Ducks / Canucks: The truth about the Ducks

As most people predicted, the Ducks are on top of the Western Conference with an 11-0-4 record. They are still 5 points ahead of the resurging 2nd-place Red Wings.
I have to admit that I admire the Ducks for their current successes and for the management that created this team. The talented veterans like Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer, and Chris Pronger complement the core of skilled youth that make up the majority of this team. Oh, and having JS Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov doesn't hurt either... The Ducks are getting balanced scoring, which makes them hard to beat.
With that in mind, I would like to share with those of you who don't know this already, how the Ducks acquired some of these young stars. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

* Dustin Penner, Andy McDonald, and Ryan Shannon were not drafted by the Ducks, or any team. They never made the NHL draft at all. I am suprised that these 3 guys went undetected in recent years.
The following players were all drafted by the Ducks:

* Ilya Bryzgalov - 44th overall in 2000.
* Stan Chistov - 5th overall in 2001.
* Joffrey Lupul - 7th overall in 2002. Part of the Chris Pronger deal.
* Ryan Getzlaf - 19 th overall in 2003.
* Corey Perry - 28th overall in 2003.
* Shane O'Brien - 250th overall in 2003.
* Ladislav Smid - 9th overall in 2004. Part of the Chris Pronger deal.

Talk about drafting your way to success...

* JS Giguere was acquired from the Flames in 2000 in exchange for a 2nd round pick.
* Chris Kunitz was claimed off waivers from Atlanta.
* Francois Beauchemin was acquired in the Fedorov 'dump' trade. Who's dumping now, eh Sergei?

So...yadda yadda, the Ducks are Gods now, right?
NOT YET.
The amount of quality teams that they have faced this year has been minimal. In fact, they have played the Kings twice, the Blues twice, and the Coyotes twice. There's 6 easy games already. To unveil even more realism on you: The Ducks have played a team that is currently in a playoff position ONLY 5 TIMES! That would include: The Stars, the Wild twice, the Red Wings, and the Penguins just recently, and that's being nice.
Why am I saying this? Because I am going to put my neck on the line and predict right now that the Canucks are going to hand the Ducks their FIRST regulation time loss tonight. Yeehaw!
But I am not predicting Linden to start scoring....
The Canucks will need to play a disciplined game and stay out of the penalty box especially because of those 2 megastars on Anaheim's defence. That is the biggest key to the game. We know the Canucks are going to play a tight defensive game. A few suprise players chipping in offensively would be cool.
We will get our first look at Patrick Coulombe during the regular season tonight, as Luc Bourdon was sent back to Moncton before he played his 10th game. Coulombe was a favorite of Alain Vigneault's during the preseason.

Game time: 7:00 pm Pacific
Rum? Check
Coke? Check
Foot in mouth? Fuck it!