Oh Captain My Captain

The captain has returned, and boy, does Scott Niedermayer have his work cut out for him. Sure, Anaheim have 30 points this season, same as the Chicago Blackhawks, who currently holds the eight and last playoff spot, but the Ducks are struggling. Like most Stanley Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings won back-to-back cups in 97 and 98, the Anaheim Ducks have had trouble maintaining the game that got them the cup. Their 9-4-3 home record is okay, but they are 11-11-4 within the Pacific division, and their record on the road is awful. Defensively the Ducks are not looking as confident as last year. They have given up 81 goals so far, which is terrible compared to a year ago. Offensively, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are pulling a heavy load in the abscess of leading scorer Teemu Salanne, and last years excellent shutdown line with Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen is not working at all.

Obviously it takes more than one player to turn a situation like this around, unless that player is Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, or.. Scott Niedermayer. Great to see you back!