Wild Showdown
The return of Ducks' #1 goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere was spoiled rotten by the return of the Minnesota Wild and their 6'7", 258-pound enforcer Derek Boogaard. Well, I can't actually say the Boogeyman spoiled it; I'll have to say a rookie goaltender spoiled it.
When his name popped up on the Jumbotron as the Minnesota goalie, my girls Cassie, Jess, Rachel and I sat up and said, "Who is Josh Harding?!"
Well, he certainly showed us.
The kid made 37 saves, stonewalled the Ducks on every possible chance, including one shot that nearly squeaked by if it weren't for the magnificent show he put on. At one point, the SOG read Ducks - 32, Wild - 16. Despite outshooting the Wild (37-25), Anaheim couldn't put one on the board.
“When you have a good chance to score goals, and you don’t, it starts to get a little frustrating. That’s the way most of the game went. Everything seemed to be just like a little bit off -- one inch here and there.”
--Ryan Getzlaf
Anaheim Ducks center
Quote courtesy: OC Register
It's true. They had a number of chances, particularly early on when emotions were high and adrenaline was running. But Minnesota was everywhere: riding the backs of the Ducks, getting their sticks in the way, leading an aggressive penalty kill that rendered our power play (once again) fruitless. As a result of the Wild's play, passes didn't connect, turnovers and giveaways were rampant, players routinely lost the puck and couldn't keep it in the zone. The puck would be tangled in their skates or just out of their reach. Maddeningly frustrating!
In the end, I called it "pitiful", mostly because I was irritated and largely because I couldn't believe we didn't even get on the board. Now that my temper's calmed a bit, I can say that it wasn't that the effort wasn't there - it certainly was. It was just that they couldn't find a way to get it done. Sure, they were off just a little here and a little there, but that's all the Wild needed to find a little bit of justice for being eliminated from last year's playoffs.
With three tilts (Boogeyman v. Brad May - a fight related to last year's post-season drama; Ryan Getzlaf v. Nick Schultz - a hands-down Getzzy win in his 1-fight-per-season drill; and George Parros v. Boogeyman) and a hit that has given newly acquired Todd Bertuzzi an "apparent concussion", the duel was very physical. Bert is listed as "doubtful" for tonight's game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Two things became alarmingly clear through this contest:
1. the Ducks have got to find a way to generate offense. There were a few chances here and there, but for the most part, a number of key guys were rendered invisible for much of the game.
2. The Power Play has got to improve. 0-for-8 last night speaks for itself. Particularly when they had two five-on-three opportunities and have now gone 1-for-23 over the last four games (TSN). Not a pretty stat.
The good news is that our PK unit shut down the Minnesota guys for the 4 power plays they were given, and that Jiggy made 23 saves on 25 shots. Not a bad first outing for the goaltender still-returning-to-form. Still, tonight the boys will take on the Wings, another former playoff opponent whom we dispensed en route to last year's Cup win.
Who's out for revenge?
Everyone. Or so it seems.
2 cheers and jeers:
Heh, Josh Harding is the reason that one of the best goalies in the league (Backstrom) won't be starting nearly as many games as every other starter. The Wild have announced they plan to give Harding about 35 games -- a move which keeps with Lemaire's goalie rotation plan. He basically reinvented the technique of having two starters back when Fernandez and Roloson were rolling, and since then they haven't looked back.
That being said, I was surprised to see that they gave Harding the start against the Ducks, since Anaheim rocked the Wild so hard last year. Perhaps they thought Backstrom didn't play very well against them? Or perhaps they see the Ducks as a depleted team from last year? Whatever the reason, it worked!
Josh Harding is AWESOME! He got the start because Coach Lemaire said that the performance in Phoenix would dictate the starting goalie, and Backstrom was good, but not great.
Harding seems to get a shutout like every six games or something ridiculous like that.
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