Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Ducks Gameday—No Chris (again), but no excuses, either

Round Three, Game Four: (1) Detroit Red Wings at (2) Anaheim Ducks
(DET leads series 2-1, JavaGeek ‘odds’: DET 71%)

No Chris on the top line. No Chris on the blueline.

Does hope exist for these Ducks? Sure, so long as they're willing to forget any "poor us" thinking, play a simplified game, and come out in G4 the way they should have come out in G3. They need to make personnel a non-issue; the players that are dressed are the ones that are going to need to get it done.

If there's a blessing to the one-game suspension, it's that it falls on a home game. Coach Carlyle is going to have a whale of a time trying to fill in Pronger's 31 minutes, but at least he'll have some ability to control defensive match-ups.

It certainly won't be an easy transition, though, as Pronger has his hands all over the special teams (which certainly have not been very special this series). These playoffs, he averages 7 1/2 minutes per game on the power play and 4 1/2 minutes per game killing penalties. The PP time is not that worrisome, maybe even Getzlaf can resume his role as pointman, but the Ducks better be especially mindful of their penalties this game.

During the season, the Ducks were 6-7-3 without Pronger, but that includes a 2-5-2 stretch while missing Giguere and Beauchemin as well. When it was a relatively healthy squad less Pronger, the Ducks managed a 4-2-1 record. Of course, it will be imperative that Scotty Niedermayer and Frenchie Beauchemin have better outings than they did in G3 (-3 and -4, respectively).

It's certainly not an ideal situation, but the team's gotta remember: it's the final four, and they're one win away from being right back in this series. The Ducks have exactly the same number of playoff wins as they got last year; do they have the ability to improve on that tonight?


I wonder if this guy's available to play some minutes.

Prediction: Ducks 3, Red Wings 2. Goals by Selanne, Pahlsson, and McDonald.

Go Ducks.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

people seem to forget we controlled the first 2 games....we lose game 3 and everyone seems to jump off the wagon...one thing u know being a duck fan this year is that the ducks are prone to "brain fart games" (which isnt a good sign for a stanley cup contending team) not saying were gonna win....but its possible we see the game one and two ducks and not the game three ducks...

Anonymous said...

Work hard, finish checks (but not too much), win pucks, score goals.

Let's Go Ducks!

Anonymous said...

one thing u know being a duck fan this year is that the ducks are prone to "brain fart games"

I could swear I was in attendance to some of those games too. Nothing like watching a team self-destruct and give up, what was it? Four goals in about five or ten minutes in the Columbus game earlier in the season? Yeah... brain fart games indeed.

And tonight I'll be in my comfy chair... with my Fowl Towel in one hand and a pint in the other.
Too bad boss wants to take his grandson to the game otherwise good chance I'd be sitting behind the Ducks bench tonight... but this is cheaper for me to stay at home and watch it as opposed to handing over all of my money to Jan for my drinks (those who attend regularly and believe there is life outside of Miller and Bud should know who I'm talking about).

Earl Sleek said...

...as opposed to handing over all of my money to Jan for my drinks.

You're on a first-name basis with drink pourers at the Honda Center?

Top-notch! I am impressed. Usually I do most of my drinking before entering the Honda Center, and once there, my "guests" do pretty much all the drink-buying, so I've got some excuse, but wow.

Enjoy your comfy chair. I don't even get to watch this game until very late tonight (or tomorrow, if the score isn't to my tastes). I'll be dutifully at choir practice, preparing for our spring concert in a couple weeks.

And should this series get to G7, I'll be doing it again in a week. (Sigh.)

Anonymous said...

The game will dictate my drinking style tonight, if the Ducks suck again tonight, it will be a lot of Jack. If they pull this one out, it will still be a lot of Jack. But that is pretty "impressive" to know your service lady on a first name basis, you must tip well.

Anonymous said...

Jan is one of two people in the lower concourse that serves the Guinness... thus I've gotten to know her well over the past season.

But instead I'll have it pouring from the tap just a few feet from my comfy chair tonight ^_~

Anonymous said...

I'll be dutifully at choir practice, preparing for our spring concert in a couple weeks.

Okay, I’ll bite: What on earth?!

Anonymous said...

They have GOT to take fewer penalties. Even with Pronger, the PK had gone from alpha dog to road kill with Detroit... And a few of Pronger's own penalties sent my hand flying into my forehead. But even so, what the hell does any of it matter if they don't score?

Side note: they should have put a gigantic fake mustache on their gigantic inflatable goon.

Another side note: real men know how to sing in 4 part harmony.

Earl Sleek said...

What on earth?!

Hmm, I suppose that did come a bit out of left field. Only the careful, diligent, long-time, never-forgetting reader would remember a getting-to-know-me post from August of last year:

"I sing low bass in a 100-voice choir at my folks’ church. It is a pretty impressive choir, actually."

So I've got a "good boy" side to me as well, though I don't like it very much when these two hobby-passions of mine decide to collide on the same night.

I'm not going to look it up, but per my recollection I think the Ducks have a very strong record on the Thursday nights when I am playing holy. Let's hope it keeps up.

Rae Carruth's Trunk said...

The Ducks will have to play twice the game to pull this one out. Pronger eats up a lot of minutes and is arguably the best or second player in the entire series. But he is also a cheap shot artist getting his just desserts.

This is a series decider tonight though. I don't see the Ducks taking 3 straight against Hasek, 2 at the Joe. That being said, if we can't step on the neck and twist tonight, it won't be good for the Wings.

RudyKelly said...

Huh, that's funny, Earl; you always struck me as more of a soprano.

Earl Sleek said...

I'm not going to look it up, but per my recollection I think the Ducks have a very strong record on the Thursday nights when I am playing holy.

Aw, what the heck. I did look it up. The Ducks are 7-2-1 on Thursdays this season, including 2-0 in the postseason.

See, kids? That's why you go to church!

Oh, and Rudy? That comment will be brought up on your performance review! :)

Anonymous said...

Key to the Ducks win...take fewer penalties, turn the puck over less, and play in the offensive zone.

The Ducks CAN do this tonight. They HAVE won without Pronger before, and remember we didn't have him last year either.

The boys just need to BELIEVE!!!

GO DUCKS!!!

Bethany said...

I can't come up with anything creative........just go Ducks....

Anonymous said...

Earl-

Thank you for going to choir practice.

Everyone say it together...

Amen.

Earl Sleek said...

No problem, Scott. Did I mention that I'll be singing Sunday morning also before G5?