Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators: Game Preview, Line Rushes
By Jason Byun
The Anaheim Ducks look to punctuate their five game Canadian road-trip with their fourth win of the trip when they go to face the Ottawa Senators on Friday. The Ducks are now 22-7-5 and have an NHL-leading 49 points, and they are 8-1-0 in the month of December. The Senators, since firing 2013 Jack Adams winner Paul MacLean, are 2-1-1 under new head coach Dave Cameron.
For the Ducks, Matt Beleskey broke a tie with Corey Perry by scoring his team-leading 15th goal of the season. Beleskey is now tied with Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane, and Joe Pavelski for seventh in the league in goal scoring. Ryan Getzlaf recorded his 25th assist on Thursday, moving his season point total to 35. That is tied with Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, and Claude Giroux for fifth most in the NHL. Getzlaf’s 25 assists are also fourth in the NHL, behind Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Crosby. Rickard Rakell, in his six games back with the Ducks, has scored four assists, including the primary helper on Beleskey’s game-winning goal on Thursday. Jakob Silfverberg plays his third game against his former club. Last time he played the Senators, he broke his right hand and missed 24 games.
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, here are the expected lineups for both teams tonight.
Anaheim Ducks Forward Lines:
Rene Bourque – Getzlaf – Devante Smith-Pelly
Beleskey – Ryan Kesler – Emerson Etem
Andrew Cogliano – Rakell – Silfverberg
Patrick Maroon – Nate Thompson – Tim Jackman
On the Ducks defense, Hampus Lindholm left the game against the Canadiens on Thursday with an undisclosed injury. There is no report on whether he will dress for the Ducks against the Senators. Colby Robak and Mark Fistric have alternated games on this road trip, but if Lindholm cannot go, then both will dress. In Lindholm’s absence, Cam Fowler logged 25:18 against the Canadiens.
Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:
Fowler – Ben Lovejoy
Fistric – Lindholm
Clayton Stoner – Sami Vatanen
As for the Senators, they are coming off a 2-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. Kyle Turris is tied for the team lead in points, with 21. Turris also has a team-high 15 assists. Linemate Clarke MacArthur has a team-leading nine goals. Bobby Ryan, who the Ducks traded to the Senators on July 5th, 2013, has seven goals and 19 points for the Senators. Alex Chiasson, one of the players the team got from the Jason Spezza deal with the Dallas Stars, has seven goals and 15 points on the season. The Senators will be without Curtis Lazar, who the team loaned to the Canadian team for the World Junior Championships. In his place, Jean-Gabriel Pageau will step in.
Ottawa Senators Forward Lines:
MacArthur – Turris – Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman – Mika Zibanejad – Ryan
Erik Condra – Pageau – Chiasson
Milan Michalek – David Legwand – Colin Greening
On the Senators defense, Erik Karlsson is the third captain of the Senators in the past three seasons (they lost Daniel Alfredsson to free agency two years ago and traded Spezza this past offseason). Karlsson also has 21 points, 14 of which have come on the power-play (second among NHL defensemen behind Kevin Shattenkirk). Karlsson also plays 27:43 per game, only behind Ryan Suter and Drew Doughty in the NHL. Mark Methot has been injured, only appearing in two games for the Senators this season. Methot is in the last year of a four-year, $12 million deal and is set to hit unrestricted free agency after the season.
Ottawa Senators Defense Pairings:
Chris Phillips – Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki – Eric Gryba
In net, it is entirely possible that Ilya Bryzgalov (0-0-0, 8.00 GAA, .714 SV%) spells Frederik Andersen, who has started 20 consecutive games. Bryzgalov made his season debut on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs in relief of Andersen, and he allowed two goals on seven shots in 14:32 of ice time. Opposing whoever starts in net for the Ducks will be Craig Anderson (7-8-4, 2.45 GAA, .929 SV%), who stopped all 34 shots on Wednesday in earning his third shutout of the season. Though Andersen has 12 losses on the season, he has faced at least 30 shots on goal in 15 of those 19 appearances, including four straight.
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.