Arthur from Anaheim Calling, a Ducks blog, answered a few Anaheim questions for us. Here goes:
Q: Talk about Corey Perry and why he's had such a good start to the season.
A: Some of it is continued confidence after last season, and some of it is the extra room that Bobby Ryan buys him. Defenses now have to account for Getzlaf AND Ryan. This gives Perry the opportunity to be more patient with the puck in traffic, and it opens the door for prettier plays out of the cycle.
Q: Do you know the lines for tonight (or what they might be)? How has the top line looked?
A: It's hard to predict the lineup with Coach Carlyle; he loves rotating his wingers. If he makes the minimal expected change, then Evgeny Artyukhin will move to the fourth line, Mike Brown will move to the third line and the rest of the lineup will remain the same as last game, which was:
Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry
Christensen-Koivu-Selanne
Artyukhin-Marchant-Lupul
Brown-Carter-Parros
Nokelainen may also start in place of Christensen, but if Carlyle changes more than that, you really never know.
The top line has played well in stretches. Ryan has had trouble finishing scoring chances, but if you let them set up shop in your zone, they will score.
Q: What kind of impact has Saku Koivu had on the team?
A: Koivu is one of our best players right now. He's a horse on special teams, and he and Selanne absolutely fly on that second line. And yet, I have to say his most valuable contribution is defensive. He backchecks and covers on every play, and if he gets crunched trying to move the puck, he pops right back up [and even throws a heavy hit of his own].
Q: Anaheim is 25th in the NHL on the power play. Why have they struggled?
A: They were trying something new. Getzlaf sweet-talked the coaching staff into letting him quarterback from the point, and while that worked early on, it made it harder to recover the puck down low and make plays from the side wall. It also put both Top Six centers on the same Power Play unit. The team is going to shift to something closer to what they had last season, and they'll try to put Selanne on a deadly second unit with Koivu.
Q: How is the team's penalty kill?
A: Like the power play, they're trying a few new things. It's tough without Pronger, and the front of the Anaheim crease has experienced some gentrification in his absence. Hopefully, Whitney can turn it into a bad neighborhood again.
It's kind of a new system. They have Lupul and Koivu on the first shorthanded unit. They're focusing on skate and stick speed, which worked for Mike Brown on the PK last season. I think they just need to gel, and this team will give them plenty of opportunities to do that.
Q: Can you give us a scouting report on Jonas Hiller (I assume he's playing tonight, right?)?
A: The Ducks were on a "you win, you start" system prior to the St. Louis game, but Giguere is currently questionable with an injury. Jonas Hiller is an athletic goaltender. If you can be patient with the puck, you can sometimes catch him moving when a positional goaltender would be set. He's most dominant when he offers something, then takes it away, usually his glove [right] side. He and Giguere have each given up a bad 5-hole goal this season, and without Allaire around to correct it, a changeup downstairs is never a bad idea.
Q: Any latest news on injuries, etc., that fans should know?
A: Wisniewski may return to the lineup tonight; the coaching staff has left the decision to him. And Giguere will likely sit out to let his
injury heal, though the start is rightfully his after Hiller was pulled against the Blues.
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Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.