Anaheim Ducks - pmedic05

Heartbreak Yesterday, Rivalry Game Today
March 18, 2017, 4:33 PM ET [3 Comments]
Ed Stein
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That Little Extra

The Ducks dropped a heartbreaker at the Honda Center to Buffalo last night. It was a game they should have won, but only managed to pick up one point. The chances were there, but as it happened way to often this year, Anaheim couldn't cash in.

At this point in the schedule, every point is vital for the Ducks as they fight for a playoff spot. They are as close to the last seed as they are the second seed. Just in the last week it feels like Anaheim has given away a pair of points. Last Friday in St. Louis when the Blues scored with 20ish seconds left to deny the Ducks a chance at overtime and of course the one they didn't get last night. It would really stick in their craw if those two points cane back to haunt them at the end.

Two items stick out like girl in the red dress from “The Matrix.” First, Corey Perry should really consider changing his theme song to “Iron Man.” The game was on his stick and he added to his season long collection of collecting pipes by ringing the puck off the pipe. Second, its almost a given that Jonathan Bernier will play well enough to keep the Ducks in the game. All too often, the problem is when the team needs Bernier to carry them for the entirety of play or when he needs the team to pick him up, it doesn't happen.

One of my favorite coaching quotes from former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson; “the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” One of the biggest differences between the Ducks of the past few seasons and this one is that “little extra” doesn't seem to be there when they need it.

Ducks at San Jose

A Ducks win tonight at the Shark Tank tonight will wash last night's bitter taste from their mouths. All the pregame cliches are in place. The top two teams in the division are jockying for playoff positioning in a game between two heated rivals. I'm going to suggest a little different cliché from the normal Ducks-Sharks tilt. Take this game in the one at a time vein. Clear everything else from the memory banks and focus all the energy on tonight.

Coach Randy Carlyle has a few big decision to make regarding his goalie for tonight. Allthought its early in the day, nothing suggests that John Gibson will make a Kirk Gibson-esque return tonight. That leaves the choice between load bearer Bernier making back to back starts or playing Jhonas Enroth, who has to be a touch rust as he has been only a spectator during his two stints with the club over the past month. Adiitionally, its a rivalry game, does the coach go with the “physical” lineup and use Chris Wagner, Jared Boll and Korbian Holzer? Does he utilize the “skilled” group of Ondrej Kase, Logan Shaw and Brandon Montour? Or is there a hybrid option?

Forwards
Rakell-Getzlaf-Eaves
Ritchie-Vermette-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Thompson centering some combination of Kase/Wagner/Shaw/Boll

Defensemen
Fowler-Vatanen
Lindholm-Manson
Bieksa-Montour/Holzer

Goalie
Enroth/Bernier