Updated March 13
The Anaheim Ducks were 27-5-6 at the Christmas break and had a comfortable eight-point lead in the overall standings. Then the injuries started hitting.
Within a week, Anaheim lost defensemen Chris Pronger, Francois Beauchemin and Sean O'Donnell, goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere and forward Todd Marchant. By the time everyone returned, the Ducks had managed only three wins in 12 games.
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| Todd Marchant has been out with an abdominal injury for almost a month. (Getty Images) |
"It's pretty close. Early in the season we were playing unbelievable," said Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne, who has become the first NHL player to score 40 goals in consecutive seasons after age 35. "But I always believe that everybody has to go through times. It's important that you stick together and find a way to turn things around."
The Ducks have stuck together, particularly through the trade deadline which saw GM Brian Burke resist the temptation to deal away any of the high-end young talent in the organization for a rental. Burke did trade away defenseman Shane O'Brien for a first-round draft pick, which he was unable to parlay into another deal, but essentially stood pat other than adding veteran depth forward Brad May for a minor-leaguer. And Selanne said that hasn't gone unnoticed in the dressing room.
"It was a relief that we're all together," he said. "We lost Shane O'Brien, but other than that the guys stayed here and I think it was a really good sign because of what we started last year. Everybody accepted their roles and we have a chemistry and good family feeling on this team. This is a confidence boost for us."
And just at the right time. Here are this week's rankings.
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
![]() | 1 | Blackhawks · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| Chicago had to have a letdown after that statement win in San Jose, just not enough to ruin a great 4-1-1 circus road trip. | ||||||||||
![]() | 2 | Sharks · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| The Sharks are always among the best at home, but this season they already have 11 road wins to lead the league. | ||||||||||
![]() | 3 | Devils · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| Marty's just being Marty. Devils goalie Brodeur has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his past 15 starts, and one or less in eight of those. | ||||||||||
![]() | 4 | Penguins · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Getting healthy and on a roll. The Pens are starting to fire on all cylinders and have won six of their past eight. | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 | Flames · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| They are taking control of the Northwest Division mainly because of how well they are playing on the road. | ||||||||||
![]() | 6 | Capitals · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| Semyon Varlamov has picked up where he left off in the playoffs, going 10-1-3 so far in his first full NHL season. | ||||||||||
![]() | 7 | Sabres · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| Is there any doubt Ryan Miller has locked up the starting job for Team USA at the Olympics? | ||||||||||
![]() | 8 | Predators · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| A very solid blue line and good work in goal from both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis have the Predators in the thick of the West race. | ||||||||||
![]() | 9 | Bruins · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| Playing a lot of hockey these days, with OTs in five of their past six, but Boston is picking up points and back in the division race. | ||||||||||
![]() | 10 | Thrashers · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| In Ilya Kovalchuk's shadow, Rich Peverley remains an impact guy with a league-leading five game-winners among his 10 goals. | ||||||||||
![]() | 11 | Senators · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| Mike Fisher is having a big-time turnaround season for the Sens and putting up the best numbers of his career. | ||||||||||
![]() | 12 | Flyers · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| With the Flyers still falling short of expectations, coach John Stevens' future is being called into question. | ||||||||||
![]() | 13 | Coyotes · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| Tough team to play against when ahead. Phoenix is 11-2-1 this season when scoring first. | ||||||||||
![]() | 14 | Red Wings · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| You know things are rough offensively when the home folks are yelling "Let's go Lions." | ||||||||||
![]() | 15 | Lightning · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| Steven Stamkos continues his remarkable sophomore season and drive toward Canada's Olympic team. He's on pace to score more than 50 goals. | ||||||||||
![]() | 16 | Kings · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| Anze Kopitar's shootout winner against Chicago is the only time he has scored since Ryan Smyth went down. | ||||||||||
![]() | 17 | Avalanche · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Things continue to go downhill for the Avalanche, who now have their top two goal scorers on the shelf. | ||||||||||
![]() | 18 | Canucks · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| The Canucks are in the playoff picture because of their record at home and in spite of their penalty killing so far. | ||||||||||
![]() | 19 | Stars · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| Dallas has actually lost more games than it has won, but the loser points are keeping the Stars in the hunt. | ||||||||||
![]() | 20 | Rangers · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Little is going right these days, making the great start seem more like an illusion with each passing game. | ||||||||||
![]() | 21 | Panthers · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| If only games lasted 40 minutes. Florida triggered four losses in the third period last week, and has won only four of nine times it has led after two. | ||||||||||
![]() | 22 | Canadiens · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| Montreal finishes the season's second month like the first, as a .500 team that doesn't look playoff bound. | ||||||||||
![]() | 23 | Islanders · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| Josh Bailey responded to being a healthy scratch with a nice offensive surge for the scrappy Isles. | ||||||||||
![]() | 24 | Ducks · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| No one is shutting down Perry and Getzlaf these days, but Anaheim's hole is still pretty deep. | ||||||||||
![]() | 25 | Maple Leafs · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| A trip down south was just what the doctor ordered for the Leafs, who are getting big-time production from Niklas Hagman and Phil Kessel. | ||||||||||
![]() | 26 | Blue Jackets · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| Hard to imagine team defense would be the problem on a Ken Hitchcock coached team. | ||||||||||
![]() | 27 | Blues · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| One reason for the Blues' 4-8-2 record in their own building is their inability to score there. St. Louis has only 28 goals in 14 games at home. | ||||||||||
![]() | 28 | Wild · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| Still a long way to go, but at least the Wild has picked up points in 10 of their past 13 games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 29 | Oilers · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| They can't win on the road lately, or anywhere for that matter. Edmonton's five-game road losing streak is part of a 4-11-3 mark over the past 18 games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 30 | Hurricanes · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| The 'Canes allowed five third-period goals twice over the weekend and still haven't won on the road. | ||||||||||


































