First of all I’d like to note that the fan incident in the stands a few days ago actually turned out to be even more interesting than first thought. Not only was it a fight over a stick, but one of the men involved was a promotional partner with the Ducks. “Mike V” had a link to his blog featured on the front page of the Ducks’ website, and he was one of the men involved and was cited for fighting in public by the Anaheim Police Department. Curtis Zupke at the Orange County Register wrote a very detailed article [...]

The Ducks’ power play finally broke through and helped the team to a win tonight despite giving up a three goal lead. The game was topped off with a fight between fans in the stands after the number one star of the game, Scott Niedermayer, tried to give his stick to a little girl after the three stars selection.
The Ducks got the scoring started early in the first period. Just as a power play expired, Ryan Getzlaf slid a pass across the crease to a waiting Teemu Selanne, who tapped the puck into the net past Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith. Corey Perry [...]

The Ducks have announced they’ve “loaned” center Erik Christnesen to Manitoba of the AHL on a “conditioning” assignment. The reason for the quotes is they’d really like to just send him down but don’t want to hurt his feelings. This move does not help with roster space as Christensen is still considered on the Ducks’ roster.
MacGregor Sharp was recently recalled and figures to get playing time tonight as the injured Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter may still be unavailable.
Christensen is allowed to be loaned for only 14 days, after which time he will have to be recalled or permanently assigned.

The Ducks are coming off a terrible road trip and the Lightning are a relatively hot team right now, getting contributions from Steven Stamkos on a nightly basis mixed in with a suddenly hot Vincent Lecavalier. The Ducks, meanwhile, are still floundering at the bottom of the Western Conference, but have several hot scorers.
The Ducks’ obvious problem is on defense, and that defense and goaltending will be tested tonight against a team that can score goals when they need to. Interestingly, the Lightning have had a bit of a goalie situation themselves as Mike Smith has been overtaken by Antero [...]

The Ducks announced Wednesday that they have placed Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter on injured reserve, while recalling MacGregor Sharp from Bakersfield of the ECHL.
Koivu and Carter can still be activated to play if needed, but the Ducks needed to make these moves in order to make room for Sharp. Sharp has played well in his 15 games with the Condors this season, picking up four goals and 10 assists in his short time.
Sharp will join Kyle Calder as the second forward to be recalled from the ECHL, a move the Ducks typically do not make. Usually players are recalled [...]

With the Ducks firmly at the bottom of the Conference and almost the bottom of the league, they can look forward to a relatively lengthy home stand that will see them play the next seven games at Honda Center. These games will be even more significant as the Ducks will play 10 of 15 December games on the road. If the last trip is any indication, the Ducks do not want to spend any more time on the road.
But there are a few things the Ducks can look forward to. Saku Koivu skated briefly with the team today and Ryan Carter [...]

The Ducks couldn’t get anything going tonight as they were defeated by the Penguins for the second time this season, this time 5-2. They hit a few posts and had some good scoring chances, but ultimately they were unable to score when it mattered, getting down early and never recovering. Their defense let them down again, and goaltending was not terrible but not good either. The Ducks have so many things to work on, its not even worth listing.
The team ends their four game road trip with one out of a possible eight points. That keeps them in the bottom [...]

With the Ducks playing somewhat shorthanded the last few games they decided to recall forward Kyle Calder, who has been playing for Bakersfield of the ECHL. Calder was signed to a one-year contract at the end of October, after being cut from a pro-tryout agreement in the preseason.
Calder has performed well with the Bakersfield Condors in his short stint there. He’s appeared in five games and posted a plus-4 rating while scoring six points.
The Ducks were forced to play defenseman Sheldon Brookbank as a forward for the last two games as injuries to Saku Koivu and Ryan Carter have left [...]