Anaheim Ducks Line Rushes vs. Boston Bruins: 12/01/2014
By Jason Byun
The Anaheim Ducks return home after an unsuccessful trip to San Jose for a two-game homestand and the conclusion of their six-game California stand. The Ducks are currently 2-2-0 through their first four contests during this California stretch, but have suffered losses in each of the previous two games. Coming to Honda Center are the Boston Bruins, who won the President’s Trophy last season with 54 wins and 117 points, one more point than the Ducks had last season (54 wins, 116 points). The Bruins are not quite where they were last season, as they are 14-9-1 through 24 games. Their 29 points are only 4th in the Atlantic Division and 6th in the Eastern Conference (though they would have the 1st wild card if the season were to end today). The Bruins have embarked on their “California Road Trip” and begin with a visit to Anaheim.
For the Ducks, both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry burst onto the scene with three point outings against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Getzlaf scored a goal and two assists, while Perry netted two goals and one assist, and both players recorded the primary assist on each of the other’s goals. The Ducks need to get their forwards going, so some shuffling has happened. Rene Bourque, who has yet to score a goal as a member of the Ducks, will move up onto the second line, while Patrick Maroon will slide down. Nate Thompson will center the fourth line, while Devante Smith-Pelly will center the defensive-minded third line.
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, here are the expected lineups for both teams tonight.
Anaheim Ducks Forward Lines:
Matt Beleskey – Getzlaf – Perry
Bourque – Ryan Kesler – Kyle Palmieri
Andrew Cogliano – Smith-Pelly – Jakob Silfverberg
Maroon – Thompson – Tim Jackman
On the Ducks defense, the team will be rolling the same three pairings they did on Saturday. Francois Beauchemin will be out for at least five more weeks after suffering a broken finger while blocking a shot with his hand. Clayton Stoner has the mumps virus, but he says he feels good enough to possibly return for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Mark Fistric skated this morning with the Ducks while donning a cage. Fistric took a puck to the face while skating last week and needed to get stitched up. In his first game with the Ducks, Eric Brewer played 15:07, including a mere 20 seconds on the penalty kill.
Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:
Cam Fowler – Josh Manson
Hampus Lindholm – Mat Clark
Brewer – Sami Vatanen
As for the Bruins, they are coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Carl Soderberg recorded the primary assist on the overtime winner, giving him a team-high 17 points on the season. Six Bruins have five goals, which is the team lead. One of those players, Milan Lucic, has goals in consecutive games (the other forwards are Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Seth Griffith, and Soderberg). Rookie David Pastrnak has not yet scored, but he recorded a team-high seven shots on goal against Winnipeg Friday. Center David Krejci has missed 10 of the past 12 games and did not travel with the team, so he will not play any of the four games of this Boston road-trip.
Boston Bruins Forward Lines:
Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak
Lucic – Soderberg – Loui Eriksson
Reilly Smith – Chris Kelly – Matt Fraser
Simon Gagne – Gregory Campbell – Daniel Paille
On the Bruins defense, Dougie Hamilton scored the overtime winner on Friday, making him the sixth Boston player to reach the five goal mark. Hamilton also has 14 points, the most among all Bruins defensemen. Captain Zdeno Chara, who suffered a PCL tear, is close to returning but did not travel with the team. He, like Krejci, will be out and not play any of the four games on this road trip. In his absence, Hamilton and Dennis Seidenberg have stepped up, each playing over 22 minutes per game to lead the team (22:19 for Hamilton, 22:11 for Seidenberg).
Boston Bruins Defense Pairings:
Seidenberg – Torey Krug
Joe Morrow – Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski – Kevan Miller
In net, Frederik Andersen (10-4-4, 2.37 GAA, .915 SV%) will take the net again. Andersen did not have a great outing on Saturday, allowing five goals on 19 shots before being pulled for veteran Jason LaBarbera. However, LaBarbera suffered an upper-body injury in the game and is considered day-to-day, and the veteran will not be available. For that, the Ducks called up Igor Bobkov from AHL Norfolk, and he will back-up Andersen. Opposing Andersen will be Tuukka Rask (11-6-1, 2.31 GAA, .919 SV%), who won Friday’s game while stopping 35 of 36 shots in almost 64 minutes of action.
Jason Byun is the editor for Pucks of a Feather. He can be found on Twitter. For more Anaheim Ducks coverage, follow Pucks of a Feather on Twitter or like us on Facebook.