Not Your Average Recap: Ducks Return Home Ready for Surfing and the Beach

Preface Notes: I love the Anaheim Ducks, and I'm also a long time Dallas Stars fan.  The recap below is not the average recap, so for those expecting my usual...oh boy are you in for a treat.

 After a slow start to the playoffs and a terrible penalty kill in the first round the Ducks were roasted. The Stars played a fantastic six games and certainly seem a tough team to beat going forward but for the Ducks there is nothing left but to go home, ice the wounds, and begin golfing. Before I move forward into this off season I should point out I love my Ducks, BUT I do not have to like the pathetic way they defended the Cup.

 Their play has me questioning what I witnessed last year, since this year's team is more jam packed with talent. Well Ducks, I said boo on you for letting go of Andy Mcdonald, who was your pulse in last years post season. So doom on you!

 Game 6 began just as any hockey fan would have hoped.  Hell, up until the third it had the makings of one of the best playoff games I have ever witnessed. In the first period it was clear both teams were passion filled and neither one was going to back down.  The period would end tied at zero with great goaltending coming on both ends.

In the second period Corey Perry got a great wrist shot off on Marty Turco sending it right through the five-hole to the back of the net. The Dallas crowd was clearly stunned. By the end of the second, the Ducks were holding onto that one goal lead.

And then all Hell broke loose:

As soon as the third began, the Stars looked different. They clearly came out fired up, while the Ducks responded by going on their heels.  Anyone who has played and coached the game will tell you that’s a terrible way to react. The new sense of aggressiveness clearly paid off for the Stars as they tied up, and took the lead, all in less than a minute.

I have been to a great many Stars games since my first in 1995, but I have never seen a Stars crowd (live or on TV) go berserk like that crowd. It was a rush even from a couch!

 Although I am saddened over the end of this season for the Ducks, and the questionable return next year of Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer, I know after the slow start the Ducks deserve this end.  In truth it should have come in a sweep. With such a loaded roster, the Ducks should be ashamed of their play in the series with the Stars.

 They should be ashamed for hanging J.S. Giguere out to dry every game by being out-shot by the Stars. Shame! The Stars have a young, inexperienced blue line with the loss of Sergei Zubov and Phillipe Boucher, and you still managed to suck with shots on goal! Congrats!

For those of you who may not know, I’m a passion filled hockey fan. This comes from being a passion filled hockey player, as I saw my fair share of dirty penalties and game misconducts. As the Ducks stare down the loaded barrel that is a long off season I only hope the early exit will take its toll like it has on the Stars in past years and prove to mold a more motivated and dedicated hockey program.

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