Quacked

(PHOTO: Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Two days ago, a fantastical-if-obvious thought took my brain by storm: I would prove that Teemu Selanne is a really good player. The best Ducks player ever, at that.

Paul Kariya, please hold your objections.

But I soon realized a patent analysis like that might be better completed after Selanne retires for real, whenever that happens. Besides, Adam Brady already did a decent job of covering the issue in broad strokes.

What I’m bringing you instead is a splendiferous Teemu Selanne infographic:

Click to enlarge.

(PHOTO: Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty Images)

Update: Hiller’s Movember mask revealed, and it’s a beauty.

We’re not the only ones back in black this month.

After a summer of uncertainty following the onset of vertigo symptoms late last season, Jonas Hiller has made a return to the Ducks net. And judging by Anaheim’s hasty exit from the playoffs, none too soon, either.

Can Hiller’s presence in the crease and his value to the Ducks be overstated? It’s doubtful.

(PHOTO: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Somebody should have warned Jonas Hiller that carousels and vertigo don’t mix.  Ever since the Ducks’ starting goaltender went down after the all-star game, Anaheim’s crease has once again become home to a triumvirate of netminders.

It’s a situation that’s not entirely unfamiliar to the Ducks, but in 2007 the issue at hand was a little different.  Incumbent Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the undisputed starter, having just signed a $24-million deal after Anaheim’s Stanley Cup triumph.  Ilya Bryzgalov was on the market because Brian Burke had promised him a new home where he could audition for a full-time role, and with newcomer Hiller having selected Anaheim as his immigration destination, the Ducks had three goaltenders who were willing and able to start for them.

Flash forward to this year, and the quandary facing the Ducks is entirely different: Giguere is long gone, Bryzgalov is leading the charge for the playoff-bound Coyotes, and Hiller – well, he’s here, but not all there. Having long since established himself as a premier NHL starter, Hiller gives the Ducks license to be less than perfect. If there was one area in which the Ducks were sure to not have concerns heading forward – prior to the all-star break – it was in net.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – the season is almost over and the Anaheim Ducks are charging hard, but have yet to formally punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s a scene that’s a little disquieting to Ducks fans, but by the same token is usually met with excitement. As they have done in the past, the Ducks have collectively put it into overdrive and played themselves into the Western Conference’s top eight teams.

Until, that is, the team hit a minor stumbling block this week that saw consecutive regulation losses to San Jose and Dallas. Now it appears as though the final three games will play out as white-knuckle hockey for fans in at least four cities – Anaheim, Calgary, Chicago and Dallas – and with the Flames, Blackhawks and Stars still gaining points [ed. note: as of this writing, Dallas was five minutes away from a victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets], it appears imperative that the Ducks win at least two of their remaining three games to sew up a playoff berth.