Anaheim Ducks Daily Links: Starting the Road on the Hunt

Good morning, Anaheim Ducks fans! It’s gameday, as the Ducks begin a five-game road-trip starting in Nashville against the league-leading Nashville Predators. Both the Ducks and Predators have 72 points in the standings, but by virtue of the Predators playing one fewer game, they currently hold the title for “best in the league”. The Ducks get another chance to prove themselves against one of the Western Conference’s perceived “elite” teams. The Ducks’ most recent attempts, against the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks, were failures in every regard, with the Ducks taking losses by scores of 6-3 and 4-1, respectively.

However, the Ducks bounced back from those losses with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. It was not “pretty” or well-executed: the Ducks were down two goals in the third-period and had turned in a sluggish performance from the second period until midway through the third. However, the Ducks’ trio of star forwards of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler stepped up in seizing victory from the jaws of defeat. The win improved the Ducks’ record in one-goal contests to 23-0-6 this season: a staggering record, by all means.

The Predators will be getting a boost, however, with the return of Pekka Rinne in net. Rinne has a league-leading 29 wins, bolstered by a terrific 1.96 GAA and .931 SV%. There has been arguably nobody better in net this season, outside of Carey Price. Rinne has missed the past few games and the All-Star weekend nursing an injury. Carter Hutton went 4-1-2 in Rinne’s absence.

Here are some Ducks and NHL news to get the morning started.