MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Ducks left town this morning for a two game road trip.  After going 2-3-1 in a six game home stand, the Ducks needed a change of scenery.  They will play the St. Louis Blues on Friday and the Dallas Stars on Saturday in back-to-back games before returning home for two more games at the Honda Center. 

Brian Sutherby did not accompany the Ducks on their road trip.  Sutherby suffered a groin strain last night against the Capitals.  An MRI revealed no further damage.

Francois Beauchemin had surgery today in Los Angeles to repair his torn ACL in his left knee.  The team doctor performed the surgery and all went well.   Beauchemin is out for the season and it is expected that he will have a six month recovery and rehabilitation period.

One hopes that the Ducks packed a few of the more nebulous items in their suitcases, such as discipline and the ability to kill penalties. Coach Randy Carlyle, clearly frustrated by the amount of penalties his team continues to take stated, "We've only talked about it 250 million times." 

Carlyle has clearly reached his tolerance.  "I have to resort to some drastic measures," promised the coach.  "I think we are in a situation where we will continue to make changes and consider line up changes if that is going to continue."  Teemu Selanne put it more succinctly.  "If you are not going to kill the penalties, then you shouldn't be taking them." 

The Ducks certainly need to change things around, whether through personnel or personal play.  After 20 games, they have 22 points in the standings - just slightly more than a point per game.  If they continue along that line, they will barely crack 90 points for the season which is not good enough to get into the playoffs.