Ducks recall Hiller...Bryzgalov on the way out?

It looks as if there might be something brewing in California, as the Ducks recalled goaltender Jonas Hiller from the AHL early this morning, leading to speculation that long-time rumoured-to-be-on-the-way-out goalie Ilja Bryzgalov might be dealt.

Hiller is not your average minor-league goalie, he actually excelled in Europe and was signed by the Ducks after impressing performances in multiple international events.

Bryzgalov is considered a number one goalie, and at one point, he was pushing Giguere for the starting role...but since the latter won the Cup last summer plus signed a huge deal, there was no more competition.

This isn't very surprising, Bryzgalov is a good goalie and he could be a number one as he's showed in the past.

What are your thoughts on this early morning speculation?

-BBeR

Ducks buring Minnesota alive...

Man, the Ducks are kicking ass!

No offense to Ducks fans, but the team looked a little weaker throughout the second half of the season, in the first half, they were unstoppable...now, they look like that first half team.

After a 2-1 victory in Minnesota yesterday, the Ducks hold nearly an insurmountable lead over the Wild, with a margin of 3 games to none.

Again, it was one of those low-scoring nail-bitting games, Niklas Backstrom did his best to keep Minnesota in it, but it was reason that prevailed in the end.

Backstrom has been phenomenal from the start, his 2.37 GAA and .910 SPCT are the kind of numbers that should propel any team to victory.
But sadly enough, for my hockey pool and for Wild fans, not this time.

I fail to understand why Jacques Lemaire doesn't enforce a more offensive style, just a LITTLE more offensive, especially if he expects his team to go far.
And, I fail to understand why guys like Brian Rolston, Todd White, Kim Johnsson and Mark Parrish haven't amassed a single point.

How do you expect to win if your secondary scoring, and one of your primary (Rolston) don't put up anything.

There is SO much talent on this team, SO much...I would like to see what Minnesota would look like as a team if they played a more offensive-minded style, rather than defensive minded...

The Ducks are the better team, and I failed to see that when I chose Minnesota to beat them in 7 games in my local hockey pool, and because of that, have likely lost that.

Anyway, I'd like to congratulate the Wild too, for managing to stage only one-goal losses, and not 3 or 4 goal crushings like some have predicted.

The Ducks stayed with the Wild's defensive style, and even played along with it, but, in the end, it came down to the solid goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov, who, after a somewhat questionable season, has rebounded in fine fashion with numbers nearly identical to last year's magical playoff run, with a 1.34 GAA and .948 SPCT, that's 4 goals in 3 games.

It's also kind of sad to see Jean-Sebastien Giguere's awesome season sit on the bench.

Hey, the series isn't over yet, but with a 3-0 Anaheim lead, you can say it is indeed over...

I'll have my eye on the Nashville-San Jose game tonight, it should be great again!

Meanwhile, in more sad news...

-Gaetan Duchesne dead at 44.
According to RDS, Gaetan Duchesne, who played over 1,000 NHL games, has died.
Duchesne reportedly suffered cardiac arrest while working out.
He was 44 years old.
He totalled 179 goals and 254 assists in 1,028 games with 5 different teams.

May he rest in peace.
His son, Jeremy, is actually a goalie for Val D'Or in the QMJHL and was drafted by Philly.