Jonas Hiller was easily the biggest story after last night's game against the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. For those of you that didn't see the game, the Ducks beat Chicago last night 2-1 in Anaheim, riding an incredible performance in net from Jonas Hiller. He stopped 39 of the 40 shots Chicago put on net, only being beat by Bryan Bickell in the second period. Hiller even made the original stop on Bickell, where he puma-leaped across the crease and stopped a tap in shot with his stick, but then knocked the puck behind him and into the net. Hiller looked like a complete wall in the third period, where he stopped 19 shots, including this amazing save on Jack Skille:
Needless to say, this game would have been a loss without Hiller's performance.
The thing that I did not like about this game was how the Ducks once again sat back in the third period. They were outshot 19-2 in the third, which is completely unacceptable. It took players 4-5 tries to clear pucks out of our defensive zone, and by the time they got it out, the players were too gassed and had to change. I don't blame this particular collapse on Carlyle, simply because he was not the one who couldn't clear the zone. It definitely falls on the players, and every single Duck owes Jonas a beer.
Anaheim Ducks Fail of the Night
Last night's biggest fail for the Ducks was the Anaheim Powerplay. They were 0/3, and playing against a disciplined team like Chicago, they really needed to cash in on one of those. The first PP was the best of the three, they had good zone time, had a few shots, and controlled the puck. The other 2 were complete disasters. The Ducks could not get the puck in past the Chicago defense, and even let Marian Hossa skate around the puck for 30 seconds with the puck, practically unopposed. On their own Powerplay! That was easily the most frustrating moment of the game. The PP is a place where we will definitely be missing Getzlaf, and someone needs to step in and control the puck in the zone. I don't expect someone to be as effective as Getzlaf, but someone needs to take on the role of being the passer. I'd expect it to be Ryan, mostly because Selanne needs to be parked at the bottom of the left circle for one-timers, and Perry needs to be in the crease, mucking it up and pissing off the goalies.
Tomorrow I make a post about the Maxim Lapierre trade, and what I think we should do with him. Hopefully everyone else is enjoying the fact that Hawk fans everywhere are fuming over our goalie, and looking forward to more against Nashville on Wednesday. GO DUCKS
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