NHL Morning Skate: These are the Ducks you were looking for

Ask anyone around the NHL in September, and they would've told you the Ducks would win the Pacific Division handily. For the longest time, it looked like they'd win the draft lottery instead. What's happened since is a testament to something rarely seen in pro sports management: patience.

The Ducks found their scoring touch again. John Gibson has emerged as a legitimate number one goaltender. And their talented defensive corps is rounding into shape. It all culminated in a 4-2 win over the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, part of an 8-2-0 run by the Ducks over the last two weeks. They're still 10 points back of L.A., but now it's not so hard to believe they can make up that ground and win the Pacific after all.

• The same can't really be said for the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division. They lost again on Thursday, and are sinking fast. It's not a great sign when your two best players in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are calling their teammates "fragile" and have no answers.
• Meanwhile, Chicago continues to distance itself from the rest of the Central. They had to work for it on Thursday in Arizona, though, and probably benefited from a missed slashing call in overtime.
• The Blackhawks have a huge matchup in Dallas on Saturday. The Stars should be riding high after ending the infamous Denver Road Trip Curse.
• Don't look now, but the Maple Leafs are looking...decent? They earned another win for goalie James Reimer on Thursday and have now been on an 88-point pace since November.
• Philadelphia survived tons of penalty trouble and still scored six goals. Not usually how you draw it up, but they'll take it.
• Connor McDavid continues to terrorize every opponent post-injury.
• Dylan Larkin was brilliant yet again last night. Unfortunately, his team was still mediocre.

• It's time for the Canadiens to shut Carey Price down for the season.
• Blog Council answered your tough Twitter questions, like which American team should Canadians root for in the playoffs?
• Claude Giroux tried to hug an opposing player after he scored last night. It did not go well.
• Marian Hossa had some choice words for the NHL's challenge system.
• Dan Hamhuis is returning for the Canucks on Saturday, but Nucks Misconduct wonders if he should be the first one on Vancouver's trading block.
• Minnesota learned a valuable lesson on Thursday: if you go more than 20 minutes without a shot on goal, you're probably going to lose the game.
• The Ducks have an abundance of young defensemen. Tampa Bay needs young defensemen. Can they work out a trade?