Some Fowl Play....

Two goals in a span of 35 seconds, including one shady goal by Redwings player, Johan Franzen takes away the third period lead from the Ducks, leaving them with a 4-3 loss. It was the first time this season that the Ducks have lost a lead going into the third period.

The Ducks had a very strong first period, after falling behind 1-0, a goal by Ryan Getzlaf and a powerplay goal by Corey Perry two minutes later Anaheim a strong lead going into second stanza. Anaheim had outshot the Redwings, 15-9 in just the first period and only earned one penalty to Scott Niedermeyer for slashing. The Ducks killed that penalty and managed to score on one of the two power plays they received in the first 20 minutes of regulation.

The second period saw a monstrous defensive effort by the Ducks, especially by netminder JS Giguere. He defended 12 of 13 shots, allowing a powerplay goal after Chris Pronger was penalized for cross-checking. It was one of two penalties the Ducks would earn in the second period. Offensively, the Ducks didnt have too much opportunity to score, as the Redwings only allowed 4 shots in the middle period. Even with only 4 shots taken, Steve Montador found the back of the net seconds after the end of a powerplay, keeping a one goal lead for the Ducks going into the third period. The Ducks had never lost a game with a third period lead prior to tonight.

That all changed in a span of 35 seconds as Redwings player Dan Cleary got a goal to tie the score. The tiebreaker was credited to Redwings player Johan Franzen, on a goal that could have been dismissed on a high sticking call. The puck was batted in by Franzen's stick that looked inches above Giguere's head, grounds for a penalty call. The shot was ruled as a goal, however, and the Ducks were ultimately unable to recover. The Ducks took 9 shots in the last period of regulation to the Redwings' 11, mostly during the last two minutes as Giguere headed to the bench to give Anaheim an extra attacker, but to no avail.

Giguere defended 29 of 33 shots while the Ducks were only able to attempt 28. The Ducks only spent 8 minutes in the sin bin, and sucessfully defended all but one penalty. The Redwings were also awarded four penalties, and only scored on one powerplay.

The Ducks are now due for a roadtrip to the east coast to play Pittsburg on Friday. They go into the contest with a 22-18-5 record with 49 points. The league leader, San Jose, remains just one point ahead of the Boston Bruins, with 69 points.

Lets Go Ducks!