Posts Tagged ‘bruce boudreau.’

Ducks shut out of Eastern dominated NHL awards

Posted: 06/15/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Ducks two finalists, Bob Murray for GM of the Year and Bruce Boudreau Jack Adams Trophy Coach of the Year finalist, watched the personal achievements go to their competitors.

Paul Maurice took the Adams Trophy after guiding the Ottawa Senators to the playoffs despite losing Norris Trophy winning D-man Erik Karlsson for all but 17 games. Top center Jason Spezza played in just 5 games. 2012 Vezina Trophy finalist, goalie Craig Anderson missed half the season.

Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins took GM of the Year.

Eastern based teams again dominated the awards winning 6 of the 10 awards announced this season. This reflects the eastern bias of the league where 13 of the 30 team league play in the Eastern time zone. Eastern bias is even more prevalent in the nomination process. 17 of the 27 non-stat based award nominees come from teams in the Eastern Conference.

The three major player awards, the Vezina trophy for best goaltender, Hart for MVP and the Norris are voted by the Eastern dominated media. Only two Western Conference players, Anti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild are among the nine finalists.

Not that Ducks nominees GM Bob Murray or coach Bruce Boudreau actually deserved an award. All they did was lift a team that finished 25th overall in 2011-12 to 3rd best in 2013, a feat unmatched by any other GM or Coach in the NHL. Their unmatched achievements was just not significant enough to have overcome the obvious Eastern bias in the NHL awards.

Bruce Boudreau makes Jack Adams Trophy short list

Posted: 05/17/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Despite impressive accomplishments in his first full season, Ducks coach Bruce ‘Gabby’ Boudreau faces equally impressive competition for the NHL Jack Adams Trophy, given annually to the coach “adjudged to have contributed most to his team’s success.” The winner is selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association at the end of the regular season.

Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean led his team to a playoff berth despite losing Norris Trophy D-man Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen as well as top forwards Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek for long stretches.

Due largely to injuries, the Senators used a league-high 14 rookies at various times during the season.

It’s the second consecutive nomination for the sophomore NHL head coach.

Less than one year ago, Blackhawks fans were calling for the dismissal of head coach Joel Quenneville following the surprising first round exit in the playoffs. Coach Q is one of only two men to have played in 800 NHL games and coached in 1000. The other is former Hab great and Minnesota and New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire.
Enroute to the President’s Trophy, Quenneville’s Blackhawks began the season setting NHL record for earning at least a point in its first 24 games. The previous record of 16 games had been held by our Stanley Cup winning Ducks of 2007. Quenneville won the Jack Adams in 1999-2000 with St. Louis.

Coach Boudreau, in his first full season behind the Anaheim bench, led the club to its finest regular season in franchise history, capturing the Pacific Division title and No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a club-record points percentage (.688, 30-12-6). The Ducks made dramatic gains over 2011-12 in several categories, climbing from 25th to third in the overall NHL standings; from 23rd to eighth in average goals-per-game
(2.45 to 2.79); from 19th to 11th in average goals-against (2.73 to 2.40); and from 21st to fourth in power-play percentage (16.6% to 21.5%). Boudreau is vying for his second career Jack Adams Award, having captured the trophy in 2007-08 with Washington in his first appearance as a finalist.

Given MacLean’s Senators faced the most adversity and Quenneville’s Blackhawks achieved more, Gabby is a long shot to win the award this year.

The section on Bruce Boudreau was taken directly from the NHL press release.

Game 7: Win or else

Posted: 05/12/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Make it happen. That’s the directive both our Anaheim Ducks and the surprising to me at least Detroit Red Wings will take into the final game of this back and forth playoff series.

The trend, win one, lose one favors our Ducks. Virtually everything favors our Ducks save three. Lack of finish or killer instinct, the Red Wings motion game and their best players have been the best players in this series. One look at the top scorers from each is all the evidence you need to know that the Red Wings best players are the best players in this series.

Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterburg with support and very timely scoring coming from Damien Brunner, Gustav Nyqyist and Dan Cleary. Ducks scoring leaders are Ryan Getlzaf, Kyle Palmieri and Nick Bonino with three each. Matt Beleskey and Emerson Etem have two goals apiece while Teemu Selanne scored the winner in game one.

Following the best players have to be the best players on the ice, the keys to the game for our Ducks are, (2) take away Wings hunger for the puck, in other words make them pay a physical price for touching the biscuit, (3) dominate the play at both blue lines. This will result in forcing the Wings to dump and chase the puck into our zone and keep them bottled up in their own zone, (4) Get sticks and bodies into the passing lanes when the Wings have the puck.

The one single aspect of this series that can’t be ignored is the role of the officials. Bruce Boudreau has admitted that our Ducks have been warned against cross-checking and roughing down low. I will note that referees caution both teams prior to every game about what they intend to call. So far Mike Babcock has indicated what the Refs have told him. Given how the calls have gone in this series, many Ducks fans are wondering if the Refs told Babs, “Don’t worry.” This isn’t too suggest the fix is in but I does accuse NHL officials of bias and one-sided penalty calls throughout this series.

Biased officiating has been institutionalized by the NHL. The league’s stated policy has been to open the game up and limit interference. Apparently and according to coach Boudreau you can no longer defend the low slot either.

I’m not alone in calling out the officials in this playoff. THN’s Ken Campbell to Bleacher Report and even former NHL referee Kerry Frazier have all been critical of numerous in particular as well the quality of officiating generally.

Win and our Ducks  face the L.A. Kings in series in the NHL’s second largest media market. This fact alone makes the notion that game is actually fixed just another weird conspiracy theory. I don’t and won’t go there without undeniable  evidence.

But officials incompetent to the extent that they actually determine the outcome of a playoff series? You bet they are and this series is part of the incontrovertible body of evidence.

Either way, and it’s a sad sate of affairs for the NHL to have to say this but I hope the players determine the outcome and not the officials.

Game 4 Pregame: Ducks @ Red Wings

Posted: 05/06/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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The Red Wings have their backs to the wall in this must win game. Our Ducks have outscored them 8-1 since the mid-point of Game 2. Clearly the momentum is all Ducks.

While our Ducks have completely outplayed the Wings, we don’t quite have the results to show for it. Bad officiating can impact the outcome of games and series.

If ever there is a moment for a team to stick to its own game, for our Ducks that time is now. There’s no really reason why they can’t. Justin “Cheap & Chippy” Abdelkader is gone for what could be the series. Abdelkader is the guy who baited Souray into retaliating which led to Wings PP and their winning OT goal in Game 2. Souray’s cross checking penalty in the last minute of the second period was also against Abdelkader. Having this Cheap & Chippy nemesis suspended will help our Ducks stay focused on the  job at hand.

Souray wasn’t the only guy getting payback on Abdelkader. Sheldon just got caught.

Wings are also thin on the blue line after Danny DeKeyser busted his thumb  in a scrum with Ducks Kyle Palmieri, IIRC. Babcock has gone with Brian Lashoff but also has Carlo Colcaiacovo and Ian White available.

czhokej posted that Babcock’s comments on Abdelkader’s hit, “wasn’t a smart thing to say.” Detroit GM Ken Holland also defended the hit. These guys have it backwards. You defend your player, not what he did.

Like many, I’ve long admired the Red Wings and held them out as model franchise. What Holland and Babcock have shown this week is that’s easy to have some class when you’re winning. It’s when you’re challenged that your true character comes out. Holland and Babcock flunk the test. The Wings are no longer an org that I would point out as model worth following.

If our Ducks are feeling anything like I and suspect most who’ve played hockey feel today, they really want this game. It’s not just about winning for a downed teammate, though Toni Lydman is nothing if not respected in our Ducks room. It’s about putting on a clinic built on discipline and character.

The Red Wings fans have shown the world that they’re fair weather band wagon followers at best.

Our Ducks play a physical brand of hockey. Gone are the excesses of the Pronger days. Coach Bruce Boudreau has changed this group from a collection of stars and bus riders into a genuine team. This is why this game is so important to our Ducks. They have the proven ability to win it. They deserve to win it.

Most of all, our Ducks, arguably the NHL’s most complete hockey team, can show the world that physical hockey played within the written and unwritten rules is a beautiful thing.

There are many times during the course of a hockey season and playoff that no words are necessary. All that is needed is eye contact with your teammate for confirmation that tonight we get ‘er done. And on Wednesday we put ‘em away.

And really there’s one reason to do it. These Detroit Red Wings and their fans don’t deserve to be here.

Plot lines and a Prediction

Posted: 04/30/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Old v. New

Detroit has been aging for 20 years and though the transition from Yzerman-Fedorov to Datsyuk (34)-Zetterburg (32) appeared seamless there isn’t a pair of emerging young stars coming up behind the Eurotwins.

Ducks are powered up front by the tandem of Ryan Getzlaf (27) and Corey Perry (27). These Twins were united a decade ago back in Cincinnati of the AHL.

It’s a battle of old Wings looking for more day in the sun against the Ducks emerging stars.

Flash and Dash v. Bash and Smash

These Red Wings are Chicago-lite. They can skate, wheel and execute the pretty plays. While the Ducks have players have skill they wear you down physically before taking you out.  It’s boxer v. puncher.

In this plot the Wings equalizer is long time Ryan Getzlaf nemesis Jordan Tootoo.  The Ducks captain will be challenged to keep his emotions in check.

The Goalies

Jimmy Howard has had a stretch run reminiscent of the 2003 J.S. Giguere. In his last ten games Howard has posted 3 shutouts and GAA of 1.44.

While no announcement has been made I expect Jonas Hiller to get the start. As impressive as Howard’s stats are, Hiller is 2-0 with .963 SP and a GAA of 1 in his last two games. Hiller is a money goalie as his playoff record 7-6 GAA 2.23 SP .942 attests.

Coaching: Tactician v. Motivator

Playoff success eluded Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau in Washington. In Anaheim, he has a more balanced team though.

For many Ducks fans Mike Babcock will always represent the one that got away.  His teams have won the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold. You can’t argue with success.

Prediction

With two relatively evenly matched teams, they get it done differently but each does get ‘er done, the difference is how well each is organized and the intangibles. Both of these factors weigh in favor of our Ducks.

Teemu Selanne has called this the tightest group he’s seen since the Cup winning team. It is also a healthy hockey team now that Luca Sbisa went full-bore at practice. The vets, including Getzlaf and Perry, know from experience that these opportunities don’t come along every year.

These Ducks are special. Four of them of them, Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Sheldon Souray and Toni Lydman recognize that this may be their last best chance to win a Cup. Each is preparing to leave it all on the ice.

Another flock of Ducks, Ben Lovejoy, Matt Beleskey, Nick Bonino, Dave Steckel, Emerson Etem  are successful in large part because their coach has believed in them.

Still another flock, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Francois Beauchemin, Andrew Cogliano are at or near the peak of their careers.

Two factors that can tilt a series are one-sided officiating and hot goal tending. Wings best chance of winning this series is the Ducks lose their cool and Jimmy Howard plays lights out hockey.

If our Ducks have accomplished one thing this season it is that they have risen to every challenge. They pushed the Blackhawks to the longest winning streak to start a season ever. When they had nothing left to play for they pulled themselves and finished strong.

The Wings represent a serious challenge not to be taken lightly. This is the best thing that could have happened to a team that consistently welcomes and responds to challenges.

Ducks in six.

Red Wings v. Ducks one very intriguing series

Posted: 04/28/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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The difference between our Ducks and the Red Wings season record is just 4 RT losses and 2 OT losses. Red Wings were minus-4 (10-14) compared to our Ducks plus-4 (13-9) in one goal games. This tells us that our Ducks are a better shut down team overall.

The question is can our Ducks shut down these Red Wings head to head?

Much has been made of our Ducks goal scoring depth that features six players with 10 or more goals on the lockout shortened season. Red Wings have five scorers in double digits and two more, Valtteri Filppula and Dan Cleary, with nine. Most Ducks fans will recall that it was Dan Cleary who scored the winning goal in Game 7 the last time these met in the playoffs. And who was the goat on that play? Francois Beauchemin.

The Red Wings will go as far and/or push our Ducks as hard as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterburg and Jimmy Howard can power them. On one hand this makes the focus simple. Keep Datsyuk and Zetterburg off the score sheet and get a few past Howard and the Wings are done. Were it so simple though.

Stat wise, Jimmy Howard is the best of the three goalies likely to see action in this series. Howard’s 2.13 GAA, .923 SP and 5 SO’s is better than either Ducks’ goaltender. The series could well come down to a goaltender’s duel.

Our Ducks have the better blue line on paper but they haven’t proven to be better in the head to head match-ups.

The coaching is very different according to conventional media wisdom. Mike Babcock is a tactician up against Bruce Boudreau, the motivator. Don’t let the media fool you. Underestimating Gabby could be Babcock’s and the Wings undoing.

The Wings match-up in every key area save one. The Big Bad Ducks are back. The physical match-ups favor our Ducks. To prevail we have to pound these Wings into submission.

In the playoffs physical advantages often show up in the following series though. Remember how beat up these same Wings were after surviving seven grueling games against our Ducks?

Jonas Hiller will start the series in goal. For one, Gabby already said last week. For another it’s Hiller’s start and Fasth had a rough night against the Coyotes (though not entirely his fault) and went 1-2 against the Wings during the season.

The odds makers haven’t put up a line yet, but I make this series a Pick ‘em.

Wings will try to out skate and out hustle us. Like Chicago they rely on their passing game and flow.

The keys you want to look for is when we’re breaking up their passing game and the Wings are constantly looking over their shoulders. If the Wings players look like they’re preparing to be hit every time they touch the puck, our Ducks have ‘em.

At various times throughout the season I’ve posted that I didn’t think our Ducks have played their best hockey yet.  These Red Wings are the beginning of rising to and achieving the next level.

Gabby on slump, playoff goalie, next two games

Posted: 04/24/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Via Ducks Audio

Just the facts Ma’am highlights:

Coach said it was very difficult to motivate the team during the slump because of their position in the standings. The idea settled in that they weren’t catching Chicago and had too big a lead on the teams behind them.
Given how quickly they turned it around when the Kings reached striking distance, Gabby might be right.
I don’t think anybody ever knows what causes slumps. You’re sure glad when it’s over though.

Teemu has the night off against Vancouver and may or may not take it. Coach said “some of our high-profile guys will sit out.” Bobby Ryan, who’s dropped some weight with the flu, is expected to go Saturday in the season finale.I don’t know what Vancouver will do but teams tend to give out games off after wining their division.

As to who will be playoff goalie, Coach seemed to indicate that he will go with the hot hand. Hiller is the likely starter but that too is subject to change. Hilly draws the Canucks. Fasth the Coyotes. The rotation would go back to Hiller to start the playoffs.
Worthy of note, Boudreau said that the goalies are very supportive of each other and more importantly, Coach thinks it’s genuine.

Notes: Ducks also have a logjam of players competing for spots on the fourth line. Steckel will center ahead of Matthew Lombardi. Etem, Belleskey, Dvorak and Staubitz battle for the wingman spots.
Luca Sbisa is the odd man out on the blue line.  As he did earlier in the season for Cam Fowler, Bryan Allen is providing a stay@home steadying influence allowing Sami Vatanen to play a little rover D. Don’t look for Vatanen to come out unless he slumps badly.

 

Pregame: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Anaheim Ducks

Posted: 04/17/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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If our Ducks look in the mirror and see Blue Jackets it would be understandable. The BJ’s began the year with a horrid start, finally hitting rock bottom in the NHL standings on February 25 with 5-12-2 record. Since, NHL turnaround specialist  John Davidson has installed a winning attitude that has permeated the team from top to bottom. The result is a 15-4-2 run to playoff contention.

Our Ducks are very familiar with teams like Columbus. We are one. The difference being where each is in their respective turnarounds. The Blue Jackets has just begun. Our Ducks run began a year ago.

When a team that sees itself as Stanley Cup contender faces a team on the rise, it is a statement game. Win and our Ducks show the Blue Jackets that they aren’t quite there yet. Lose and the reality that our Ducks aren’t quite there yet is suddenly a valid question.

These are the games that genuine Stanley Cup contenders win.

To prevail our Ducks have to beat arguably the best and certainly the hottest goaltender on the planet. Sergei Bobrovsky has injected himself into the running for the Vezina and Hart trophies. Only 3 goalies have accomplished the feat. Dominick Hasek did it twice, Jacques Plante and Jose Theodore in his outstanding rookie year. Bobrovsky has put himself among the best goalies of the last half century.

Tonight Bobrovsky faces a team in a scoring drought. Our Ducks have scored just 25 times in their last 13 games.  A betting man might peel off a few Ben Franklins on Columbus and the under. That would be a trap though. While our Ducks have struggled since those two games against the Red Wings, the guys have been able to put on a solid performance in the big games. Ducks beat the Blackhawks, scored 10 goals while taking 2 of 3 from Dallas and beat the Kings 4-3 in a shoot out. Kings just edged us out 2-1 last Saturday.

More importantly Ducks have a recent burr in their britches stemming from a 2-1 OT loss to these same Blue Jackets just two weeks ago. It was a game most observers felt our Ducks should have won.

Most often when teams are in scoring slumps they’re told to go hard to the net , shoot often and good things will come of it. Bruce Boudreau has had four days to work on timing and shooting drills designed to ignite a struggling offense. It might also be more interesting than coincidental that our Ducks have stopped posting Practice Reports on the official site.

Expect to see some new tactics in the Ducks attack tonight.

Viktor Fasth draws the start.

Ducks have an opportunity to put the swagger back. My bet is that they do.

Injuries: Columbus will be without Artem Anisimov. D-men Adrian Aucoin and Tim Erixon are listed as questionable. Cam Fowler is expected to sit out his second consecutive game with an upper body injury.

Notes: Ducks announced the signing of Yale Bulldogs Antoine Laganiere to two-year entry level contract yesterday. Many scouts say the 6’5″ 214# center is NHL ready and could step in on Anaheim’s 3rd line right now. While Laganiere may get a game or two in, he doesn’t qualify for the playoffs. The plan is to allow him to return to Yale for his final exams.

Flash earns two-page spread in New York Times

Posted: 04/15/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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Like the song said, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, it’s up to you NY, NY.” Looks like Teemu has made it there too as New York Times John Branch offers extended coverage of the NHL elder statesman.

According to the spread, Teemu plans on remaining in SoCal after retirement. Is there a job in the org awaiting the face of the franchise? He and Sirpa will continue to summer in Finland.

The puzzle that is Bobby Ryan

Posted: 04/15/2013 by bc in Uncategorized
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One year ago, Bobby Ryan asked rhetorically, “Can you imagine how good I’m going to be playing for this guy?” Ryan was of course referring to then new head coach Bruce Boudreau. Gabby, as our Ducks coach is sometimes known, had suggested that he’d like to build a line around Ryan.

No more caddying for The Twins. No more getting blamed for the Ducks problems. No more being the first name to pop up in trade rumors.

Fast forward to one year later and the only thing that has changed is that Randy Carlyle got far more out of Bobby Ryan than it appears Bruce Boudreau may ever realize. Ryan is currently on pace for a 20 goal 55 point 82 game season.

The goal of building a line around Ryan seems to have gone the way of fax machines and proper grammar.

Nick Bonino and Teemu Selanne were the first to skate alongside Ryan when this season-short began. That gave way to a succession of line mates not named Koivu, Cogliano or Winnick.

Bobby Ryan is on pace for the worst season statistically of his career. Always a streaky goal scorer, one might argue that Ryan would get hot and finish an 82 game season with 30+ goals and 65+points. That is more wishful thinking and excuse making though.

Bobby Ryan is his record. Right now his record is, to be polite about it, disappointing.

Two things show up in his stats that might have something to do with Bobby Ryan’s “off-year.” His TOI is down substantially from his 34 goal 71 point career best season in 2010-11. Back then Ryan’s ATOI was 20:10 per game. This season his ATOI is 16:35. The other stat that leaps off the page is his shooting percentage of 10.87 is down from a career average of 14.8. For a guy who takes 204 to 270 shots on goal per season, Bobby’s accuracy issue is costing him 8-10 goals this year.

Note: This is also the first time in his career that Ryan’s ratio between goals and assists is statistically significant.

The question of course is why? One difference between how Ryan is used is that today he is almost exclusively used a sniper. When was the last time you saw Ryan deke out a couple-3 opposition players on his way to the net? Thought so, it’s been quite awhile.

There’s a huge difference between going to the net and/or getting into a shooting lane and attacking the net with the puck on your stick.

Ryan must become a tad more selfish with the puck and take more responsibility for finishing plays in the offensive zone. Bobby Ryan is among the league’s best, one on one, and he simply isn’t exploiting those opportunities.

This would fix most of it but not all. Obviously, Ryan needs to take more shooting accuracy drills. Pull out the old shooter tutor and have at it. Me? Most times I’d pick a spot on the boards and shoot at it. Try and hit it from different angles. That shooter tutor was the best goalie I ever came up against.

 

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