The Ducks escaped Philadelphia with two points on Tuesday night as a result of winning a shootout over the hometown Flyers. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. Before the opening puck drop in Pittsburgh, would you have been happy with six points out of this road trip? Sure you would. That's why I won't get worked up about this one and happily take the points. I understand that road trips drag and mental sharpness suffers. My biggest point of contention would be penalties, especially the one that Andrew Cogliano took with a man down, but the positives outweigh the negatives.
Matt Beleskey worked well as the third candidate this year to play alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Cory Perry and scored a goal. Left wing on that line is turning out be a pretty cool gig. The first goal of the game was scored by Tim Jackman, its always good when the fourth line adds some offense. Finally, Devante Smith-Pelly scored his first goal of the season.
Frederik Andersen stopped 38 of 41 shots to keep the Ducks in the game. At even strength, he only allowed one goal. The others were a result of being one and two men short-handed. Andersen has claimed the number one job, with an explanation point. So far he's 3-0 with a 1.98 Goals Against Average.
Patrick Maroon's injury is a sprained ligament in his left knee. He is expected to miss about four weeks. Bryan Allen has a lower body injury and there is no time table for his return. Dany Heatley should be back in under two weeks. In the interim Chris Wagner will serve as the 13th forward.
Tyler Myers rumors seem to be a hot button topic. He may or may not be the answer on defense, but someone needs to either come in or a current play has to step up. There have been too many lapses for comfort and Andersen has covered up many of the mistakes. I have some thoughts on defensemen the Ducks should target, but I'm interested in who the Duck-verse thinks is a good fit.
-Ed