The NHL bye week feels like it lasts forever and in some respects it does. When you are accustomed to playing three, maybe four times a week and then you are forced to shut it down for days, it tends to take some getting used to.

For the Ducks, the break came at the right time. I've said all of this before, but it bares repeating. Anaheim had to have these few days to get back on their feet with a complete roster. It's almost like the season is just beginning. If that is the case, than the Ducks must have a hot start.

Enter the Ducks fiercest rivals - the Los Angeles Kings.

First off, the hate is real between these two clubs. Within the first three minutes of the game we had three really good fights. In the last two meetings there have been seven old-time hockey fights - ripe with blood, knockouts and take downs. The real violent gentleman always come to play in the freeway face-off.

Anaheim fed off the emotion and used their physicality to knock the Kings around for two periods. Los Angeles did their third period dominance thing to make the score respectable. In the end, the Ducks won a big four-point swing game. The regulation victory closed the gap between them and the Kings to four points.

Game observations:

- Ondrej Kase missed the Ducks final three games before the break with an illness. His offensive ability was clearly missed. He spent a few days down in San Diego and came ready to play. He scored the games first goal and finished the night with two goals and an assist. He was around the puck all night and seemed to draw the attention of L.A.'s goons. He was hit at every turn and still went off.

- John Gibson was solid again. He made two excellent saves early in the game to keep the Kings off the board. I could argue they were the biggest plays of the game. It was imperative the Ducks scored first and he made sure that happened.

- Anaheim improved to 17-2-5 when leading after two periods. One of the 5 OTL's came at the hands of the Kings in the last meeting. This time the Ducks did just enough to hold them off.

- Nick Ritchie played his best game of the season and appeared to be spurned on by his fight with Kyle Clifford. Ritchie was everywhere - throwing his body and wreaking havoc in the offensive zone. He made a great heads-up play to strip Jonathan Quick of the puck behind his net before quickly feeding Kase out front for the GWG. For the Ducks to make a run to the playoffs they need this Nick Ritchie every night.


It was a good night for the Ducks. They need many more night like this from now on. They improved to 20-15-9 and 49 points and trail Calgary by three point for third in the Pacific.

Last season it took 94 points to secure the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. For the Duck to get to 95 points they would need to win 23 of their final 38 games (.605 win %). Obviously OTL's and SO's will factor in, but we know how bad they struggle in those. That's a tall task, but not out of reach for this team.

- The Bob Miller ceremony was great. Any hockey fan growing up in So Cal grew up listening to Bob Miller. He is a legend and I already miss him.

- Forward Andrew Cogliano has agreed to a $9.75 million, three-year contract extension through the 2020-21 season with the Ducks. I've heard people whining about the cap hit. Cap hit! Really? Every team needs a Cogs on their roster and probably two or three to win the Cup. The dude has played in 830 consecutive games and gives 110% every shift. Don't let me hear another word about the cap hit. Come on man.

Update: Cogliano has been suspended 2 games because of that hard interference penalty he took on Adrian Kempe. The suspension ends his iron man streak at 830 games. I'm flabbergasted by this. This has got to be the worst way to end a streak of this magnitude. I've seen harder, more intentional hits get less. Many never even get reviewed by the league. How about Drew Doughty's elbow to Adam Henrique's head? He doesn't have a history of questionable hits or dirty play - so that can't even be an excuse for this decision. I'm stunned. What a joke decision.

Here is the NHL video discussing their decision to suspend #7.



Thanks for reading,
Steve

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