Itlan

"Ducks guerilla blogger"

http://itlan.is-a-geek.com/ • United States • 38 Years Old • Male

Burke Gambles And Loses, So Do Ducks

Brian Burke did nothing at the trade deadline, essentially, for the second straight year. Most people agreed last year and especially this year that the Ducks weakest point was scoring. Supported by an elite caliber defense corps and goaltending trio, the Ducks had a stingy 2.35 GAA, good for 2nd best in the league. There is a saying "Defense wins Cups". That may be true, but when your GFA is a paltry 2.50 (3rd worst of all 30 teams) it's really hard to actually win with out goals.

That couldn't be more true than now. Only, it's way worse than anybody expected. Over the past 2 games, the Ducks have scored 2 goals. In years past, that may have been enough for the defensive-minded Ducks to be up 2-0 in the series or at least be split 1-1. But they negated any advantage of that D-corps by allowing 9 goals, including 6 power play goals in 12 opportunities.

Jiggy has been less than stellar in goal. His GAA in the last 2 games is a horrendous 4.50. In the past, Jiggy was often there to bail out the penalty-prone Ducks while they work things out on the ice and get moving in the right direction again. He faced a total of 67 shots in the last 2 games.

All the blame can't be placed on J.S. Giguere. Here is my list of "goats" to blame in no particular order:

* Todd Bertuzzi - Wayyyyy too many blind drop passes to nobody that end up as turnovers. Just shoot the puck Todd. Then go get it and do it again. This really applies to all three players on the top line, Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne.
* Francois Beauchemin - His weak passes, and laziness in his own end lead to 2 goals on Thursday, and 2 more on Saturday.
* Scott Niedermayer - He has not been himself this playoffs. Turnovers and untimely penalties makes him a goat.
* Bobby Ryan - With Corey Perry out, this was the perfect opportunity for Bobby to step it up. But it seems that Bobby just has a hard time staying on his feet, let alone shoot the puck. 1 shot on goal for #2 draft pick and I am sure the officials were being generous.
* Randy Carlyle - Why the hell do you keep Giguere in net? After the second goal on Saturday, I fully expected to see Hiller. Nope. Third goal (Modano)? Nope. Fourth goal (Richards, weak goal)? Nope. At that point pulling Jiggy would do nothing so I gave up.
* Brian Burke - Bergeron? That's it? Really?

There are more people to blame. But our best players need to play better.

I do not know what to expect come Tuesday. The Ducks said all the right things to the newspapers on Friday making it seem like they knew the gravity of their situation. Now they must contend with winning at least 2 games away from home. A feat that has not been as easy as winning at home this year for the Ducks.

Itlan @8-)

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