Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Videos- From The Anaheim Side

05/23/2017 at 8:18am EDT

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

This time was going to be different. After four straight seasons of backing down at the moment of truth, after building what they thought would be enough depth to get through a playoff grind, after bringing Randy Carlyle back to coach them because they believed his calm and resourcefulness would guide them past their mental and emotional postseason hurdles, the ending was the same for the Ducks.

Maybe even more painful than in previous seasons, because they clawed and scratched and were on the brink of forcing a seventh game in the Western Conference finals before they let their last chance slip away.

They got a few steps further than they did a year ago. But if losing to the Nashville Predators in a six-game conference finals one year after the Predators had booted them out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs meant the Ducks had accomplished something, that theory was contradicted by the tears welling in Ryan Kesler’s eyes and the vacant stares of Andrew Cogliano and Corey Perry after their efforts to mount yet another remarkable rally fell short in a 6-3 loss Monday.

“Personally, I don’t think the better team won tonight but it doesn’t really matter what I think,” said Kesler, who sat at his locker for long minutes with his head buried in a towel before he began to unlace his skates and unpeel the tape that held him and his equipment together. “They got the victory and they move on and we’re going home.”

continued

Below, Mark Whicker of the LA Daily News and video of Perry, Getzlaf and Carlyle post-game...

from Mark Whicker of the LA Daily News,

In this latest episode of the long war between Head and Brick Wall, the outcome stayed the same.

The Ducks threw all of their guns at once at Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators, but it all exploded into space. They used up all their sweat equity in tying the Predators, 3-3, in the third period and even had a power play after that. But Nashville killed that off, and Colton Sissons got his third goal of the night, three seconds later, to key what became a 6-3 win in Game 6, ending the Western Conference finals.

It was the third time in seven seasons that Nashville has eliminated the Ducks, but this was by far the most poignant.

It sent the Predators into their first Stanley Cup final, to begin Monday against either Pittsburgh or Ottawa, and it frustrated a Ducks squad that had repeatedly proven it cared little about the depth of the holes they found themselves.

continued

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by bigfrog in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Nashville's Top Line - 1 hour ago
Comment by exor54 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Time To Talk On A Day Off - 2 hours ago
Comment by RWHockey13 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Time To Talk On A Day Off - 4 hours ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Time To Talk On A Day Off - 4 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL GMs Agree To Keep Regular Season OT Format - 4 hours ago