Many thought the Anaheim Ducks would steamroll the visiting St. Louis Blues prior to their Wednesday night get-together.
After all, the Ducks were on a roll, having won five of their last seven. Moreover, complicating the Blues' burden was the fact that they were going to war without two of their best players, Paul Kariya and Andy McDonald, who were scratched because of injury.
And sure enough, the Ducks were buzzing early, dominating the play to the tune of outshooting St. Louis 9 to 1.
But then, winger B.J. Crombeen snapped a wrist shot past goalie J.S. Giguere to put the Blues on top 1 to zip. And suddenly, it was on!
The rest of the night would feature furious up and down action, board-rattling checks, fisticuffs galore, stellar skating and some nifty shooting and stick work around the net. If ever a game had everything, this one most certainly did.
Need proof? Well, the Ducks evened the score when bruiser George Parros, not exactly known for his deft touch or soft hands, pounced on a Bobby Ryan rebound and whistled home a shot as pretty as you please. Parros the scorer? Surely my eyes deceive.
Then, the Ducks took their first lead well into the second period when Chris Kunitz took a slick pass from Ryan Getzlaf and converted it from short range.
At that moment, it looked like the expected rout would soon commence. The Honda Center had come alive and was vibrating with Duck mania. The hometown team seemed to have everything going for them, including that most irresistible of forces, momentum.
However, something most unexpected was about to happen. Instead of folding up and falling apart, the Blues responded by digging down deep and competing hard.
Despite the fact that their roster had few household names and was populated by an inordinate number of youngsters, the Blues nonetheless started to come on. Boy, did they ever put those fresh legs to use.
For much of the final two periods, the visitors seized the intuitive and controlled the tempo. St. Louis was clearly dictating the play. It was as if the ice was tipped toward the St. Louie end.
Only their inability to finish chances and the stout work of Giguere, who made several huge stops, kept the Blues at bay.
But finally, the Blues' consistent effort was rewarded when winger Brad Boyes beat Giguere upstairs with a power-play goal with 7:06 remaining. Now, it was anybody's game. It was there for the taking. The upstart Blues were threatening to steal one right out form underneath Anaheim.
But the Ducks apparently decided they'd had enough of the Blues' heroics. It was time to reassert themselves. And just like that, the light switch went on. For the next four minutes plus, Anaheim found another gear. The Ducks ratcheted up their intensity level and trapped the Blues inside their own zone. The Ducks were smothering the opposition. Their pressure was relentless and suffocating. The Ducks had St. Louis totally penned up.
Though Blues' goalie Chris Mason gallantly fought off some shots, he merely delayed the inevitable. The Ducks' bombardment gradually wore him down. Thus, it was no surprise when Brendan Morrison took a nice set-up feed and bested Mason from in front of the net. Morrison's goal with 2:37 left reestablished Anaheim's grip on the game and sent the arena into another burst of bedlam.
Kunitz's second score of the night, not only upped the ante to 4-2 but further intensified the frenzy. This was a spectacular effort by the Ducks' winger in which he fended off a defender with one hand while shoving the puck into the net with his stick. Kunitz's scintillating tally came with four seconds remaining and into an empty net.
So the expected result had taken place, after all. But not before the Ducks had been pushed to the brink and the nondescript Blues had earned kudos and plenty of respect for their gutsy effort. The blowout that seemed preordained never materialized. Instead, a riveting game was played out before 16,058 engaged and enthralled fans.
A few other quickie observations about this NHL tussle.
Anaheim winger Bobby Ryan looks like he's finally arrived. After spending much of the last two years shuttling between the Ducks and the minors, Ryan has emerged as a genuine force to be reckoned with.
Well endowed at 6-2, 208 pounds, Ryan showed both a quick release ( 4 shots-on-goal ) and adept passing skills versus the Blues. He also displayed a nice jump to his step. Clearly more confident in himself and playing with a discernable poise, Ryan should make a mark from here on out.
No doubt about it. The Kunitz, Getzlaf and Chris Perry line is one of the most dynamic in the league. They bring a passion to their work that's palpable. And their versatility is undeniable. Their comfort level with one another is apparent and they feed off each other's energy. The chemistry and the cohesion that they've developed is remarkable and a sixth sense seems to exist between them. Arguably, this is the best young line in hockey.
Speaking of Getzlaf, man, does he ever know how to apply some thunderous checks. Though a prolific scorer, Getzlaf may be just as good at handing out punishment. More than a few Blues felt the sting of his forceful hitting. It's fitting that Ryan is from Saskatchewan because is he ever a prairie thumper when it comes to meting out checks.
Teemu Selanne continues to amaze. If you didn't know better, you'd swear the talented Finn was performing like a kid half his age which happens to be 38. Without question, Selanne is Anaheim's most exciting player and perhaps its' most active whenever he touches the puck. Selanne is one of the rare few who consistently gets the fans to rise out of their seats. Against St. Lou, Selanne was dominant, leading the team in shots-on-goal with 8 and assisting on two scores. Old Man River has nothing on Selanne who just keeps rolling along.
Normally, if a goalie gets banged in the head, it comes from an incoming puck. But Blues starting netminder Manny Legace got drilled in a less conventional way. While sprawled on the ice after yielding George Parros' goal, Legace was inadvertently kneed in the noggin by Bobby Ryan, who happened to be skating by. Legace dropped immediately and lay face down on the ice for several seconds.
When he finally got to his knees, Legace wore a dazed expression and kept blinking, perhaps trying to shake the cobwebs. But to no avail. Attempting to stand, Legace went wobbly and finally had to be helped off the ice, not to return. Credit Ryan with an accidental TKO. Chris Mason replaced the shook-up Legace.
And finally, it was a game of extremes for Blues' winger B.J. Crombeen. First, the good. Crombeen staked his team to an early lead when he flicked an beauty of a shot behind J.S. Giguere, who was left grasping at air.
But in the second period, Crombeen embarrassed himself. Challenged by Duck defenseman Steve Montador to fight and defend himself, Crombeen went limp. Instead of standing his ground, Crombeen merely covered up and allowed Montador to beat him down to the ice. Crombeen had done a marvelous impersonation of a turtle withdrawing into his shell.
When the subsequent penalties were announced, both Montador and Crombeen were given five minutes for fighting but that was misleading. Only Montador should have been sent off for fisticuffs. Crombeen should have been penalized not for fighting but for something else. Like laying down. Boy, did he ever go into the tank.