Anaheim is currently in last place in the Pacific Division, tied for 11th in the Western Conference, and tied for 19th in the whole NHL, with 47 points based on their 20-19-7 record. As disappointing as this may be, there is a ray of hope as Teemu Selanne is back from a hand injury and scoring again from the minute he returned, the second week of January.
In the meantime it has been RW Corey Perry (17 goals, 27 assists, tied for team lead with 44 points), C Ryan Getzlaf (11 goals, leads team with 33 assists, tied with Perry with 44 points), and RW Bobby Ryan (leads the team with 20 goals, has 15 assists), that have been trying to keep the Ducks' heads above water.
Another positive has been Jonas Hiller in goal. Hiller is ranked 13th amongst all goalies with his .918 save percentage, and 15th in the win column. However, things seems to be looking up recently, as he is 4-1 in 2010 with a 1.61 GAA, .952 save percentage, and just coming off an impressive 42-save 3-1 victory over Chicago, where he was also named the first star of the game.
Captain Scott Niedermayer is performing as expected, anchoring the defense as one of the greatest offensive defensemen ever to play the game, while Ryan Whitney has been a force in the opponent's end as well; the Ducks should be able to put two very dangerous power play units on the ice, and equally as successful killing penalties for the Ducks.
The issue seems to be that Anaheim cannot get all three areas of their game – offense, defense, and goaltending – clicking at the same time, although their recent victory over the Blackhawks did show how good they can be. Get your tickets now and be there for the second half of the season as the Ducks continue to turn things around and battle to make the playoffs in March.
