Graphic: Ronald Wray
Anaheim(2-3-0) at Minnesota(3-0-0)
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Anaheim Outlook
The Ducks finish up their road trip today and have gone 1-2-0 so far. The Ducks beat the Flames 3-2 in OT and lost to the Oilers in a high flying game 6-5. Anaheim then lost to the Jets 5-1. It was a much closer game than the final score indicted, but the Jets pulled away in the final period.
The Ducks have been doing extremely well on the power play. Anaheim has scored a power play goal in all five of their games so far and are 5-for-15 or 33% efficient. The penalty kill has improved this season and is at 81% efficiency.
Anaheim has had trouble scoring goals during 5-on-5 play, except in the game against Edmonton. In that contest the Ducks had four even strength goals, however that is how many they have in the other four games combined. Dallas Eakins will have to tweak the lineup without Mason McTavish and now Max Jones for most of the season.
Kevin Shattenkirk leads the team in scoring with three goals.
Injury News:
Mason McTavish(lower-body) received a hard check along the boards during the second period against Calgary and did not return in the game. He was placed on the IR.
Max Jones(upper body) left the game early in the third period against Calgary as he appeared to be favoring his left arm while being engaged in front of the net. He was also placed on the IR. Yesterday it was announced he will need surgery to repair a pectoralis major tendon tear and will be out for 4-6 months.
Projected Lineup:
Offense:
Adam Henrique – Trevor Zegras – Rickard Rakell
Max Comtois – Ryan Getzlaf– Troy Terry
Sam Steel – Isac Lundestrom – Jakob Silfverberg
Nicolas Deslauriers – Benoit-Olivier Groulx – Derek Grant
Defense:
Hampus Lindholm – Jamie Drysdale
Cam Fowler – Josh Manson
Josh Mahura – Kevin Shattenkirk
In Net:
John Gibson 2-1-0 GAA 2.31 SV% .932 (Confirmed)
Minnesota Outlook
The Wild have been a roll to start this season winning their first three games. They beat the Ducks in their season opener in the final seconds of the contest. Minnesota then went on to beat Los Angeles 3-2 and Winnipeg 6-5 in overtime.
The Wild have been winning but all the games have been close, so this contest might be another tight checking affair. Minnesota averages 3.67 goals per game, which is 9th in the league. Like Anaheim, they have had success on the power play this season operating at 36.4%, which is tied for 3rd best in the league.
Joel Eriksson Ek leads the team in scoring with three goals.
Projected Lineup per Athletic’s Michael Russo:
Offense:
Kirill Kaprizov – Joel Eriksson Ek – Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway – Ryan Hartman – Marcus Foligno
Victor Rask – Frederick Gaudreau – Kevin Fiala
Brandon Duhaime – Nico Sturm – Nick Bjugstad
Defense:
Alex Goligoski – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Mathew Dumba
Jonathon Merrill – Dmitry Kulikov
In Net:
Cam Talbot 3-0-0 2.65 GAA .911 SV% (Confirmed)
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October 23rd, 2021
DucksNPucks 