Anyone Really That Surprised?

We all saw it coming. A classic Detroit beat down. I went to pickup hockey on Wednesday night, as I do every week, and I was prepared to take a beating about the Ducks win against Detroit on the "no-goal" whistle. Surprisingly I did not have to because I forgot that most of the people I play with are Avs fans. So luckily, they have all jumped on the Ducks playoff wagon. Thursday night was familiar. It was not cool. However, it was a slight deja vu experience for those of us who watched the last time Detroit and Anaheim faced each other in a playoff series. In 2007 the series went Game 1:Detroit. Game 2: Anaheim. Game 3: Detroit. Now pause with me, that was one of those most brutal games. Giggy let in a few goals and then Bryz let in a goal on his first shot. We lost 5-0. Ouch. Then Pronger got suspended for his elbow on Holmstrom. Oddly enough this series Holmstrom is the one throwing the elbows around and not getting punished at all. 

Game 4: Ducks. We came back. We built a 3-0 and Giggy stole the rest from the Wings.

Giguere. Photo taken Suzanne Broughton, www.suzannebroughton.com

There are two things that I liked about the game last night. The first is seeing Giguere back in goal. I find myself being one of the few Ducks fans that is hesitant to trade Giguere and I hope that GM Bob Murray agrees with my view on these things. Let's rewind back to the playoffs in 2006. Bryz has the start. Bryz finishes off the Flames with two great games. He and Lupul sweep the Avs. Then we hit Edmonton and Bryz looks human. Whoa! Sound familiar. Younger, more unexperienced goalies will hit a point where they cannot make the same great saves all the time. I think HIller is a great goalie and I think he had more experience than Bryz did at that point with his Swiss leagues and world championships, but seeing Giguere out there gave me a nostalgic feeling.

Though only facing 6 shots, Giguere stopped them all and looked like the Giguere we know. I hope he starts the next game. I hope he shines. After the controversial summer where Bryz "mistakenly" told Russian reporters that Burke and Carlyle wanted him to be the starter, Giguere toughed up, had his best season and was a key player for our Stanley Cup victory. Now where is Bryz? And how is that franchise doing?

I think that it would be stupid of Anaheim to ship him off this summer. I think that Hiller is great player and his time will come soon, but I like Giguere's resume a bit better. As he skated on the ice, Versus put his playoff stats up. Phew. Sigh. A big breath of relief. That's our Giguere. With that much time on the bench, I wouldn't be surprised to see him back to his 2003 & 2007 form. However, if Hiller plays I am sure he will bounce back and steal one.

The other thing I liked about the game is that because the Red Wings won, there will be a game 6 and I will be in town for that game. I am there Ducks fans. I hold my head high and I expect a showing from Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf, who I don't feel played their potential in Game 4. While this post is dwelling mostly on the past, I look toward the future. I still say Ducks in 6.

Bryce Randle is the managing editor of HockeyPlayer.com and TheDucksBlog.com.