That is the amount of points earned by the Ducks on their franchise-record 14 day road trip. What's even more remarkable about this is the fact that the trip didn't start out so hot. In fact, many fans (myself included), started to get really worried after they dropped the first three games of the trip. However, it's amazing what a certain Finn that goes by the name of The Flash can do for a group. Since Selanne returned against the Islanders, the Ducks went 5-0, to finish the trip with 11 out of a possible 16 points. Not too shabby.

That leaves them 4 points out of the lead in the Pacific and 4th overall in the Western Conference. Now, almost every other team (except Dallas) has multiple games in hand against Anaheim, but the important thing is that they bury their heads and don't worry about other teams - only worry about what you can immediately control.

Now the boys have a few days off before taking on Dallas on Friday. This should be a fantastic game, as it could very well send one team on their way towards claiming the division title.

Coach Carlyle always talks about "measuring stick games," - important games where you can see where you stack up against the competition. Today's game against Detroit is such a game. Detroit has been the class of the NHL all season, and the Ducks have been a bit of a disappointment. Today's game is particularly huge, because barring any unforseen developments, it'll be the first time all season that the Ducks have played against Detroit with their full roster, as Selanne is back, and Pahlsson is expected to play. Granted, Detroit is now missing Dan Cleary, and while I don't discount Cleary's contributions to the winged wheel, I somehow think that they'll manage just fine without him. Regardless, it should be one helluva game, and I can't wait to watch it!

Things to watch for:

1. Teemu pots his first goal of the season.
2. Pahlsson's first game back after missing the last 20 with abdominal problems.
3. Who starts in net? Conventional wisdom would say Giguere, and I'd be shocked if he didn't...but Hiller played what was easily his best game of the season against New York a couple of nights ago...so you never know.
4. Will Detroit be able to withstand Anaheim's physical presence? They did a pretty good job of it in the last game between these two teams, but with the last change today, it should be interesting to see if they feel the need to match Anaheim's physicality.

12:30 can't come soon enough!

Has been nothing short of fantastic! The people have all been extremely nice and helpful, and most importantly, it's been fun to congregate into one big hockey-loving community. One of the features I've been most impressed with is the unprecedented access that many of the members have to professional and amateur hockey players. This is a very important facet of growing the game beyond the borders of the established demographic. One of the things that many non-hockey-fans don't realize is how accessible many of the players, coaches, and managers are. Mike and I were having this very conversation recently as we recounted stories about the many nice, humble, and down to earth professional hockey people we have known. As such, I sincerely hope that HockeyScape is allowed continued access to hockey people, as I belive it can only reflect positively on the entire hockey community, and hopefully grab a few new fans.

Go Ducks!

It's about time! It looks like the addition of Selanne to the line-up provided an extra boost for Anaheim as they beat the Islanders in convincing fashion. Let's see if they can keep it up against the Rangers on Thursday.

As a side note, it was encouraging to see that Selanne hasn't really missed a step. He also picked up the secondary assist on the Niedermayer goal. Good stuff!

So, I'm just getting settled here at hockeyscape. I think I'm really going to enjoy it here. Hockey people are some of the best people in the world, and I'm priveledged to feel like a part of the hockey community. The Ducks are in a bit of a slump right now, but I feel like once Teemu gets in the line-up, that'll quickly turn around. It's not that they aren't playing well, it's just that all of a sudden they're having trouble putting the puck in the back of the net. I think Teemu hit the nail on the head last season when he compared goal scoring to a ketchup bottle. Sometimes it gets stuck, but once it gets unstuck, watch out, because it's coming in a hurry.