Anaheim Ducks Fan Mailbag: 10/27/2014 – 11/02/2014
By Jason Byun
Nov 2, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) cebrates his goal with center Ryan Getzlaf (15) in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The NHL season is rolling along. 26 days ago, the puck dropped on the first slate of games. In that time, the Anaheim Ducks have soared to the top of the NHL standings, sporting a 10-3-0 record and 20 points, both tops in the league. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have been outstanding, combining for 29 points (three goals, 11 assists for Getzlaf, 11 goals, four assists for Perry). The acquisition of Ryan Kesler has helped the Ducks in so many ways, improving the Ducks from 20th to 4th in faceoff win percentage and from 13th to 7th in penalty killing. The young duo of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson has been outstanding, with both goalies recording a shutout and constantly keeping the Ducks in games.
However, the season has not been filled with just positives. The Ducks were frankly embarrassed in their season opener against Pittsburgh, giving up six goals and playing very little defense in front of their goalie. Against the San Jose Sharks, the Ducks displayed a lack of discipline, racking up 90 penalty minutes and suffering an injury to Ben Lovejoy, one of the team’s veteran anchors on the blue-line.
Injuries have been a story for Anaheim as well. Patrick Maroon suffered an MCL sprain against the Buffalo Sabres on October 13th and only returned to the lineup this past Friday against the Dallas Stars. Mark Fistric suffered a lower back-injury, forcing the Ducks to play rookie Josh Manson, as the Ducks only have six healthy defensemen on their active roster. Dany Heatley has returned from a preseason groin injury, but he has been underwhelming in the two games he has dressed for. The most chaotic of the injuries was during the previous game against Colorado, when Frederik Andersen was announced to have leg tightness and John Gibson suffered a groin injury during the warm-up which will sideline him for about six weeks. This forced the Ducks to start veteran Jason LaBarbera, who was recalled from AHL Norfolk to back-up Gibson in Colorado. Despite the scramble in net, the Ducks emerged from the Pepsi Center with a win.
The season has been interesting, and there are still 69 more regular season contests to play for Anaheim. In this time, a few questions have come up about the team, so the staff here at Pucks of a Feather are happy to answer questions that have come up. This week, editor Jason Byun is answering the questions.