Randy Carlyle has mellowed with age and experience, but the Ducks’ coach hasn’t become soft enough to make lineup decisions based on sentiment.
His explanation that he had reunited center Ryan Getzlaf and right wing Corey Perry in practice on Tuesday “for old times’ sake” didn’t convince anyone, though Getzlaf briefly played along.
“Old times’ sake. That’s Randy,” Getzlaf said, smiling.
Carlyle’s reasons have nothing to do with nostalgia and everything to do with practicality, mixed with a dash of wishful thinking.
In an era when lines rarely stay together long, the tandem of Getzlaf and Perry endured enough for them to be dubbed The Twins.