The Anaheim Ducks leave the state of California after spending the past two weeks playing six games, including five of those at home. The Ducks have points in eight of their past ten games, but they have only gone a mere 4-2-4 in those games, including a 1-1-4 stretch in California. On Sunday, the team was embarrassed 6-2 at home by the Florida Panthers, losing the game thanks to allowing four goals in the second period. Now, the team embarks to Western Canada, where they will face two Pacific Division opponents. The first of these tests will come against the surprising Calgary Flames, who sit at 11-6-2 this season, good for third in the Pacific Division (behind the Ducks and Canucks) and fifth in the Western Conference (behind the Ducks, Blues, Predators, and Canucks).
For the Ducks, right-winger Devante Smith-Pelly was placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to Thursday before Sunday’s game. This means that Smith-Pelly cannot return until this Thursday’s game, but he skated with the team and appears close to returning. Right winger Corey Perry returned to the Ducks on Sunday after missing five contests with the mumps. He registered 18:57 of ice time with two shots on goal and finished the night with a -2 rating. Perry is tied for second on the team in scoring with Ryan Kesler, who each have 15 points on the season. Perry has 11 goals and four assists, while Kesler has six goals and nine assists. Kesler had his five game point streak snapped Sunday. William Karlsson did not travel with the team to Calgary and may meet the team in Vancouver, while Tim Jackman, who sat Sunday with the stomach flu, will draw back in.
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, here are the expected lineups for both teams tonight.
Anaheim Ducks Forward Lines:
Emerson Etem – Ryan Getzlaf – Perry
Matt Beleskey – Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Andrew Cogliano – Rickard Rakell – Kyle Palmieri
Patrick Maroon – Nate Thompson – Jackman
For the Ducks defensively, rookie Josh Manson recorded his first NHL point on Sunday, getting an assist on Cogliano’s third period goal. Manson finished with a +2 rating along with defense partner Hampus Lindholm, while the other four defensemen finished a combined -10 on the night, including a -4 effort from Clayton Stoner. Lindholm netted his second goal of the season in the first period Sunday. Veteran Francois Beauchemin, who is on Injured Reserve with the mumps, was cleared to practice with the team. Bruce Boudreau sounded confident that Beauchemin will return to the lineup on Thursday.
Anaheim Ducks Defense Pairings:
Cam Fowler – Stoner
Lindholm – Manson
Bryan Allen – Sami Vatanen
As for the Calgary Flames, they are coming off a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Flames are in the midst of a five game homestand, defeating both the Arizona Coyotes and Ottawa Senators last week. In their previous nine wins, Calgary has scored at least four goals in each game. A regulation win for Calgary would put them in first place in the Pacific Division 20 games into the season (11 regulation and overtime wins, compared to the Ducks’ nine). Sean Monahan leads the Flames with seven goals, while Jiri Hudler has 14 points to lead all Calgary forwards. Devin Setoguchi will draw in for David Jones. The Flames have plenty of young, exciting forwards, including Monahan, Markus Granlund, and Johnny Gaudreau.
Calgary Flames Forward Lines:
Curtis Glencross – Monahan – Setoguchi
Gaudreau – Granlund – Hudler
Sven Baertschi – Josh Jooris – Paul Byron
Brandon Bollig – Lance Bouma – Brian McGrattan
On the Calgary blue-line, Mark Giordano is having an outstanding season, scoring six goals and 21 points to lead all NHL defensemen. His 21 points are tied for sixth among all NHL players (with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, and St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko). His defense partner, T.J. Brodie, is second on the Flames in scoring with four goals and 15 points. Brodie also leads the Flames in ice time per game, playing 24:55 a night. Ladislav Smid, who the team drafted ninth overall in 2004 and eventually sent to Edmonton as part of the package to get Chris Pronger, is averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time this season and has one assist.
Calgary Flames Defense Pairings:
Giordano – Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Smid – Deryk Engelland
In net, Frederik Andersen (7-2-3, 2.07 GAA, .924 SV%) will go once again for the Ducks. Andersen allowed three goals on nine shots before being pulled against the Florida Panthers. However, he was put back in for the third period, and he finished the night allowing four goals on 15 shots. Opposing Andersen will be former Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller (8-4-1, 2.30 GAA, .922 SV%), who signed a two year, $9 million deal with the Flames in the offseason. Hiller won 174 total games while playing seven seasons with the Ducks, including 12 playoff contests.
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.