Ritchie brothers will renew sibling rivalry
Ducks wing Nick Ritchie figures he owes one to his older brother, Brett, especially since this might be his last chance this season.
Brett is a wing for the Dallas Stars and has bragging rights on his sibling because Dallas beat Anaheim in the season opener, which marked the first time the two played against each other in the NHL. Brett took the honors again for a Dec. 13 victory at Dallas.
On Tuesday, the two will face each other for the first time at Honda Center in what would be the final game between the clubs unless Anaheim and Dallas meet in the playoffs.
“It looks as though he won that bet already,” Nick said. “[But] it’d be nice to get one win on him and at least get one out of the three.”
Outcomes aside, Nick said it has been special to share the NHL dream with his brother. They’ve sometimes lined up opposite each other on faceoffs.
“That was a cool experience, and probably really cool for my parents watching the game,” Nick said of Paul and Tammy.
“They don’t know who to cheer for. I guess they’re just cheering for both of us. It’s a unique thing and I’m sure they like it and they’ll be watching the one [Tuesday] night, for sure.”
Nick, 21, is enjoying a breakout season with nine goals through 40 games. He has found chemistry with Antoine Vermette and Ondrej Kase on the third line and showed the scoring instincts that were expected of him after he was more of a grinding, hard-nosed wing in his 33-game debut last season. Two of his goals were game-winners.
The physical side of his play is still effective too. He is third in the league in hits. The challenge now is to adjust to his first full NHL season, which will include more back-to-back games and three-games-in-four-nights stretches than he has experienced. “You don’t have a long time in between games and that’s the mental grind that goes along with the physical grind,” he said. “It’s a tough league, but I think I’m getting used to it more and more as the season goes on and starting to feel comfortable.”
Brett, 23, is adjusting to the grind as well. The two rarely talk hockey, but they identify on that level. Said Nick, “He’s going through the same thing.”
Power-play work
The Ducks spent much of Monday working on the power play and neutral-ice play. They haven’t scored on the man-advantage in five consecutive games, a 0-for-13 stretch, and the Minnesota Wild exposed Anaheim’s poor zone entry Sunday.
Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle cited work ethic in getting to loose pucks: “Right now, we’re not competing hard enough on the power play and our execution level, even in this morning’s practice, wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Historically, the Ducks’ power play has been disjointed without Ryan Getzlaf, who has sat out the last three games because of a lower-body injury. Carlyle said that Getzlaf skated on his own again Monday and might participate in Tuesday’s morning skate.
Getzlaf helps bring the puck up ice and is effective near the wall on the power play. But, Caryle said, “we have other people that are capable of doing things with the puck. We just have to get more people ingrained in doing the right thing with it. It’s not all doom and gloom. But we’ve hit a dry spell here.”
DUCKS TONIGHT
VS. DALLAS When: 7. On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 830. Update: Kari Lehtonen was in goal for the Stars on Monday against the Kings, so Antti Niemi probably will start against the Ducks. He was in goal for both of the Stars’ wins against the Ducks this season.