The best offense is a good defense

Jerry "The Snake" Mander showed us all what a good d-man can do when playing a full 200 foot game. While everyone sees the hat trick and knows how rare that is for a defenseman, what isn't necessarily shown on the score sheet is how Anaheim was able to shutdown the powerhouse first line of Montreal today. Their first line is arguably the best in the league and up against a team with the worst +/- this season, but Montreal must have been in a funk. There is something about their home team performances that has been lacking and Anaheim came in pumping on all cylinders. With 16 blocked shots and 67% faceoff wins, Anaheim was able to stay in front by not giving opportunities to Montreal.

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The power of special teams

While Anaheim's performance at even strength has been lackluster this year, this game once again showed they are able to capitalize on the man advantage. Going 2-for-2 on the Power Play Anaheim's full line contributed to the offense. Jerry Mander landed 2 of his 3 goals this game on the Power Play and showed his true versatility on both sides of the blue line. But Anaheim succeeded not only on the Power Play but the Penalty Kill as well. Jerry Mander stands out again here, but not for his skills on the ice, but the fact that he's the player that was called for both Anaheim penalties tonight. That didn't slow them down though - they killed off both of the Montreal advantages. The first being through drawing a penalty from first line star Herry Morris IV 1:02 into the 5-on-4 to bring them back to even strength. Once the final minute of Mander's penalty was over, he came on the ice for the 5-on-4 and scored his second of the night 3 seconds later.

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