On the Beat (Western Conference): Ducks fans should be panicking, Dan Cloutier gets tossed in AHL comeback game, Oilers continue to roll, Cody Hodgson to skip World Juniors

Today’s word from the team beat writers:

• It seems like just yesterday that the Ducks were raising the Stanley Cup but that was a long time ago says Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register and if your not panicking, you haven’t been paying attention.

  Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

• Flames captain Jarome Iginla felt the defence played great last night in L.A. but remains positive as the team is 11-3-3 on the road this season.
• Former NHL goalie Dan Cloutier, who is trying to make a comeback with the Hawks AHL team the Rockford Ice-Hogs, got tossed out of  his first game.
• The Dallas Stars just saw the Ducks on Thursday so they are pretty familiar, but much has happened to Anaheim since then, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Detroit Red Wings, for the fourth consecutive year, will be ringing bells for the Salvation Army tonight.
• The Oilers are rolling on this road trip as they achieved their third straight win last night in Florida and David Staples of the Edmonton Journal gives Deslauriers and Visnovsky top marks.

  Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

• Looks like Kings coach Terry Murray wasn’t happy with Randy Jones as he kept him out of 3rd period action and GM Dean Lombardi says that Oscar Moller will be sticking with the team.
• Predators coach Barry Trotz is pulling Cody Franson out of the lineup due to his game falling off and has inserted Alexander Sulzer.
• It is bad news for both the Canucks and Team Canada’s World Junior team as it appears that Cody Hodgson will have to skip the World Juniors due to his ailing back.