Apr 1, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Andrew Cogliano (7) skates in the Dallas Stars zone during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Ducks shut out the Stars 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Every year, each NHL team has a nominee for the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The respective chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) for each team selects the nominees. This season, the Anaheim chapter of the PHWA nominated Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano for the Masterson.

Cogliano is enjoying a career season and his streak of career games played in a row continues. His points-per-game this season (0.48) is second best in his career and his goals-per-game (0.26) is the highest it has been in his career. His streak is now at 456 consecutive games, which is third best out of all current NHL players, behind Jay Bouwmeester (633) and Henrik Sedin (627). Oh, by the way, he has never missed a single game in his entire career. So, that streak started back in his rookie season with the Edmonton Oilers, until now.

As much as I would like to see Cogs win the Masterson, I do not think he stands much of a chance against Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding. It’s been a pretty big story around the NHL for over a year. Last fall, Harding was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Here is what WebMD.com has to say about MS:

“Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neuroimmunologic (both the nervous system and the immunological system are involved) disorder of the central nervous system involving the brain, spinal chord and optic nerves. By means of a mechanism not clearly understood, the protective fatty, insulating substance called myelin sheath that covers the nerve is destroyed. The inflammatory attacks that produce the characteristic scarring (plaques or patches) of the myelin sheath occur randomly, vary in intensity, and at multiple sites. The course of the disease may advance, relapse, remit, or stabilize. The randomness of the location of plaques or patches affects the nerve’s ability to transmit information (neurotransmission) and causes a wide range of neurological symptoms, which may vary from person to person.”

My favorite teacher from high school suffered from MS and it was tough to see him struggle with it at times. He was on a bunch of medication to help counteract his pain. Much like the common saying, “he had good days and bad days.” He once told us about how he knew that he would be in a wheel chair much earlier than he had ever thought. So, I know a little bit about how people have to deal with it. I must say that it is very impressive that Harding continues to play. So, I do hope that he wins and it certainly seems like he will. The winner will be announced during the 2013 NHL Awards Show after the Stanley Cup Finals.

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January 25, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin (22) is congratulated by center Henrik Sedin (33) after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Anaheim, CA - Well, Friday night’s festivities got off to a very nice, admirable start for the Anaheim Ducks home opener. Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf made a short speech thanking the fans for the support after the lengthy lockout. Both teams came out to center ice to salute the sellout crowd at HC.  It was the first Ducks game at Honda Center in nine months. However, this one might be forgotten rather quickly as the Vancouver Canucks power play literally powered them to a 5-0 victory.

The Ducks rode the usual home opener momentum early on in the game. The Ducks carried the majority of the play in Vancouver’s zone. Vancouver goalie Corey Schneider was spectacular within those first eight or so minutes. The Ducks had plenty of good scoring chances, however, a few of them failed to even hit the net. That went on for the entire game as the Ducks at some points had trouble hitting the net on their best opportunities. However, at the 8:11 mark of the 1st period, things started to unravel for the Ducks. Daniel Winnik took a holding penalty and shortly after that Getzlaf took a cross-checking penalty. The Canucks capitalized on that 5-on-3 power play with a typical Henrik Sedin-Daniel Sedin connection. Ducks defenseman Bryan Allen, later in the period, took an interference penalty. Then, with just under two minutes left in the period, Mason Raymond tapped in another power play goal for the Canucks.

After a failed penalty shot by Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows early in the second, neither team really controlled play. That is, outside of the three power plays the Canucks had in the second period. The Canucks did score relatively late in the period from a bad turnover by Devante Smith-Pelly. Canuck Aaron Volpatti cashed in on the turnover to make it 3-0. The crowd had been very frustrated with the officiating up until late in the second when Corey Perry was called for charging and roughing after he was hit hard that could have been called. At this point, the Ducks composure was on the verge of cracking and Vancouver could sense that. With the double minor, the Canucks had a 4:00 power play. They converted on it in early in the third when Zack Kassian scored on an easy slam dunk, again on the power play.

Things unraveled ever more a little over halfway through the third period when Perry and Keith Ballard dropped the gloves. However, Ballard’s jersey got caught over his head and never threw a punch as Perry got a couple in before the refs broke it up. Since Ballard never actually threw a punch, he only got called for a roughing penalty. The league rule isn’t dropping the gloves and stick, a punch must be thrown by the player in order for him to be called for fighting. I kind of feel like the intent to fight, i.e. dropping the gloves, should be enough to warrant a fighting major penalty. The Canucks added another goal late in the third period as Raymond got his second of the game to make it a 5-0 final.

January 25, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (1) during a stoppage in play at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Ducks played their best early on in the game. They were getting bodies in front and getting a lot of pucks to the net. Until they started to take penalties, it seemed the game was going to be a repeat of Vancouver’s home opener in which the Ducks took it to them in a 7-3 beating. However, the Ducks struggled mightily on the penalty kill, especially down low. The Ducks defense had problems protecting the crease. If one defenseman would creep to try and block a pass or shot, the next defenseman would not rotate to help cover the empty space. The Canucks also got their sticks on way too many of the rebounds allowed by Jonas Hiller. Hiller was not on point tonight. He hasn’t looked all that sharp consistently in these first three games. The last goal by Raymond definitely should have been stopped but Hiller really misjudged it as it went under his left arm on the far side. Offensively, the Ducks really didn’t get much going after the first period.  In the second and third periods, the Canucks did a pretty decent job of keeping the Ducks out of the middle of the ice in their zone, especially on a power play the Ducks had early in the second. On a side note, rookie Rickard Rakell was a healthy scratch and rookie Peter Holland made his season debut, however, he had just under eight minutes of time on ice.

Three Stars:

1. VAN Daniel Sedin (1 G, 1 A, Even)

2. VAN Corey Schneider (30 SV, 30 SA, 1.000 SV%, 1 SO)

3. ANA Saku Koivu (2 S, Even)

So, the Ducks have some work to do, but no time to do it as the Nashville Predators visit the HC tomorrow night for the back end of a back-to-back for the Ducks.

Thanks for reading! Any questions? Contact us! Or follow us on twitter @DucksDailyBlog! We’re back on Facebook, so like us!

Follow me on twitter @ddb_sean! Follow our Lead Editor on twitter @thekrishill! Follow my fellow Staff Writers on twitter @bauerhockeydude and @CamLanier!