Anaheim Ducks vs. New Jersey Devils: Game Preview, Line Rushes

The Anaheim Ducks conclude their eight-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils. The Ducks have been at Honda Center since December 28th, when they faced the Vancouver Canucks. The Ducks are 5-2-0 during the homestand, including a 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in their most recent contest. The Devils, since firing head coach Peter DeBoer on December 27th, are 4-4-1 and sit at 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 16-21-8 record.

For the Ducks, Matt Beleskey will draw in after being a healthy scratch on Wednesday against the Leafs. Beleskey was a -4 in his previous two outings against the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets. While Beleskey draws in, Tim Jackman will likely draw out. Ryan Getzlaf, with two assists on Wednesday, is tied for sixth in scoring in the NHL with Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, and Sidney Crosby. Corey Perry recorded his league-leading third hat trick of the season and took back the team’s goal-scoring lead, scoring his 16th, 17th, and 18th goals of the season.

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
Rene Bourque – Ryan Kesler – Kyle Palmieri
Andrew Cogliano – Nate Thompson – Jakob Silfverberg
Beleskey – Rickard Rakell – Devante Smith-Pelly

On the Ducks defense, Eric Brewer has resumed skating, but is still a ways away from returning to game action. Clayton Stoner recorded his second point of the season on Perry’s empty-net goal on Wednesday, while his partner, Sami Vatanen, logged a team-high 23:07 among skaters. Hampus Lindholm had a goal taken away on a strange play, where Palmieri scored, the goal was not called, and then Lindholm finished the goal anyway. Upon review, Palmieri received his eighth goal of the season, but Lindholm netted his 13th assist.

Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:

Cam Fowler – Ben Lovejoy
Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin
Stoner – Vatanen

For the Devils, they are coming off a 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, when they scored three goals in 68 seconds and forced the Kings to pull both Martin Jones and Jonathan Quick. Jaromir Jagr leads the team with 16 assists and 25 points, but he will not play, as he did not travel with the team to California (flu). Mike Cammalleri leads the Devils in goals, with 14, and he and Adam Henrique are the only two players with double digit goals and 20 points. Travis Zajac leads the Devils forwards in ice time, playing 19:56 per game. He has seven goals and 15 points on the season.

New Jersey Devils Forward Lines:

Henrique – Scott Gomez – Steve Bernier
Martin Havlat – Zajac – Patrik Elias
Cammalleri – Dainius Zubrus – Michael Ryder
Joe Whitney – Tim Sestito – Jordin Tootoo

On the Devils defense, Andy Greene leads the team in ice time, playing 23:29 per game. He has 11 points on the season, all assists. Marek Zidlicky is tied for the lead in goals among defensemen, with four. He also has a blue-line-leading 15 assists and 19 points. Adam Larsson has thrived post-DeBoer, playing just under 23:58 in the last six games while logging four assists.

New Jersey Devils Defense Pairings:

Greene – Larsson
Jon Merrill – Zidlicky
Eric Gelinas – Peter Harrold

In net, Ilya Bryzgalov (0-2-0, 4.93 GAA, .836 SV%) gets his first start since January 7th against the New York Rangers. Bryzgalov stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss, but got very little support from the team in front of him in the 4-1 defeat. The team will presumably preserve Frederik Andersen for the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the Staples Center tomorrow. Opposing Bryzgalov will be Cory Schneider (15-19-4, 2.42 GAA, .919 SV%), who has terrific rate statistics, but has been the victim of poor play in front of him. Schneider stopped 23 of 26 shots against Los Angeles on Wednesday in earning his 15th win of the season.