An awful first three months is the reason the Ducks will not be in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and a strong second half won't cover that up.
Bob Murray, the club's general manager, isn't going to ignore that. But the Ducks' chief architect is through with being steaming mad at his team's predicament.
His eyes are already turned toward fixing their problems.
"First of all, the frustration and disappointment of our first 35-40 games, that's long over for me," Murray said. "Like last year, you lose in the first round when you don't think you should. You get frustrated and you get competitively (ticked) off.
"That's long gone for myself and my group right now. We've turned the page. We're excited about what happened here in the last half of the year."
The Ducks have a 24-13-6 record since Jan. 4 after their victory over Edmonton. They do have the cosmetic appeal of finishing with as many victories as they have regulation losses if they end with a win Saturday in Calgary.
Ryan Getzlaf provided the overtime winner against the Oilers and the big center is among the core players that Murray will assess going forward even as "there's a lot of good things that happened in the second half that we have to focus on."
"I'm not disregarding what happened in the first half," he continued. "That's two of three we've missed the playoffs. And the same sort of guys have been here four of those years. So I have to look at that."
Murray said he has no regrets with not trading any players in order to get assets to use later. His inactivity at the Feb. 27 deadline was the result of rewarding a group that went 17-3-4 to pull itself back into playoff contention.
"I was really impressed with how they came back," he said. "I'm not going to second-guess that whatsoever. They earned it. For a while there, nobody was better than us. And we were beating good teams. We were beating all the best teams.
"And my gut told me I had to trust them. A few of them let me down, I have to be honest."
Ironically, it was a 4-1 loss to Colorado that night where the Ducks began a 3-7-1 swoon that effectively dropped them from the race. Murray said his team "hit a wall."
"After the trade deadline, I thought some of the guys were relieved not to be traded and their desperation dropped off a little bit," he said.
Murray will have some potential unrestricted free agents to deal with, most notably franchise icon Teemu Selanne. He wants Selanne back as long as he wants to play and also hopes to re-sign Saku Koivu.
Popular enforcer George Parros and defenseman Sheldon Brookbank are up in the air in terms of returning. Those that will likely be allowed to walk are wingers Jason Blake and Niklas Hagman along with backup goalie Dan Ellis.
NOTES, QUOTES
Ducks still in the running for Schultz
--The Ducks sought to counter the perception that they are out of the running to sign prized prospect Justin Schultz, the star college defenseman who did not join the club after his junior season at Wisconsin ended and returned to school for the spring semester. Because of a loophole, Schultz can become a free agent on July 1 and sign with any other NHL team instead of the club that took him with their second draft choice in 2008. "Several members of our staff have had conversations with Justin over the last few years, where he has expressed a strong interest in being an Anaheim Duck," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "We have all had the opportunity to get to know what a great person and player Justin is over the last few years. We are very excited about the possibility of him becoming an Anaheim Duck when he is ready to turn pro." The team will have a 30-day window of exclusivity once Schultz declared his intention to leave school, which could happen after exams are concluded May 19.
--Ducks GM Bob Murray said he'll go through the usual plan of talking often with Teemu Selanne and gauging his thoughts about playing next season without applying pressure to the winger, who has long appreciated his boss's patience. Selanne has said that he plans to decide by July 1 but has gone past that self-imposed deadline some years. Last summer, Selanne delayed his decision because he had to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. "We have a really good relationship, Teemu and I," Murray said. "He trusts me and I trust him. We'll talk. Everything with Teemu, I totally understand his (position)."
--On a travel day with his team, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau had dinner and was returning to his hotel room in Vancouver when he learned that Wayne Gretzky was in town and actually looking to meet up with him. "I was like a kid in a candy store, just wide-eyed and listening to him," Boudreau said. "He's everything as a person that I thought he would be when I envision stuff. It was very neat." The two have a connection. In 1974-75, Boudreau set a Canadian Hockey League junior scoring record of 165 points in a single season but that lasted just three years as Gretzky joined the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and racked up 182 points in only 64 games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "J.D. was really good. And thank goodness that he was really good in his return to Edmonton. Because we weren't good. The fans did not get their money's worth (Thursday). They didn't. What are you going to say?" -- Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, on Jeff Deslauriers' 24-save effort against his old team in a 3-2 overtime win over Edmonton.
ROSTER REPORT
PLAYER NOTES:
--C Ryan Getzlaf scored the overtime winner against Edmonton, giving him goals in consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 23-27 when he scored four times over three games. Getzlaf had just one goal in a 32-game span until he scored Tuesday night against Vancouver.
--RW Bobby Ryan edged closer to the 30-goal mark and has one more game to reach that after scoring his 29th of the season against Edmonton. Ryan has topped 30 goals in each of his three previous seasons and another score will allow him to join Alex Ovechkin as the only current players with that many in their first four seasons.
--RW Devante Smith-Pelly is finishing with a flourish as he had an assist on Bobby Ryan's goal, giving the rookie points in five of his last nine contests. He has three goals and three assists over that span and has seven goals and six assists in 48 games this season.
--G Jeff Deslauriers made 24 saves to win for the third time in his four starts with the Ducks this season. His three wins have come against Western Conference teams in Dallas, San Jose and Edmonton, the last of which is the team he played two NHL seasons with after being drafted in 2002.
