Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks: Game Preview, Line Rushes

The Anaheim Ducks continue their eight-game homestand with their fourth meeting against the San Jose Sharks. The Ducks lost the first two meetings against the Sharks decisively this season, but they bounced back on December 22nd and won 3-2 in overtime, thanks to Ryan Kesler‘s goal. The Sharks have lost three straight games coming in and are looking to avoid their third four-game losing streak of the season. The first two were snapped on October 26th and November 29th, both against the Ducks.

For the Ducks, it seems Corey Perry is looking primed to return. He skated in practice and should return sometime soon. He has been out since suffering a knee injury against the Minnesota Wild on December 5th. Tim Jackman could also be ready to return, as the Ducks optioned winger Max Friberg back to AHL Norfolk. Ryan Getzlaf has scored a point in eight consecutive games, and 12 of 13. His 42 points are tied for third in the NHL with Claude Giroux. It seems that if both Jackman and Perry play, Rene Bourque could end up being the odd-man out.

According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, here are the expected lineups for both teams tonight.

Anaheim Ducks Forward Lines:

Patrick Maroon – Getzlaf – Perry
Matt Beleskey – Ryan Kesler – Devante Smith-Pelly
Andrew Cogliano – Nate Thompson – Jakob Silfverberg
Emerson Etem – Rickard Rakell – Bourque/Jackman

On the Ducks’ defense, Francois Beauchemin scored his first goal of the season to tie the game against the Vancouver Canucks at one. Cam Fowler then potted the overtime winner for his fifth of the season. Sami Vatanen has been rather quiet, being held pointless in the past five games. Outside of Clayton Stoner and Ben Lovejoy, every Ducks defenseman logged over 20 minutes of ice time, as the Ducks finally have the group of six they envisioned having when the season first began.

Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:

Fowler – Lovejoy
Hampus Lindholm – Beauchemin
Stoner – Vatanen

For the Sharks, they are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks yesterday. Joe Thornton leads the Sharks with 32 points, including a team-high 23 assists. Joe Pavelski has a team-leading 17 goals on the season, including three against the Ducks. Their big four of Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Pavelski, and Logan Couture each have at least 27 points this season, but a player who has bolstered their top-six is Tommy Wingels, who has 23 points on the year. John Scott is still suspended after his incident with Jackman.

San Jose Sharks Forward Lines:

Tomas Hertl – Thornton – Pavelski
Marleau – Couture – Wingels
Melker Karlsson – James Sheppard – Barclay Goodrow
Matt Nieto – Andrew Desjardins – Micheal Haley

On the Sharks defense, Brent Burns has had a terrific transition back to defense, scoring ten goals and 27 points on the year. Burns leads the Sharks in ice time per game as well, playing 23:37 per night. He is tied for third in scoring among NHL defensemen with John Carlson. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is second on the team in ice time and leads the Sharks in +/- (+9).

San Jose Sharks Defense Pairings:

Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Burns
Matt Irwin – Matt Tennyson

In net, Frederik Andersen (20-5-5, 2.29 GAA, .916 SV%) will most likely get his third straight start coming out of the holiday break. Facing Andersen should be Antti Niemi (14-8-4, 2.47 GAA, .916 SV%). The Finnish netminder allowed three goals on 29 shots in his last start, a loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

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.