Open Gameday Thread Flyers @ Ducks
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 31, 2010 12:00 AM PST
in Gameday
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.-From Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns
ARTHUR:
Some of you may sing a little Burns tonight-- the lucky ones in full Scottish dialectical panoply. If you get to the above verse, I suggest taking it to heart, especially in regards to the Ducks.
I've always been a fan of Robert Burns, though I know full well that the density of the parlance in his composition has kept him a somewhat obscure poet with American audiences. He is best known stateside for Auld Lang Syne and a translated quote from his work, To a Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With a Plough.
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!-From To a Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With a Plough by Robert Burns
They seem to be opposing commentaries on human nature: the ease with which we forget in Auld Lang Syne and the curse of enduring memories in To a Mouse...
But, really, it's the same idea. We forget the good times too easily, especially as the hardships in life increase. Logically, one has to make little preparation for smooth sailing, even if one was to be so bold as to anticipate it. The bad times, conversely, can consume us. We forecast their arrival based on previous occurrences. Sometimes, even if all signs point to smooth sailing, we prepare for rough waters, just because the signs have been wrong that once in a thousand times before.
If you talk Ducks tonight, someone will inevitably discuss how much this season looks like last season-- heck, I plan to do it in tonight's question --but there are so many high points we've forgotten.
Sbisa is a great player. In the Pronger rental-- Lupul comes back a little older, of course, but a little tougher as well, so it's mostly a wash --we essentially swapped our Smid stock for Sbisa futures (this is before you even factor in the fact that we managed to pick Kyle Palmieri, Mat Clark, and Emerson Etem with our Pronger picks, while only missing out on Jordan Eberle and Nick Ross). Go Pro and Am Scouting Departments. Drink to that.
In March of this year, we saw 600. Remember when milestones were enough? When just seeing the Kariya and Selanne Show was worth the ticket prices for every loss? The Flash's midlife crisis has been awesome. Drink to that.
We watched Scott Niedermayer retire (for realz this time), and he's joined the organization, at least as a full time den-mother to Cam Fowler, who we somehow greeted on stage at Staples Center with the 12th overall pick. Drink to that.
Surely, we will brace ourselves for players not showing up, for more Carlyle lulls, for Murray threatening moves but not making a move until the Ducks are practically out of it at the deadline, and maybe for the Ducks actually being out of it then putting together another piecemeal defense to try this again next season. Human nature. But peeking through all of that are moments we have no business forgetting.
Tak a cup o' kindness yet.
FOWL!
[Editor's Note: The blog is on autopilot until I stop drinking]
0 commentsGetzlaf Out For Tomorrow
Carlyle says, though Getzlaf is feeling better, they want him to see a specialist, and they haven't been able to get time with one seeing as how we're in between Christmas and New Year's.
Ducks Sign Smith-Pelly to Entry Level Deal
I talked to Devo in October, and I'll probably follow up with him at the end of his season in Mississauga. Great kid.
Chirping the Bench: The Allokago Edition
by Allokago on Dec 29, 2010 1:00 PM PST
in Chirping The Bench
ALLOKAGO:
Hi, all! I am the newest voice of your farm team, here to take over for Magics while he's away bettering himself in Russia. I won't be a regular until the beginning of Feb., but we figured we should introduce me a bit early. Some of you may reconize my moniker from the comments section of this fine site. Others may reconize me as one of the voices over at Chairman How's Glorious Army, where I have the honor of being a main contributor. Others may not know me from a hole in the wall, which is why I'm goning to start out with a lil' introduction here. Those of you who know me well—too well?—just bear with me.
Wolf Tickets
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 28, 2010 11:08 PM PST
ARTHUR:
If the game before the players' closed-door meetings with Randy Carlyle was atrocious and evidence of how this Ducks team has no passion, then the game after was clear and convincing evidence of the contrary. The goals didn't always come from battles won, but the Ducks were winning battles on the ice. And after Ryan Getlaf left with a cut to the forehead, some very interesting line shuffles proved successful-- shocking for a team whose chemistry has seemed so fragile this year.
The tongue in cheek question here is 'why not have these meetings after every loss?' but there is some uncomfortable truth to that, as the effects of these heart-to-heart's have worn off in the past. Daniel, do you think this session of grievance airing will have a lasting effect on the rest of the Anaheim season, or do you think it's just a matter of time before the team gets back to the recent vintage of Ducks hockey?
Open Gameday Recap Thread Ducks @ Coyotes
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 28, 2010 9:07 PM PST
in Gameday
ARTHUR:
The Ducks made their case for the evening's two points in the first period, where they scored three goals, only the second of which was necessary to put away the Coyotes 3-1. It was a strong performance by several Ducks, who were shuffled after captain Ryan Getzlaf took a puck to the forehead and was led off the ice bleeding in the 2nd. Getzlaf was reportedly struck above the eye and feeling better by the 3rd period.
Open Gameday Thread Ducks @ Coyotes
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 28, 2010 2:04 AM PST
in Gameday
ARTHUR:
It's a few days since Festivus, but the Ducks and the Ducks coaches have finally aired their grievances with one another.
The fact that both parties are still soul searching at the midpoint of the season (and the fact that that quest is evident in the on-ice product) probably won't sit well with most fans.
Sleek's not here to blame the coach, but the argument is certainly there. If the coach has any influence over the culture of his locker room-- and if he doesn't, he really has no business serving as their coach --then doing battle with the pronounced ennui backstage should be his primary concern. It either hasn't been to this point or he hasn't figured out how to fix it 39 games in (though you could certainly argue it's been a problem for a season and a half or more).
There's an argument emerging against the players, too, but I feel it gets knee-deep in conjecture. Is the top line's inconsistency the downfall of the entire team? Are we to believe that they tacitly approve of the complacency in the locker room, or that their failure to deliver for a team that depends on them will keep this team from the playoffs yet again?
It's nice to think that a player like Ryan Whitney got away from the bad influence of the Anaheim locker room in order to get back to his game. But that unnecessarily obscures the fact that Ryan Whitney wasn't being used properly by Murray or Carlyle, which Murray admitted.
So you wonder about the coaching decision to make the top line the heart of this team, and maybe the general managerial decision to trade and release pieces that were the heart of this team. Is this a team that could really use a Pahlsson, a Moen, a Beauchemin or a Pronger right now? Did the young leadership of this team perhaps need more time with the character players to see how it's done?
When it comes to building chemistry, developing talent to serve team goals and choosing the players that your squad will live and die with, that's really above the pay grade of the average NHL player. It's an exercise that should be left to the people who know better. Of all the soul searching going on right now, wondering if Anaheim currently has those people should be everyone's primary concern as a calendar year of painful Ducks hockey comes to a close.
FOWL!
Western Classic
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 27, 2010 1:38 AM PST
DANIEL:
In 1967, the NHL came west, in part to chase a proper television contract. Ironically, over 40 years later, the league's largest television event has mostly excluded its West Coast markets.
Arthur, we've asked the question before, but the Kings, owners of the ugliest throwback and Winter-Classic-friendly jerseys are good again, so what do you think of the possibility of a West Coast Winter Classic?
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General
Pacific Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas
|
38 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 48 |
|
Los Angeles
|
37 | 22 | 14 | 1 | 45 |
|
San Jose
|
38 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 45 |
|
Anaheim
|
40 | 19 | 17 | 4 | 42 |
|
Phoenix
|
36 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 41 |
(updated 12.31.2010 at 1:27 AM PST)
Ducks Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
Philadelphia
|
Fri 12/31 | 5:00 PM PST |
|
Chicago
|
Sun 01/02 | 5:00 PM PST |
|
Nashville
|
Wed 01/05 | 7:00 PM PST |
|
Columbus
|
Fri 01/07 | 7:00 PM PST |
|
San Jose
|
Sun 01/09 | 5:00 PM PST |
Last 5 Games
|
@
Phoenix
|
Tue 12/28 | W 3 - 1 |
|
@
Los Angeles
|
Sun 12/26 | L 1 - 4 |
|
@
Buffalo
|
Tue 12/21 | L 2 - 5 |
|
@
Boston
|
Mon 12/20 | W 3 - 0 |
|
@
Carolina
|
Sat 12/18 | L 2 - 4 |
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