The Anaheim Ducks open up their 2011-2012 NHL campaign overseas on Friday morning, with a game in Helsinki, Finland against the Buffalo Sabres. Jen Neale at Anaheim Calling is looking forward to the new season for the Ducks, with a healthy goalie:
We can all agree that the preseason was very lackluster, as are most Ducks preseasons. Yet, the best thing to come out of camp was a healthy Jonas Hiller. Considering Hiller will be across the ice from Ryan Miller, he'd better be back to 100%. His defense struggled to find chemistry during the preseason and the Ducks have the tendency to let their goalies face one too many shots on goal. I think a month into last season, Hiller lead the league in shots faced by some obscene number. They'll have no one to blame but themselves should they tire out their goalie AGAIN.
Here are the details of today's game:
Time: 10 a.m. PDT
Location: Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland
TV: Prime Ticket
2010-11 Records: Anaheim 99 points (47-30-5), Buffalo 96 points (43-29-10)
Injuries: Buffalo: none; Anaheim: Toni Lydman day-to-day (shoulder surgery), Matt Smaby out 2-3 months (right thumb surgery)
Welcome home: Today is the first time that Ducks Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu will compete in a regular season NHL game in their home country.