The Anaheim Ducks return to action tonight with their final game of a five game homestand, trying to win their eighth straight game. Coming off their most complete victory of the season by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1, the Ducks will have to face the San Jose Sharks in the team’s first Pacific Division tilt of the season. Despite the Sharks’ recent struggles, they are a highly skilled team capable of scoring on just about any given shift. In division matchups, streaks and standings records do not matter as much: tonight should be a tough battle for Anaheim from start to finish.
There appear to be no changes in the forward lineups for Anaheim tonight. Right winger Corey Perry has been on a tear to start the season, leading the league in goals scored with nine. Perry has scored on his first shot of the game in the past two games and has four goals and five points in that span. Ryan Getzlaf recorded his third consecutive multi-point game against Columbus, putting him in a tie for the NHL lead in assists (nine, with Jakub Voracek and Jason Spezza) and a tie for second in points scored (12, with Perry and Sidney Crosby). Dany Heatley is still not ready to go for the Ducks and remains on Injured Reserve with forwards Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon.
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, here are the expected lineups for tonight.
Anaheim Ducks Forward Lines:
Devante Smith-Pelly – Getzlaf – Perry
Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Matt Beleskey – William Karlsson – Rickard Rakell
Emerson Etem – Nate Thompson – Tim Jackman
For the Ducks on defense, the team will roll out the six usual players. Cam Fowler led Anaheim in ice time for the second straight game. Sami Vatanen, with a goal and an assist against Columbus, has seven points on the year, which is the third most on the team behind Getzlaf and Perry. All seven points for Vatanen have come on the much-improved Ducks’ power-play. Francois Beauchemin had a terrific game against the Blue Jackets, controlling play in the neutral zone and stopping Columbus from establishing any rhythm in the Ducks’ defensive zone.
Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:
Fowler – Ben Lovejoy
Hampus Lindholm – Beauchemin
Clayton Stoner – Vatanen
As for the San Jose Sharks, they are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres yesterday. That loss was the Sharks’ fourth straight defeat, all coming in regulation, after starting the season 4-0-1. Patrick Marleau leads San Jose with ten points, and his four goals are tied for the most on the team with Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. Joe Thornton has eight points on the season, which is tied for third most on San Jose with Pavelski and Couture.
San Jose Sharks Forward Lines:
Marleau – Couture – James Sheppard
Tomas Hertl – Thornton – Matthew Nieto
Tommy Wingels – Pavelski – Chris Tierney
Adam Burish – Andrew Desjardins – Tyler Kennedy
For the Sharks’ blue-line, Brent Burns has been terrific since moving back to defense for San Jose, scoring two goals and nine points while leading the Sharks in ice time. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is having another terrific season, building off a 2013-2014 campaign that saw him get selected for the Canadian Olympic Team. Vlasic has a +5 rating, which is tied with Pavelski for the best +/- on the team. He is also logging 21:12 in ice time, second to Burns.
San Jose Sharks Defense Pairings:
Vlasic – Justin Braun
Mirco Mueller – Burns
Scott Hannan – Jason Demers
In net, Frederik Andersen (6-0-0, 1.32 GAA, .951 SV%) should return for Anaheim after sitting Friday against Columbus. For San Jose, Alex Stalock (1-2-1, 2.22 GAA, .924 SV%) got the nod yesterday against Buffalo, so it is expected that Antti Niemi (3-2-0, 3.16 GAA, .903 SV%) will be between the pipes for San Jose.
Jason Byun is one of the editors 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.