Weight gets warm reception in return
DUCKS REPORT
Veteran center had bad feelings toward Blues after trade to Ducks, but a tribute from his old team and ovation from fans ease some of the bitterness.
ST. LOUIS -- Doug Weight was a fan favorite in his seven seasons with the St. Louis Blues and he hoped he might end his career with the team until he was pressured to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal that sent him to the Ducks in December.
The experience left Weight feeling sour about the Blues organization but some of that bad taste went away Friday night when he was honored with a video tribute by the club during the first period.
The club also used the opportunity to pass out figurines of the center that had been in storage. Following the tribute, the sellout crowd of 19,150 at Scottrade Center gave Weight a loud ovation and he gestured to the crowd from the Ducks' bench.
"It's a special place," he said. "It's a great city with a lot of great people."
Weight came to Anaheim in exchange for Andy McDonald and both players had their moments early in the game Friday against their former teams.
Weight set up Todd Bertuzzi on their first shift but St. Louis goaltender MannyLegace easily turned aside Bertuzzi's chance in the slot. McDonald nearly gave the Blues the lead later in the first period when he got free in the slot area and put a backhanded shot off the right post.
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider sat out for the first time since Nov. 17 because of a sprained left wrist that Coach Randy Carlyle said was originally injured Jan. 17 against Nashville.
Schneider is day-to-day and remains questionable for tonight's game in Philadelphia. Because of his absence, Joe DiPenta got into the lineup for the first time in six weeks and played 10 minutes 44 seconds. DiPenta hadn't played since Dec. 14 because of Scott Niedermayer's return to the team.
There were other changes in the lineup. Rookie Ryan Carter sat for the first time since being recalled from the minor leagues Dec. 17 as Todd Marchant took his spot on the checking line.
After playing well in early January, Carter has struggled of late as has a minus-7 rating in his last five games. Center Brian Sutherby was back on the fourth line after sitting Wednesday against Minnesota.
Though it goes down officially as their fifth consecutive loss, the Ducks felt good about their performance in Friday's 1-0 shootout loss to the Blues.
Carlyle called it "a huge accomplishment" following lowly efforts against Dallas, Minnesota and the Kings in their losing streak.
