Forum allgemein » The Anaheim Ducks will have plenty of reasons to be proud

ANAHEIM Jake Guentzel Jersey Kids , Calif. (AP) The Anaheim Ducks will have plenty of reasons to be proud of their yearlong resilience and late-season determination to make the playoffs after an incredible stretch of early-season injury woes.They’ll also have plenty of time to reflect on those achievements during an extra-long summer for a team that couldn’t put it together in the postseason.The Ducks began the process of breaking up for the offseason this weekend after the San Jose Sharks completed a four-game sweep of their first-round series.”There’s a numbness that’s kind of subsiding now,” coach Randy Carlyle said. ”After the run and the season-long trials and tribulations that you go through, you get to the playoffs and win out and get second place in the division, and four games later, a week later, you’re out of it, which is really numbing.”Anaheim had made the Western Conference finals in two of the previous three seasons, and its six consecutive playoff berths constitute the second-longest active streak in the NHL. The Ducks finished with their fifth consecutive 100-point season – the league’s longest active streak – and went 10-1-1 with five straight victories to close the regular season, even surging into second place in the Pacific Division.But the Ducks’ streak of five straight Pacific titles ended, and then their season ended in embarrassing fashion.The Ducks made the playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons, but perhaps they simply ran out of steam. Their mad dash to reach the postseason was necessitated by the slow start caused by the club’s numerous injury problems during the first half. Their top two centers – Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf – missed huge chunks of early play, while goal-scoring forward Patrick Eaves never suited up all year because of Guillain-Barre syndrome.”The adversity that we faced this year was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, especially at the start of the year,” said top defenseman Cam Fowler, who missed the playoffs with a shoulder injury. ”We grinded it out, and to get to the 100-point mark was fantastic. But at the end of the day, you have to make a name for yourself come playoff time, and unfortunately we didn’t do that this year.”Once the Ducks get over the hurt http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-justin-schultz-jersey , they’ll evaluate the core of talent that remains in Anaheim after years of contention. General manager Bob Murray will have to decide whether that core is championship-caliber when healthy or whether it’s time to break up one of the NHL’s most consistent winners.Here are more things to know as the Ducks head into a long offseason:MORE SPEEDMurray is among the observers who think the Ducks simply don’t play fast enough to compete optimally in the modern NHL. The Ducks’ heavy, punishing style of play under Carlyle has won plenty of games over the past two years, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in a series with the Sharks, who aren’t even the fastest team around. Carlyle will be back next season to make the necessary changes, Murray confirmed. How much of the Ducks’ core returns will be up to Murray, who has built and rebuilt the franchise around Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who will both turn 33 next month.BEAUCH BYEDefenseman Francois Beauchemin says he is retiring after spending the past 13 seasons in the NHL, including three separate stints with Anaheim. His departure removes another link to the Ducks’ championship season, although Getzlaf, Perry and Carlyle are still around.BIEKSA NOT BACKVeteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa also indicated he is unlikely to return after three seasons. He was disappointed with his lack of playoff action after returning from hand surgery. The Ducks’ once-incredible depth on defense has been taxed in the past year with the expansion draft-related departures of Shea Theodore and Clayton Stoner and the trade of Sami Vatanen to New Jersey for Adam Henrique. Murray will need to reload the Ducks’ blue line, with prospects Jacob Larsson, Marcus Pettersson and Andy Welinski likely getting shots at a full-time job.EAVES RETURNThe season-long loss of Eaves was a huge setback, but the Ducks are optimistic their heavily bearded forward will return in the fall. Eaves also had recent shoulder surgery and will turn 34 next month, but he has been the type of consistent goal scorer the Ducks lacked. He would also provide veteran leadership after the possible departures of Beauchemin, Bieksa, Antoine Vermette, Jason Chimera and others.OFFSEASON LISTSMost of the Ducks’ core is locked up through next season or beyond, including Getzlaf Kris Letang Jersey , Perry, Kesler, leading scorer Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano, Fowler and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson. Anaheim has several key restricted free agents: Nick Ritchie, 20-goal scorer Ondrej Kase and defensemen Brandon Montour and Welinski.— CHICAGO (AP) Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists and the Chicago Blackhawks ripped the Washington Capitals 7-1 on Saturday night to end an eight-game losing streak.Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad and Ryan Hartman each added a goal and an assist in a 44-shot attack that took advantage of Washington breakdowns and powered Chicago to its first win since Jan. 30 at Nashville. Nick Schmaltz, Artem Anisimov and rookie Alex DeBrincat also scored to help the Blackhawks snap a seven-game slide at home before season-high crowd of 22,066 at the United Center.Tom Wilson scored for the Capitals, whose first-place lead in the Metropolitan Division over Pittsburgh slipped to one point.Article continues below ...Chicago’s Anton Forsberg stopped 19 shots. Washington’s Braden Holtby allowed six goals on 33 shots through two periods. Philipp Grubauer took over in goal to start the third and gave up a goal on 11 shots.Washington’s Barry Trotz coached his 1,500th NHL game. He joined four others in reaching that mark, including Chicago’s Joel Queneville.DUCKS 3, WILD 2, SOST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Nick Ritchie scored in the 11th round of a shootout and John Gibson stopped the final seven shooters in Anaheim’s victory over Minnesota.After the teams combined for 13 straight misses, Ritchie beat Devan Dubnyk.Ryan Getzlaff and Ondrej Kase also scored in the shootout after Kase and Corey Perry scored in regulation. Gibson made 36 saves through overtime to help the Ducks, 4-1-1 in their past six, move into a tie with the Wild for the second wild-card slot in the Western Conference.Mikko Koivu and Jason Zucker scored in regulation for Minnesota Mario Lemieux Jersey , Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise connected in the shootout, and Dubnyk made 28 saves. The Wild are 9-3-3 in their past 15.GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, CANADIENS 3LAS VEGAS (AP) – Reilly Smith had two goals and an assist in Vegas’ victory over Montreal.Brad Hunt, Tomas Nosek, Ryan Carpenter, Nate Schmidt also scored for Vegas, and Jonathan Marchessault had three assists. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots, including a highlight-reel glove save on Charles Hudon on a breakaway in the third period, to improve to 19-6-2.Hudon, Nikita Scherbak and Jonathan Drouin scored for Montreal. Antti Niemi started and gave up three goals on six shots before being replaced by Carey Price midway through the first period.PENGUINS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 3PITTSBURGH (AP) – Olli Maatta scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lift Pittsburgh past Toronto.Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists to top 900 points for his career, becoming the sixth Russian-born and the fourth player in team history to reach the milestone.Bryan Rust, Zach Aston-Reese and Carl Hagelin also scored, and Matt Murray made 29 saves. The Penguinshave won 11 straight at home and four in a row overall.Patrick Marleau, Connor Brown and Tyler Bozak scored for the Maple Leafs. They had won five in a row.COYOTES 1, OILERS 0GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Antti Raanta made 39 saves for his first shutout of the season and Arizona won its fourth straight, scoring on its first shot in a victory over Edmonton.Raanta had his ninth career shutout Matt Murray Jersey , helping the Coyotes earn points for the fifth time in six games.Cam Talbot made 31 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers have lost six in a row.The Coyotes scored when Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot caromed off teammate Christian Dvorak’s skate at 3:26 of the first period.DEVILS 4, LIGHTNING 3TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Eddie Lack made 48 saves and New Jersey beat Tampa Bay.Making his third appearance as the backup since being recalled from Binghamton of the AHL on Feb. 4, Lack made a terrific glove save on Brayden Point’s in-close shot midway through the second.Ben Lovejoy, Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood scored for the Devils. Taylor Hall had an assist and has a point in each of the last 17 games he has played in. Chris Kunitz, Point and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay.SENATORS 6, RANGERS 3OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Derick Brassard had a goal and two assists to help Ottawa beat New York.Matt Duchene and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist, Johnny Oduya, Magnus Paajarvi and Thomas Chabot also scored, and Craig Anderson made 35 saves.Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals on 27 shots and was replaced by Brandon Halverson with 13 minutes to play. Halverson stopped five of six shots in his NHL debut. Michael Grabner had two goals, and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers. They’ve lost three straight.RED WINGS 3, PREDATORS 1NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Petr Mrazek stopped 30 shots to remain unbeaten against Nashville, and Detroit defenseman Luke Witkowski scored his first NHL goal.Mrazek improved to 6-0-0 in his career against the Predators, coming within minutes of his second shutout against them. Gustav Nyquist and Darren Helm also scored for the Red Wings in their seventh straight victory over Nashville. Craig Smith scored for the Predators.KINGS 4, SABRES 2BUFFALO http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-olli-maatta-jersey , N.Y. (AP) – Anze Kopitar and rookie Michael Amadio each scored twice and Los Angeles beat Buffalo to snap a three-game skid.Jonathan Quick stopped 33 shots and Dustin Brown had two assists in a game where the Kings scored on three consecutive shots to build a 4-0 lead in the second period.Sabres defensemen Marco Scandella and Rasmus Ristolainen scored third-period goals.CANUCKS 6, BRUINS 1VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Loui Eriksson scored his second goal of the night late in the third period and Anders Nilsson stopped 44 shots to lead Vancouver to just its second win in eight games.Daniel Sedin, Sven Baertschi, Nic Dowd and Bo Horvat also scored for Vancouver, which scored four goals in the first to take control.Vancouver was outshot 45-23 but got some timely saves from Nilsson, who registered his first win in 11 appearances dating back to Nov. 30.Tim Schaller scored in the third period for the Bruins, who lost in regulation for just the third time in 27 games. Tuukka Rask started and gave up four goals on eight shots in the first period. Anton Khudobin came on to start the second and finished with 13 saves.PANTHERS 6, FLAMES 3CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Mike Matheson scored twice, Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists, and Florida won in goalie Roberto Luongo’s return after 2 1/2 months.Luongo stopped 30 shots in his first appearance since a groin injury on Dec. 4, and picked up his first win since Nov. 27.Evgenii Dadonov and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and an assist, and Jared McCann also scored to help the Panthers get their fifth straight road win. Florida has won seven of its last eight overall to pull six points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.Dougie Hamilton scored three goals for his first career hat trick for the Flames, who are 0-3-3 in their last six at home. David Rittich started and gave up four goals on 15 shots before he was pulled early in the second period. Jon Gillies came on and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced.