Anaheim Ducks 4-2 Minnesota Wild

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I didn't watch tonight's game, so I'm going to have to go off what I've heard and read here. Please feel free to share your thoughts in comments. Seriously, I'm starting to have trouble finding different ways to say that the offense looks lifeless and the defense looks lost.

3:00 into the first period, Derek Boogaard had another great scoring chance, but shot the puck directly into Jean-Sebastian Giguere's chest with the left-side wide open.

Nice to hear that Andrew Brunette caused problems in front of the net, screening Giguere on a shot by Bergeron, but couldn't get to the puck just before Todd Marchant cleared it off the line.

Kim Johnsson made a very un-captain like play, passing directly to George Parros, who then fed Bobby Ryan for the 4th Duck goal. Yet another scoring chance for the opposition directly from an errant pass.

They are lucky that they started so hot, because they're still only 4 points out of first place, but they better turn this around in a hurry, and it needs to start in the hardest arena in the nHL for them to play. We'll see you in the Saddledome on Wednesday.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Ryan Getzlaf (1 G)
   
2. Chris Pronger (2 A)
3. Benoit Pouliot (2 A)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Will the offense wake the hell up? Nope, they're still sleepwalking.
   
2. With Brian Burke gone, is Anaheim still the evil center of hockey? Hmm, too early to tell, but signs are yes.
   
3. Will Andrew Brunette come out of the carbonite please? Well, he almost led to a goal, but is still not performing the way he is expected.
   
4. Will Bergeron continue to be a defensive liability? Yep. This guy kills me. He's adequate on the breakout and in the offensive zone, but he's out of position way too frequently in his own end.
   
5. The defense seems to need help. Can Burns come to the blue line? The Wild are giving up way too many goals to have your best defenseman playing a mediocre forward.
   

Notes

• The Wild have lost 5 straight in regulation for the first time in franchise history.
  
• Derek Boogaard has gone 140 games without a goal.
  

The Game In Pictures

via cdn.nhl.com

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