text: Ducks' Hiller answers questions in team's tough season - The Orange County Register
  Ducks' Hiller answers questions in team's tough season
  ANAHEIM – Many questions surrounded the Ducks when they entered training camp in September, but one was painfully obvious.
  Could Jonas Hiller play goal again and would he ever get back to the high level that made him an All-Star last season?
  Looking back months later, Hiller said he would ask himself the same question, especially since no concrete answers were being provided.
  "Sure you have some questions and you question yourself," he said. "But when I started skating back home, I definitely thought that I was already feeling way better than I did a couple of months earlier.
  "It was already a good sign that I was headed in the right direction."
  Because of continued symptoms doctors related to vertigo, Hiller played in only two games after Feb. 2, 2011 and was forced to sit out the Ducks' playoff series against Nashville. Nearly a year later, the Swiss netminder is fully recovered and playing at an elite level virtually every night.
  It is the reason why Hiller has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy by the Anaheim chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
  Hiller has made an NHL-high 68 starts and his play has improved throughout the season to the point that he has a 28-27-11 record with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
  "Jonas faced a lot of adversity over the past year and responded tremendously," Ducks GM Bob Murray said in a statement. "His performance this season makes him an ideal candidate for the 2011-12 Masterton Trophy."
  The first half of the season saw Hiller often allowing the one extra goal he wished he could have back as he struggled behind the skittish play of his teammates.
  Everything changed once the calendar flipped to 2012. The Ducks began to play a tighter defensive game, and Hiller flourished.
  In his past 33 games, Hiller has gone 18-10-5 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .927 saves percentage.
  "In fairness, I think Jonas was really good for us at the start of the season," said Pete Peeters, the Ducks' goaltending consultant. "Then I felt there was just a little slide in his game and then it seemed in the New Year, he just took off.
  "The more he played, the better he got. He just seemed to rise to the occasion every night. He was just getting better and better and better and better."
  Until he got Monday night off, Hiller made a club-record 32 consecutive starts. His next one will tie a franchise mark for appearances in a season, bettering the 68 Guy Hebert made in 1998-99.
  Hiller said that he is strong mentally and physically even after that workload.
  "I just have a lot of fun playing, even if it's a lot of games," he said. "Sometimes in the morning, it hurts getting out of bed. At the same time, I 'm just excited I can play.
  "I found out how it could be the other way at the end of last year. I just wasn't able to play at all. I enjoy every game I can play. It's always nice to go out there."
  GUERIN UPDATE
  Defenseman Nate Guenin might miss the remainder of the regular season because of a facial injury he suffered Wednesday night.
  Boudreau revealed Guenin suffered small fractures of the orbital bone above his left eye after getting hit by a pass while defending a two-on-one break in the first period of the Ducks' 4-3 victory over St. Louis.
  "It just showed great courage for him to finish that game and to play at that level," Boudreau said. "When we got that news, I don't know what can be done and if there's anything that can be done to prevent it.