What's going on with Anaheim?

First off, I'm sorry for the long period of time in which I didn't post a thing. Let's say school work is taking time away from my blogging.

So let's talk about the Anaheim Ducks. They look to be desperately clinging to Scott Niedermayer's comeback as a way to salvage what looks like, so far, an season of underachievement. If that is such a word. Let's look at a few strugglers:

- JS Giguere has been okay in net so far this year, but he could be that much better. He was a force last year and was a big difference in many play-off games. Sure, it helps to have Niedermayer on the blue-line, but Giguere should still be productive without him. And it's not look Anaheim's defence is bad: they've got Pronger, Beauchemin, and O'Donnell isn't bad. Giguere got pulled against Minnesota last night for the 5th time this season. That's not the usual Giggy.

- Secondary scoring seems to be a big issue for the Ducks as well. Ryan Getzlaf (36 points in 32 games), Corey Perry (27 in 34), Chris Pronger (26 in 34) and Chris Kunitz (22 in 34) have been shouldering the offensive load for this team, and it looks like practically no one has been contributing in a significant way. Perhaps Doug Weight will ignite some sort of second-line offensive spark.

- Todd Bertuzzi seems to have lost his career somewhere, and he definitely cannot find it. He's never been the same since attacking Steve Moore in 2004, and has been even worse since being traded to Florida in 2006.

- Something tells me the Sami Pahlsson line isn't what it was last year. In the play-offs, Sami Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer were probably the biggest reason why Anaheim beat Ottawa: they stopped Heatley and Spezza dead in their tracks. Alfredsson was still able to produce, but not at the same level. This year, both players (Pahlsson and Niedermayer) are not in the plus department. And usually defensive specialists have good plus/minus ratings. So what's going on?

All this to say Scott Niedermayer will have to be some sort of saviour if the Ducks want to defend their Cup title. They have a long way to go if they wish to revert ot last season's form. Good luck, Scott! You're going to need it.