, assisted on another, and even had the shootout winner. Also, he led the team with 8 hits. Kesler earned the game's first star he was awarded last night.
While the Ducks can celebrate today, the need to get ready for their rematch with their rivals on Saturday night. The Kings aren't going to take the loss lightly. This loss stings and L.A. will be looking for payback.
Mumps?, Mumps!
Well the cat is out of the bag regarding Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin, they have the mumps. This revelation brings up more questions than it answered. How often have you heard that someone had the mumps? We all get the MMR vaccine as kids in the USA. It is given to Canadian children as well. I did a little homework and came across the following from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
People who have received two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 9 times less likely to get mumps than unvaccinated people who have the same exposure to mumps virus. However, some people who received two doses of MMR can still get mumps, especially if they have an intense exposure to the mumps virus.
The elephant in the room is how did these guys have intense exposure to a virus? Turns out its not so far fetched. Again from the CDC:
Outbreaks can still occur in highly vaccinated U.S. communities, particularly in close-contact settings. In recent years, outbreaks have occurred in schools, colleges, and camps. However, high vaccination coverage helps limit the size, duration, and spread of mumps outbreaks.
If you are a parent, you've seen similar. A kid shows up to school and coughs or sneezes on their classmates. Those kids come home with the germs. A few days later you feel sick and a week after that, Herb in back right cubicle misses a few days of work. Heck, Herb doesn't even have kids. The point is when people are together in a close setting like a locker room or airplane, germs get passed around. If all goes well, both players should be back in uniform within a week.
Good Listen
I caught HockeyBuzz Predators writer, Paul McCann's radio show last night. Paul co-hosts the show with well respected Predators play-by-play man Pete Weber. Another colleague, Peter Tessier, the HockeyBuzz Jets writer, was one of the guests. Its a good listen. You can go to the show's homepage to hear past episodes. http://www.slapshotradio.com/home.php
-Ed