Latest Ducks Stories
Posted: May 1st 2009 3:00 PM ET by Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Red Wings, Western

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Two years ago, a much more heralded Anaheim Ducks team took out Detroit on their way to a Stanley Cup. This time, the Ducks enter a series against the Red Wings as perhaps the most-feared eighth seed in NHL playoff history. That said, they're still an eighth seed, and a decided underdog. Is this the end of "Cinderella"?
Posted: May 1st 2009 1:15 PM ET by Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Red Wings, Western, NHL Injuries

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the deepest offensive teams in the NHL. Unfortunately for them, they don't boast similar defensive depth. Instead, they tend to lean on their puck possession and scoring to mask some flaws along the blue line and in goal.
As a result, news that veteran puck-moving defenseman
Brian Rafalski will
miss Game 1 of the Wings' Western Conference semifinal series against Anaheim is not good. It's not a death blow -- as an injury to
Nicklas Lidstrom would be -- but it's not a good way for Detroit to start this series.
Posted: Apr 30th 2009 11:15 AM ET by Tom Mantzouranis (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Blackhawks, Bruins, Canucks, Capitals, Ducks, Hurricanes, Penguins, Red Wings

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A couple of weeks ago, on the eve of the first round of the NHL playoffs,
our writers came to two unanimous selections -- the Bruins and the Sharks. Those picks, of course, wound up residing on opposite ends of the prognostication spectrum; the Bruins quickly dispatched the Canadiens while the Sharks flamed out against the Ducks.
This round? We all agree on one second-round series; hit the jump to find out which one.
Posted: Apr 28th 2009 1:18 AM ET by Susan Slusser (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Sharks, Western

Hostilities began when the puck dropped, and in a penalty-happy Game 6, the Ducks took better advantage of the man advantage and knocked the top-seeded Sharks out of the playoffs.
San Jose, which finished with a league-best 117 points, fell 4-1 at the Honda Center and became the fourth President's Trophy winning team to fall in the first round. Perennial disappointments who have yet to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Sharks do not have a good relationship with sixth games in playoff series, and are now 2-13 overall and 1-7 on the road in those games.
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 3:28 PM ET by Susan Slusser (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Sharks, Western

Few teams inspire a lack of confidence like the Sharks. The Cubs, maybe. The Red Sox before 2004.
Even head coach
Todd McLellan isn't immune. Asked about his team's flirtation with elimination after Game 4, he responded that he was "disappointed but not surprised." High marks for honesty, but that's a particularly stinging indictment coming from the team's coach.
Joe Thornton, the subject of weeklong criticism, came through in Game 5's win over the Ducks, and he will have to keep up that up tonight in Anaheim for San Jose to have any hope of forcing a Game 7 back home on Wednesday.
Posted: Apr 27th 2009 10:15 AM ET by Eric McErlain (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Blackhawks, Capitals, Devils, Ducks, Flames, Hurricanes, Rangers, Sharks

All over North America this morning, hardcore hockey fans are saying a word or two of thanks to the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes. Thanks to those two teams and the guts they displayed on Sunday by staving off elimination in their respective playoff series, we'll all get to enjoy the rare treat of a Tuesday night in April: not one, but two Games 7.
The Caps will host the beleaguered Rangers in Washington at 7:00 p.m., while the Devils and the Hurricanes will get things underway in Newark 30 minutes later. Needless to say, many of us will have our heads on a swivel most of the evening.
Posted: Apr 26th 2009 1:33 AM ET by Susan Slusser (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Sharks, Western
Joe Thornton and
Patrick Marleau kept the Sharks alive at least one more game even after Anaheim fought back from a two-goal deficit to send the game into overtime.
Just over six minutes into overtime, Thornton whisked a pass from behind the net to Marleau in a crowd out front.
Marleau jammed the puck three times, finally pushing it past
Jonas Hiller. As it trickled in, the Sharks massed on the ice in celebration -- with the 3-2 victory over the Ducks, they avoided making the fastest exit ever by a President's Cup-winning club, with the series heading to Game 6 in Anaheim on Monday.
Posted: Apr 24th 2009 1:15 AM ET by Kevin Schultz (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ducks, Sharks

Can we even call this an upset at this point?
If you had been watching this series and not known which team was the Presidents' Trophy winner and which was the eighth seed, you would probably think the Ducks were the favorites in this series. They have dominated the play despite getting out shot in each game, a testament to goalie
Jonas Hiller and the Ducks defense.
Posted: Apr 22nd 2009 1:50 PM ET by Adam Gretz (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Predators, NHL Awards, NHL Videos

The nominees for this year's NHL awards are starting to be announced, and
on Wednesday we learned that Columbus'
Steve Mason, Anaheim's
Bobby Ryan and Chicago's
Kris Versteeg were the top vote-getters for the Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year.
There's no surprises here, as it's been assumed for much of the season that Mason, Columbus' 20-year-old goalie, is a slam dunk winner. Despite his struggles in the playoffs (awards are voted on before the postseason begins, by the way) no goalie recorded more shutouts during the season (10) while he also finished second in the league with a 2.29 goals average and 12th with a .916 save percentage. He is, perhaps, the biggest reason Columbus made its first trip to the postseason in franchise history.