Good morning, Anaheim Ducks fans! It’s game day, once again, as the New Jersey Devils come to Honda Center on their “California road trip” to close out the Ducks’ current eight-game homestand. The Ducks won, arguably, their most complete game of the season in a 4-0 defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Devils got their California swing started with a strong 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings, where they scored three goals in 68 seconds. They forced the Kings to pull their goalie twice, with Martin Jones starting and finishing the game and Jonathan Quick spelling him briefly in between.
The Devils, like the Maple Leafs, made a midseason coaching change, firing Peter DeBoer on December 26th. The team is now co-coached, with Adam Oates in charge of the forwards and Scott Stevens of the defensemen. General manager Lou Lamoriello is temporarily behind the bench before giving the control of the team to Oates and Stevens. The Devils are 4-4-1 since firing DeBoer, but have only moved from 14th to 13th in the Eastern Conference in that span. However, the team has played some of its best hockey post-DeBoer, and the Ducks will need to stay sharp to close out the homestand strong.
There was no shortage of news in the NHL either, so here are some Ducks and NHL news to get the morning started.
More from Pucks of a Feather
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- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
Anaheim Ducks hosting 15th annual “Dux in Tux” event on January 19th (Ducks)
Corey Perry feeling like his old, productive self (Los Angeles Daily News)
Hampus Lindholm continuing to learn as a student of the game (LA Times)
Three Norfolk Admirals making strides to becoming everyday NHLers (Hockey’s Future)
Jaroslav Halak, Marc-Andre Fleury replace Jimmy Howard, Pekka Rinne at the All-Star Game (NHL)
Mike Fisher making the Nashville Predators’ offense even more impressive (Predlines)
All eyes are on the Arizona Coyotes for the March 2nd trade deadline (TSN)
Could the Martin Brodeur era in St. Louis be finished? (Bleedin’ Blue)
Chad LaRose falling back in love with hockey once again (ESPN)
Could the New Jersey Devils trade goaltender Keith Kinkaid? (Pucks and Pitchforks)