I have been pretty busy lately but did manage to catch a few Olympic games. Now that they are over and we return to our regularly scheduled NHL program, I thought I should at least touch on how our guys did for their respective clubs:

Jonas Hiller (Team Switzerland)

In my opinion, Hiller had an extremely impressive Olympic outing. While the Swiss team was never considered a contender, Hiller’s stellar goal-tending gave them a chance and kept games really close. Switzerland knocked off Belarus to qualify for the quarter-finals, where they held the United States to a single goal until an empty-net sealed the victory for the eventual Silver Medal winners. Hiller ended up with a save percentage just under 92% and a goals-against average for 2.47. If he keeps standing on his head for the rest of the NHL season, the Ducks will definitely make the playoffs.

Luca Sbisa (Team Switzerland)

While not anywhere near the level of Hiller, promising Ducks’ prospect acquired in the Chris Pronger deal gained some valuable experience. Sbisa didn’t get any points but played a solid game, getting 17:03 ice time a game, good enough for fourth-most among Swiss defense-men. The fact he wasn’t a minus player is attributed to his solid, shut-down play which is exactly what the Ducks will need from him as early as next season.

Teemu Selanne (Team Finland)

While only picking up two assists this year, Selanne still generated a lot of shots on net but just couldn’t find the twine. Still, I doubt he’ll have much to complain about after breaking the all-time points record in the Olympics and helping Finland achieve a bronze medal. While I’m sure not the ultimate swan song he wanted (it’s unlikely he’d play in four years at his age), he can be happy in the fact Finland has won a medal 5 of the past 6 Olympics.

Saku Koivu (Team Finland)

Much like his countryman Selanne, Koivu made his likely final appearance for Team Finland, compiling two assists. However, his presence was still felt in the form of a morale-boosting speech in the 2nd intermission of the bronze medal game against Slovakia. Down 3-1 heading into the third, Koivu made a heartfelt plea to his team to leave it all on the ice and they responded, scoring four goals in the final period to win the game and the medal. That kind of heart will serve Anaheim well come playoff time.

Bobby Ryan (Team USA)

I really don’t know what to say here. Ryan is a young stud player, poised for a breakout and who could lead Team USA for many years going forward. Yet, Ron Wilson decides to play him less than 10 minutes a game. A goal, an assist and a +3 rating in six games isn’t much, but then again when you aren’t being allowed on the ice to get into your groove, what can I say. Weird, weird coaching decision if you ask me.

Ryan Whitney (Team USA)

Seeing just about 8 minutes a game, Whitney wasn’t asked for much and he did an OK job as far as I’m concerned. His ice time was a little more expected, since he was an injury replacement and didn’t make the team initially. Hopefully he gained some experience and takes the momentum of a silver medal into the NHL stretch run.

Corey Perry (Team Canada)

Perry started slow, likely due to limited ice time (sensing a common theme here?) but finished big, with two goals against Russia and a crucial goal in the gold medal game against the USA. Finishing with four goals and one assist overall, Perry was tied for second with Crosby and Heatley for most goals (one behind Jarome Iginla). At just 12:52 a game, though, Perry saw less ice time than most of his teammates and less power-play time. Perhaps his goal-scoring will carry over and get him out of the NHL funk he had been in recently.

Ryan Getzlaf (Team Canada)

At risk of missing the Olympics all together, Getzlaf put in a rock-solid performance and ties for second on the team in total points. Once the line of Morrow, Getzlaf and Perry was formed, magic happened. In my humble opinion, he deserved more than the 14 miutes a game he got; then again, Canada did win Gold so you won’t hear Getzlaf complaining.

Scott Niedermayer (Team Canada)

While fairly quiet offensive,  Niedermayer brought his A-game when it counted and along with Duncan Keith and Shea Weber were the only Canadian players to average 20 minutes a game. I wonder if he felt like he was back in Anaheim at times, sharing a shift with Chris Pronger at various moments in the games. Known as a late-season performer, there is no reason to think he won’t turn it on in the final games for the Ducks this season and possibly, his career.

In Conclusion

All in all, this was a great Olympics and seven out of nine Ducks won a medal. The question now is, will they make the playoffs? I submit that they will and will be a feared opponent in the post-season.

I bet The Finnish Flash is glad he didn’t retire. Spare me from the comments that he would have played in the Olympics anyway; I’m trying to congratulate a man here. Team Finland forward Teemu Selanne, who is no stranger to making history (he holds the all-time record for most goals as a rookie in the NHL with an astounding 76), has done it again. In a win over Germany on Friday night, Selanne got a secondary assist on Kimmo Timonen’s power-play goal to set an all-time Olympic record with 37 points.

In taking the lead, Selanne moved past Canada’s Harry Watson, Russia’s Valeri Kharlamov and Czech star Vlastimil Bubnik. I wouldn’t expect him to slow down, either; with multiple games to go, expect Teemu to pad his lead and ensure it remains untouchable for the foreseeable future. Teemu is competing for his country for a 5th time in Vancouver 2010.

Ever humble, the victory for Team Finland was likely a lot more important to Selanne than records, however. After two games, Team Finland sits in a tie with Team USA, Team Czech Republic and Team Sweden with the maximum (6) points earned. After the completion of the preliminary round, the top four teams will receive a bye into the quarter-finals. Fellow Ducks teammate, Saku Koivu, made sure to collect the record-setting puck for safe-keeping.

Selanne is truly an awesome hockey player and I hope he continues to fly for Anaheim after the Olympics end (and avoids anymore freak injuries).

Getzlaf had something to prove to Steve Yzerman and Team Canada management. He came out and did just that, proving the ankle appears to be fine and playing physical en route to a two goal, two assist (four points) night which earned him the first star honors and earned the Anaheim Ducks a 7-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Four other Ducks olympians scored including Scott Niedermayer, Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry and Saku Koivu while Big George Parros earned himself his second goal of the season when a puck went in off an Oiler skate in a play that was reviewed.

Anaheim had a ton of power plays and though Ethan Moreau scored yet another short-handed goal, just as he did against the Ducks a few nights ago, the Ducks really got the goals flowing late in the third with multiple man-advantages.  The Ducks also took a whopping 46 shots on net, their highest number in a long, long time.

Ryan Whitney with an assist and Teemu Selanne with two means that every single Duck going to the olympics (aside from Jonas Hiller) had points on the night.

Potulny and Visnovsky (who will play for Team Slovakia) had the other Edmonton goals in a losing effort.

Next up, the Olympics!

I’m watching the pre-game Olympic introductions and Ryan Getzlaf is on the ice and suited up to play. This is good news both for Anaheim fans as well as Canadians everywhere. Expect Ryan to play hard tonight in an effort to prove to Team Canada management that he is able to suit up for the team in Vancouver. Getzlaf will make the trip over but it’s unknown at this moment if he will play yet for Team Canada or not.

Well, it seems the Getzlaf-less Ducks came up short in a critical game once again. A win over the Flames could have had them in a tie for 8th spot with this very same Flames, but Jaroma Iginla’s two second-period goals held up to give Calgary a 3-1 win over Anaheim on Saturday night. Calgary increased their lead over Anaheim to four points, while the Ducks are now tied for 11th with St.Louis and trail both Detroit and Dallas by three points.

Hiller himself said the team didn’t give a very good effort and he could have stopped at least one of the Calgary goals. I’m not blaming him though, after all the times he has stood on his head and stolen a game for the team this season. Teemu Selanne could easily have got one of his 5 shots on goal in and offense from the other Ducks stars was nowhere to be found. The lone Ducks goal was by checking-line forward Troy Bodie in the first period.

Anaheim will have another game against the Oilers tonight, but if they play like they did in Calgary, they could see themselves losing too much ground in the playoff race to make up. They NEED to beat the Oilers. Go Ducks!!

With Randy Sexton coming out and officially saying that any and all Panther players are available for the right re-toling deals, I personally think that some of their defensemen might be viable trade options to bolster our roster.

Keith Ballard has struggled this season, but has shown he can be a very solid, shot-blocking defenseman in years past. That is exactly the kind of Top-4 D-man Anaheim should be seeking to compete this season. A change of scenery and possibly playing with Niedermayer might just turn his season around. The fact he has struggled may lower his trade value, as well. Ballard is also signed long-term, which can’t be said for most of the Ducks’ current defense. This move would help solidy their future as well.

Dennis Seidenberg is another Panther D-man who fits exactly what Anaheim needs. Aside from that, though, his situation is a complete 180 from Ballard. Seidenberg is a free agent this summer and as such, will attract a lot more attention from teams looking for pure rentals. Unlike Ballard, he’s had a great season for a mediocre team and should have high trade value.

Bryan Allen or Jordan Leopold might also bear consideration if Anaheim is not able to land a true Top-4 defender at a decent price; however they may not be that much better than what the team already has.

Personally, I like Seidenberg best if the bidding isn’t too high. If he works out, great, try and re-sign him. If he doesn’t, let him walk. Last year I loved Ballard, but with his current question marks and the Ducks in a tight battle, I don’t know that they can afford to gamble and have their season hinging on IF he returns to form or not. If he doesn’t, that is also a long-term deal with a high cap hit to be locked into.

Hopefully the rest of today will be an interesting one, before the Olympic roster freeze takes effect.

For anyone who watched the Ducks-Oilers game the other night, you won’t be surprised at my use of the term “sloppy”. I can’t recall seeing a Ducks game this season that had as many turnovers, by both teams. Ultimately, Anaheim did what they set out to do though and got the two points they needed while setting a franchise record for wins in a row on home ice, with eleven straight. Unfortunately, they won’t see home for another three weeks (with road games and the Olympics).

While a lot of fans and critics see it as a bad sign that Anaheim couldn’t beat the last-place Oilers more soundly and that their power play was so abysmal, I’d like to point out the silver lining. They got two points. They played terrible for most of the game, but still found a way to win. That’s what good teams do. They also won without Ryan Getzlaf; something they have had a hard time doing in the past. While his absence was especially noted on the power plays, it’s not as if the Ducks couldn’t generate anything out there. In the game I saw, they had quite a few solid chances stolen by Jeff Deslauriers. Even one more goal would have put their power play percentage at a respectable rate for the night.

Hiller still came up big when he had to and Bobby Ryan continued his trend of stepping up his play when a superstar is out injured. His two goals extended his team lead and have him on pace to at least get close to possibly his first 40-goal campaign.

The Ducks will face Calgary and the Oilers again before the Olympic break and if they win both those games, they could easily find themselves in a playoff spot heading into the home stretch. They cannot afford to give up anymore short-handed goals though, I would wager.

In what seemed to be another freak accident (Teemu Selanne says hello), Ducks superstar Ryan Getzlaf fell awkwardly during the Perry no-goal last night against the Kings and was helped off the ice. He didn’t play the rest of the game and had x-rays done, which came out negative.

It is unknown at this time how severe the ankle sprain is or how much time he will miss. This comes at the worst possible time for both Team Canada, with Getzlaf being an important part of the squad and more so for the Anaheim Ducks who are in a tough, multi-team battle for a playoff spot.

If Getzlaf is unable to make Team Canada, it’s likely his replacement may be one of Tampa Bay Lightning stars Steven Stamkos or Vincent Lecavalier, or even Mike Fisher who is having an excellent year in Ottawa and brings a lot of the same intangibles as Getzlaf does.

It’s expected that Anaheim will not call up anyone, but shift Koivu to the top line and possibly have Carter or Nokelainen fill second-line center duties. Personally, I think the following should be tried out:

Ryan – Koivu – Perry
Blake – Chipchura – Selanne
Beleskey – Marchant – Bodie
Artyukhin – Carter – Brown/Parros

Ankle sprains can take as little as a few days off or as much as three months, so for everyone’s sake, let us hope for the former. Stay tuned for more updates in the days to come.

I had planned to do another live game blog tonight, however after moving this past weekend, it turns out internet at my new place isn’t very good and streaming the game will be next to impossible until I get it fixed. With that said, look for a game recap posted later instead and as always, GO DUCKS!!

The Anaheim Ducks are officially sending the most players to the Olympics this year, with an incredible nine players getting the call to represent their country.

Team Canada:

To the surprise of pretty much no one, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have all been called upon to serve their country. Niedermayer as the team captain. As with every world event in hockey, Canada remains one of the favorites. Getzlaf and Perry currently lead the Ducks in scoring; can they lead Canada to Gold in Vancouver? Personally, I’d be very interested to see a line of Nash – Getzlaf – Iginla if all three give it their all; that’s a big question mark though, as the trio has seemed lethargic at times during the current NHL campaign (despite all three leading their team in scoring). We may also be treated to a Ducks’ reunion; with Chris Pronger on the team, you know the coach will at least be tempted to give Pronger and Niedermayer a few shifts together. I expect Canada to make the Finals this year.

Team USA:

While not the powerhouse roster that Team Canada appears to be, Team USA could still be a force to be reckoned with; though they will need contributions from everyone on the ice. One potential line which could cause trouble for the opposition would be a combination of Zach Parise, Anaheim’s leading goal-scorer Bobby Ryan and Ducks’ nemesis Dustin Brown. Ryan Whitney scores a spot on the blue line after having an inconsistent season with the Ducks thus far. He was an injury call up and will replace injured Devils’ point man Paul Martin. I expect Ryan to put on a display, but do not see Team USA winning any medals.

Team Finland:

While Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu haven’t clicked as well for the Ducks yet as hoped, they have years of playing together amazingly well on Team Finland (usually alongside Dallas forward Jere Lehtinen). Saku will be team captain, with Teemu being named an alternate. Despite the freak injuries Selanne has had to endure, I have no doubts he will give it his all and score quite a few goals. While they did take home silver in 2006, I can’t help but think their lack of depth up front and on D will cost them this year. They would need extremely strong goaltending to get anywhere; luckily, the guys they have in net are all capable of stealing the show. I just don’t think they will.

Team Switzerland:

Jonas Hiller has proven to be the Ducks’ starting goaltender, even to the point where Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner (in different years!) Jean-Sebastien Giguere was recently traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs (where, I may note, he has two consecutive shutouts so far). He’ll be called upon heavily to lead the Swiss to any success; most of their roster consists of barely any NHL players. Luca Sbisa, the centerpiece of the Chris Pronger trade, rounds out the Olympians sent to Vancouver by Anaheim. The event should be good for building Sbisa’s confidence and experience, playing with men and top-level competition. I expect to be pleasantly surprised by Luca’s performance, though don’t expect Switzerland to win any medals.

There you have it, a quick overview of our Olympic attendees. International play is always exciting, so I am looking forward to these games even if it means the NHL will be on break.