The Ducks travel north tonight to meet up with an old friend. Jonas Hiller, the longtime Anaheim goalie's contract with the club expired after last season. He signed with Calgary as a free agent in the offseason. His arrival has coincided with a return to winning hockey in the “Stampede City.…
Sunday night's stinker at home against Florida has left a bad taste in the mouths of the Ducks. They look for redemption tonight, but it will be no easy task. Coach Bruce Boudreau told Ducks.com that Hiller will be ready for his team; “He'll be at his absolute best [tonight]. We know that.…
The Ducks have in house issues that will test the team's depth tonight.
Its now William Karlsson's turn to have the flu. He didn't make the trip to Calgary. Devante Smith-Pelly's injury was revealed to be an issue with his shoulder. He skated some this morning, but is still several days away. Francois Beauchemin is over the mumps, but he isn't ready to play tonight. Tim Jackman has recovered from the stomach flu and will rejoin the fourth line. Even replacement call up Chris Wagner is dealing with an upper body injury. John Gibson, Dany Heatley, Ben Lovejoy and Marc Fistric remain on injured reserve.
Frederik Andersen returns to the Ducks net tonight despite giving up three or more goals in his previous three appearances. Maybe facing his Hiller will give him a lift.
Tonight's lineup should look like this:
Forwards Etem-Getzlaf-Perry Beleskey-Kesler-Silfverberg Cogliano-Rakell-Palmieri Maroon-Thompson-Jackman
Defense Fowler-Stoner Lindholm-Manson Allen-Vatanen
Goalie Andersen LaBarbera
Miscellaneous
There were two items from Eklund's blog earlier today that should be discussed as they relate to the Ducks.
He mentioned Martin Brodeur as a replacement for John Gibson. I wrote months ago that I thought bringing in Brodeur was a good idea. I can't think of a better goalie for Andersen and Gibson to learn from. Something Ek wrote about the situation scared the heck out of me; “Especially if Gibson's injury is as bad as it now looks it could be.“ I'm going to dig further on Gibson's rehabilitation.
Also, Ek said that Dustin Byfuglin is on his way out of Winnipeg. Boston, Philly, Montreal and New Jersey were listed as possible destinations. If he is moving, Duck General Manager Bob Murray should look at bringing him to Anaheim. His big body and versatility are two things that the Ducks could use.
I'd like your opinions, please feel free to leave your comments.