Game Night: Ducks Host New Jersey – Get the Pitchforks & Torches
By Ed Stein
Ex-Duck Sami Vatanen returns to Anaheim for the first time tonight to take on the Ducks with his new team.
On the Right Track
The Ducks looked much better Friday night in their 4-2 win over Detroit. Even if they didn’t win, they would have gone down fighting (and scoring). Nick Ritchie, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler all scored goals and participated in a fight during the game. It was the kind of physical statement the Ducks needed to show potential playoff opponents that they won’t be pushed around, especially at home. Additionally, they proved to themselves that the pilot light was still on.
Derek Grant had the other goal, and Jakob Silfverberg added two assists. Goalie John Gibson stopped 28 of 30 shots en route to his 27th win of the season.
News and Notes
- Ryan Getzlaf has 17 points in his last 10 games.
- The Ducks have killed off 31 consecutive penalties at the Honda Center since January 23. Home and road games combined they have allowed on two shorthanded scores in the last 35 attempts
- Here’s an interesting wager, Which Ducks player reaches 100 career assists first; Rickard Rakell (97), or Hampus Lindholm (98)?
- Thursday night’s game-winning goal for Corey Perry was the 63rd GWG of his career.
New Jersey @ Ducks
Tonight’s contest against New Jersey is a good news/bad news situation for the Ducks. On the bright side, they are catching and east coast team on the second night of back-to-back games. The bad part is that first game was a 4-0 shutout against LA at the Staples Center. I caught part of that game and even though Jersey caught a few lucky bounces, they controlled the play against a good team.
Gibson should once again start in the Anaheim net. Consequently, we won’t be seeing his backup Ryan Miller too often the rest of the way. The team in front of Gibson should remain the same as it was on Friday.
Forwards
Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Ritchie-Henrique-Kase
Kelly-Grant-Chimera/Brown
Defense
Fowler-Montour
Lindholm-Manson
Beauchemin-Pettersson
Goalies
Gibson
Miller