Pucks of a Feather
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Game Night: Ducks Back in Action

By Ed Stein

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 01: Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) head butts Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) during the third period in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Anaheim Ducks on December 01, 2017, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 01: Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) head butts Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) during the third period in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Anaheim Ducks on December 01, 2017, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.(Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Anaheim Ducks kick off the home stretch of their season tonight as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Honda Center.

Week Off

The Ducks have enjoyed some time off since their 6-5 shootout loss to Edmonton on Sunday night. In the meantime, the rest of the Pacific Division caught up with Anaheim’s games played. As a result, San Jose (79 points) and Los Angeles (77) now occupy second and third place in the division. Anaheim (74) has slipped to fourth, while Calgary (73) is in fifth place. The good news is that the Ducks currently occupy the final Western Conference wild card slot.

This is the stretch drive; three-quarters of the 2017-18 season is in the books. Four teams are out of playoff contention in the west. Barring a huge collapse Las Vegas, Nashville, and Winnipeg are post-season bound. The other eight teams (separated by a total of six points) are competing for three division bids and two conference wild card bids. It’s a big game of musical chairs now, and the Ducks have to fight hard to get a seat.

News and Notes

  • John Gibson is off injured reserve and back in the lineup.
  • The Ducks have the most overtime losses in the league and fewest ROW (non-shootout wins), the latter being the primary tiebreaker. Where would the be if Ryan Kesler had been available to start the season?
  • Anaheim is on a roll, they have the third-best record in the west over the past 10 games.
  •  Rickard Rakell has 30 points in his last 29 games.
  • Before his injury, Gibson was 3-1 in his past four starts, allowing only six goals.

Columbus @ Ducks

The Ducks take on Columbus tonight at the Honda Center. They have been excellent on home ice recently, going 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. That’s bad news for Columbus, who lost 5-2 in LA last night. As mentioned above, Gibson returns tonight in Anaheim’s net. Recent Ducks’ acquisitions Chris Kelly and Jason Chimera will make their debuts tonight on the fourth line with Derek Grant. Here is tonight’s expected lineup:

Forwards

Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry

Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg

Ritchie-Henrique-Kase

Chimera-Grant-Kelly

Defense

Fowler-Montour

Lindholm-Bieksa/Beauchemin

Manson-Pettersson

Goalies

Gibson

Miller

Related Story: See Our Experts Panel Review of the Ducks Deadline Activity

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