Anaheim Mighty Ducks

The Remarkable Return of Razor Ray

March 25, 2011

Photo Credit: Getty Images A year ago, Ray Emery thought he’d never again play hockey. Today, he’s the backup goalie for the surging Anaheim Ducks and making a name for himself again. In December of 2009, Emery -- then with the Philadelphia Flyers -- was placed on injured reserve and set to undergo surgery to repair a torn muscle in his abdomen. He was expected to miss at least six weeks as he recovered. However, his journey back to the ice took much longer than anyone - especially Ray himself - would have expected. It was discovered that Emery had avascular necrosis, a bone disease where, due to the interruption of blood supply, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses. In...

Ducks Sign Emery

February 7, 2011

Kyle Andrew Busch

7 Comments

Looking to bolster their goaltending depth, the Anaheim Ducks have signed Ray Emery to a one-year, two-way contract. Terms of the deal were not released, but TSN reported the contract would pay Emery $500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL. Emery hasn't played since suffering a serious hip injury with the Philadelphia Flyers last season. He had surgery in April 2010 to repair the condition, called avascular necrosis, which saw the near-complete degradation of the top of the ball in his hip joint. It's the same injury that derailed and subsequently ended the athletic career of two-sport star Bo Jackson. Emery has to clear waivers, and if he remains with the Ducks, they will assi...

Ducks hand the Capitals their 7th straight loss

December 16, 2010

Alex Mueller

5 Comments

The Ducks came into Washington having attained points in their previous four games but also blowing three 3rd period leads. The Capitals came in having lost six in a row but at the same time out shooting their opponents. Despite lacking goals, this game was entertaining to watch. Both teams had a ton of quality scoring chances. Nicklas Backstrom stating off the scoring with a nice feed to Brooks Laich from behind the net. About a minute later Laich almost had his second goal off of a defensive turnover but Ryan Getzlaf was able to save the puck right before it crossed the goal line after it got through Jonas Hiller. Alex Ovechkin had a breakaway later in the period but hit the pipe. Hille...

Ducks wade through Oil(ers) in epic shootout

December 8, 2010

Alex Mueller

0 Comments

After their six game losing streak the Ducks were able to bounce back with three straight wins. But then they laid two eggs at home and lost by a combined score of 0-7 to the Red Wings and Coyotes. It wasn't all bad news though, as the Ducks welcomed back Joffrey Lupul to the lineup, during the Coyotes game, after a year off to do back surgery complications. The Ducks started their Pacific Northwest trip with a visit to Edmonton were the Ducks hoped to rebound. The game was very entertaining and evenly matched. Both teams moved very quickly up and down the ice and in the 1st period it was pretty much evenly matched. In the 2nd period the Ducks had the slight edge but towards the end of th...

Ducks feast on Coyotes

November 28, 2010

Alex Mueller

1 Comment

After winning six games in a row the Ducks reeled off six losses in a row, effectively wiping out the benefits of their winning streak. After having their longest break of four days off this season the Ducks lost at home to the Blackhawks 4-1. Despite the break they have still played the most amount of games in the NHL. The Ducks had to quickly turn it around and hit the road for a short trip in Phoenix. How would they do? The Ducks are still without Teemu Selanne who is day to day with his groin injury, so that puts them at a disadvantage already. The game had a slow start to it and after a few bad bounces, the Ducks found themselves down 3-1. Not a good sign against a team they usually ...

A for Effort, L for Loss

November 20, 2010

Alex Mueller

2 Comments

The hot Ducks have suddenly cooled, having lost four straight games since they won six in a row. Of course it's not all bad news, as the Ducks picked up points in two of those games with overtime losses. But last night's loss to the Blue Jackets just hurts. The Ducks produced a whopping 50 shots on Steve Mason in a 4-3 loss at the Honda Center, including a 3rd period where they out-shot the Jackets a mind-boggling 25 to 3. Let's face it, you've got to win those games. They had plenty of good chances though. There was a questionable no call by the official on a Bobby Ryan breakaway where the Blue Jackets' defender took his hand off his stick and held Bobby Ryan's but it was not called. Ge...

When you're hot....

November 10, 2010

Alex Mueller

0 Comments

A few days ago the Ducks were demolished at the Shark Tank by the Sharks 5-2. That game seem to be the wake up call the Ducks needed as they then won three games in a row which included a game winning goal with about 2 seconds to go. Last night the Ducks found their way back to the Tank hoping to continue their streak. Could they do it against a Shark team without a suspended Joe Thornton? The Sharks scored within the first two minutes of the game during a line change which gave most Ducks fans the feeling of “here we go again”. To further illustrate that point George Parros and Frazer McLaren dropped their gloves to fight just like in the last game. The Sharks continued their attack ...

Ducks mix young and old

November 4, 2010

Alex Mueller

1 Comment

It's been an interesting past couple of weeks for the Ducks. They went two and two on a road trip which saw George Parros net a breakaway goal and Teemu Selanne pass Bobby Hull on the all time goals list. But then they lost to a slumping Devils team at home and followed it up with a shellacking by the Sharks at the Shark Tank 5-2, which wasn't as close as the score indicated. So the Ducks went back home and tried a few new things and relied on a really old thing. Parros shaved his mustache for charity, rookie phenom Cam Fowler finally returned from his broken nose and the Ducks brought up a couple of young guys in Nick Bonino and Kyle Palmieri to replace all the injured players. So while the...

The Ducks might have a real team

October 18, 2010

Alex Mueller

3 Comments

Turns out all the Ducks needed was a little bit of a home stretch to find their bearings. The Ducks took on their division rival the Phoenix Coyotes at the Honda Center and won a thrilling 3-2 contest. In the 2nd period of the game Cam Fowler scored his first ever NHL goal with a nice slapshot with a screen assist to Corey Perry. About five minutes later Fowler went coast to coast for almost his 2nd goal but instead he just missed and was driven hard into the boards by Shane Doan. Fowler left the game and did not return at that point. They haven’t said anything about his injury but it is not expected to be serious. Speaking of Shane Doan, Doan laid a blindside hit on Dan Sexton later in th...

Ducks Win Ducks Win

October 14, 2010

Alex Mueller

1 Comment

To Ducks fans the game seemed more like a Game 7 of a playoff series than the home opener and Game 4 of the regular season. But when your team stinks up the joint during the first 3 games and is outscored 13-2, it doesn’t give much hope. But never say never and opening the season on the road isn’t easy for any team. The Ducks returned to Honda Center, or as the natives call it Ponda, to seek their first win of the season against their pacific coast rivals the Vancouver Canucks and reigning Hart and Art Ross trophy winner and new team captain Henrik Sedin. The Ducks started out the game in a strange position, they were actually the first to go on a power play. Not only that they actual...