Photo: Pioneer Press: Holly Peterson
The Anaheim Ducks(42-20-7) finish their road trip in Minnesota against the Wild (37-23-7) at 5:00PM.
The Ducks are 2-0-0 against the Wild this year. In the first meeting the Ducks won 2-1 behind goals by Andrew Cogliano and Corey Perry. The second meeting saw the Ducks jump out to a 3-0 lead with two goals by Ryan Kesler and one goal by Jakob Silfverberg. The Wild then scored four goals in a row and the Ducks found themselves down 4-3 in the beginning of the third period. Tim Jackman and Matt Beleskey scored late in the third to give the Ducks a 5-4 victory.
The Ducks enter this game on a three game losing streak. They have been outscored 13 to 6 in those games. In the second periods against the Penguins and Flames the Ducks gave up 3 goals in those periods.
The Ducks enter today’s action with 91 points, tied with five other teams for the most points in the league.
Keys to the game:
Ducks:
1. Slump: The Ducks need to turn things around and quickly. They face another possible playoff bound team in the Minnesota Wild tonight. They need to work on getting pucks deep and keeping the pressure on while in the offensive zone.
2. Defense: The Ducks did not back check well against the Flames speedy forwards. The Ducks need to work on chipping pucks out of their own zone or making good outlet passes to start the counter attack.
Wild:
1. Power Play: The Wild have the third worst power play unit with a success rate of 14.9%. They need to improve with the extra man especially as they battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.
2. Penalty Kill: The Wild have the best penalty killing unit with a successful kill rate of 86.3%. The Ducks are going to need to set up some screens and get some rebounds to have success tonight.
Players to Watch:
Ducks:
1. Corey Perry: Perry did not play well in the last game against Calgary. He had zero points in the game and he didn’t play well defensively either.
2. Matt Beleskey: It looks like Beleskey should be able to play tonight. The question is what line will Boudreau place on him on and which forward will Boudreau scratch.
Wild:
1. Zach Parise: He leads the team with 52 points (26G + 26A). He leads the team with eight power play goals and has three game winning goals. The Ducks need to slow him and the Wild’s top line down.
2. Jason Pominville: He is second on the team in points with 47 (16G + 31A). He has been on a roll with five points in his last four games.
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Ducks Projected Starting Line-up:
Yesterday Bruce Boudreau hinted that Matt Beleskey looked like he should be able to play tonight. Beleskey should go on the top line and Maroon could be scratched(my preference). Another option is he could draw in on the fourth line with either Etem or Sekac drawing out.
Offense
Matt Beleskey – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Tomas Fleischmann – Ryan Kesler – Kyle Palmieri
Emerson Etem – Rickard Rakell – Jakob Silfverberg
Andrew Cogliano – Nate Thompson – Jiri Sekac
Defense
Cam Fowler – Simon Despres
Francois Beauchemin – Hampus Lindholm
Clayton Stoner – James Wisniewski
Wild Projected Starting Line-up:
Offense:
Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter – Mikko Koivu – Chris Stewart
Thomas Vanek – Charlie Coyle – Justin Fontaine
Sean Bergenheim – Erik Haula – Kyle Brodziak
Defense
Jordan Leopold – Jared Spurgeon
Starting Goalies:
Ducks: John Gibson (9-6-0) GAA 2.64 SV .916% (CONFIRMED)
Wild: Devan Dubnyk (19-4-1) GAA 1.67 SV .937% (CONFIRMED)
The game is tonight at 5.00 pm PST on Prime Sports. Want to hear more about the Ducks? Click the video below and listen! Subscribe and listen to win free Ducks games tickets to fan appreciation night!
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