Ducks better prepared for Europe this time

As much of a fan Randy Carlyle is of NHL teams opening the regular season in Europe, there was no way the Anaheim Ducks coach was going to let what happened in 2007 happen again in 2011.
 
"If we're going to commit to being a good partner to the NHL, we can't be impacted when we come home," Carlyle told NHL.com.
 
Four seasons ago, the Ducks began defense of their Stanley Cup by opening the regular season in London against the Los Angeles Kings. Figuring they would have to head back west anyway, the Ducks petitioned the League to play some games along the way.
 
It was a terrible idea.
 
After splitting two games with the Kings in London, the Ducks returned to North America and had to play three games in four nights -- all home openers for their opponent. They went 0-2-1 against the Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Penguins before finally getting back to Southern California.
 
The defending champs were 1-3-1. Then-captain Chris Pronger joked after losing in Pittsburgh that the Ducks were too tired to be angry.
 
"We had no gas," said Carlyle, whose squad in '07-08 eventually did get on track once Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer returned and wound up with 102 points, fourth in the West. "It was something we thought in making the schedule that would help us, be a benefit to have that (East Coast) trip on our way back home, and it definitely was not."
 
As a result, after opening this coming season with a pair of games in the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere -- Oct. 7 in Helsinki against buffalo and Oct. 8 against the New York Rangers in Stockholm -- Anaheim is heading straight home. It won't play again until Oct. 14 against San Jose, the first of five-straight games in California, including four at home.
 
The Ducks will go east for a seven-game, 13-night road trip that begins Oct. 25 in Chicago; but, by then, their bodies will be completely recovered from a European trip that will seem like ages ago.
 
"It's going to be a little easier," Ducks forward and Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry told NHL.com. "We come back, we have four or five days off, and I think we have one or two complete days off, so it's going to be better for us. There's going to be more time for rest, we're in our beds, we're at home, in our arena, and then we get to open in front of our fans. It's definitely going to help."
 
It'll be even better if the Ducks come home from Europe with a 2-0 record. They should have a distinct crowd advantage in their season opener Oct. 7 against Buffalo.
 
The game is in Helsinki, Teemu Selanne's hometown, where he holds rock-star status everywhere he goes. Fellow Finns Saku Koivu and Toni Lydman are members of Selanne's band.
 
"There's going to be a huge buzz," Perry said. "Everyone loves (Selanne). Saku's up there as well, and Toni Lydman. They're going to have fun showing us around, telling us different stories about different hometowns, whose is better and so forth."
 
The Ducks will likely face a different fan environment the following night in Stockholm, where they play the Rangers.
 
"We don't have a Swede on our team and the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist. That'll sway things in their favor in that building," Carlyle said. "But, I look at it as an opportunity for our players to experience something different, outside the box. It's an opportunity for the NHL to expand its wings into Europe."
 
Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl