Blake okay with NHL decision on hit
--Ducks winger Jason Blake said that the hit to the head by Columbus forward Derek Dorsett on Sunday night wasn't a problem in his book and didn't expect him to receive any supplementary discipline. Dorsett's play was ruled a hit to the head and was assessed a two-minute minor penalty. The NHL deemed that Blake turned into the hit prior to impact and that his head wasn't targeted, a league source said. Blake was fine with that rationale and didn't make anything on it. "It was a good hit," he said. "I'm not one to judge anyone out there. It was a good hit. It was partly my fault. I was waiting for Getzy (Ryan Getzlaf) to join the play so I can give it to him. He hit me before I could make that decision."
--The Ducks swapped minor league centers on Monday, trading Maxime Macenauer to the Winnipeg Jets for Riley Holzapfel. Macenauer won the fourth-line center position with a strong training camp and played in 29 games for the Ducks, providing a goal and three assists along with some effective penalty-killing early on in his first NHL experience before being sent down to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Dec. 17. The arrival of the more seasoned Rod Pelley through a trade with New Jersey effectively replaced Macenauer. In 13 games with Syracuse, Macenauer had four goals and two assists. Holzapfel, 23, has been playing for the Jets' AHL affiliate in St. John's, Newfoundland, this season, where he has eight goals, seven assists and a plus-7 rating in 29 games for the IceCaps. He is expected to report to Syracuse.
--The Ducks recalled Jeff Deslauriers from Syracuse of the American Hockey League and returned Iiro Tarkki to the Crunch as they continue to get their backup goalies some work. With Jonas Hiller getting every start while they continue their push to get back into the playoff picture, the Ducks have swapped Deslauriers and Tarkki for each other twice over the last nine days. Deslauriers played for Syracuse twice during his latest stint there, giving up three goals each in losses to Connecticut and Albany. Tarkki has been getting some extra work with Ducks goaltending consultant Pete Peeters during practices and morning skates.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"You've got to work hard. Eventually it's going to pay off in some way. That's how I like to think of life. You do things well and right and eventually in some kind of form, it's going to come back to you." -- Ducks winger Niklas Hagman, on scoring his first goal in 10 games after being dropped to the fourth line.
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