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"Ducks guerilla blogger"
http://itlan.is-a-geek.com/ • United States • 38 Years Old • Male
In an effort that deserved a better outcome, the Ducks dropped a big game against a great Eastern team, the Washington Capitals. One game they should have controlled with the defense corps the Ducks have. But who didn't show up? The Defense. Who did show up? Bobby Ryan. BR was great last night against the Caps.

With style of play that is reminiscent of Corey Perry, sans all the jibber-jabber, Bobby Ryan proved, in one game, why he should remain with the Club through the end of the season and beyond. He was faster, he was stronger, he drove to the net, he deflected checks along the boards, HE DIDN'T FALL DOWN A LOT!!!

Maybe it was a case of a player shining while the rest of the team stank like a pile of yesterday's garbage... But who cares. It was the only redeeming part of last night's game. With Selanne whiffing on shots and passes, Skeeter turning the puck over left and right, and a very pedestrian Chris Kunitz who failed to bring his energy to the game, the Ducks got what they deserved.

I suppose if there were a game to lose this season, you can't be that upset that it was against the Washington Capitals. Gone are the days of recent years where they were a laughing stock. With the introduction of Ovechkin to the Caps, and the rag-tag group of players this team is 1 or 2 trades away from being a playoff success. Washington, with their talent, should be dominating in the SE division, but they are not.

Randy Carlyle's carousel of line combinations last night meant it was hard to see who BR had chemistry with. He scored his first goal with the top line of Getzlaf and Perry. It was a garbage cleanup goal on a fail shot by Perry. But BR was in the right place to clean up the rebounds.

On his second goal, BR jammed away at a semi-frozen puck in the crease and poked it through the goalies' pads. He was skating alongside Todd Marchant and George Parros. At other times he skated with Selanne and Morrison. He even got a little bit of power play time when it was obvious that the 1st and 2nd units were not getting the job done.

On Friday, the Ducks will take on the St Louis Blues.... and I can't wait to see it. Bobby Ryan finished with 3 points (2G, 1A) and was a factor in all the even strength goals. I have been a huge critic of Bobby Ryan, and this one game certainly doesn't absolve him of any future criticism, but Bobby Ryan made losing FUN!

Bob Murray should not make the same mistake Brian Burke did and underestimate the ability of Bobby Ryan to perform at the NHL-level. And Bobby Ryan should not overestimate his ability to work hard and perform at the NHL-level.

***As always, please make your comments in the Forum thread instead of this lame blog/comment system***

Itlan
@8-D
Filed Under:   Bobby Ryan   Ducks   Itlan   Capitals  
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