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Tough Losses Mounting; Ducks Need a Win Tonight |
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The Anaheim Ducks are 0-3-2 in the last five games. Tonight they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in hopes of stopping or at least slowing the bleeding a bit.
Following a 15-3-2 start to the season, the Ducks have hit a wall. Injuries and bad bounces haven't helped. Anaheim has not won a game since Nov. 10 against Vancouver and I hope that changes tonight.
The latest loss ended on a freak Ben Lovejoy own-goal in overtime against the New Jersey Devils. The setback was Anaheim's first at the Honda Center, but the team remains undefeated in regulation at home...so there's that.
Travis Zajac's goal that ended the game was a fluke. The Ducks played a decent game up until the Devils came alive in the third. New Jersey's pressure paid off with a late Jaromir Jagr goal to force OT.
Moving on...
LIGHTNING (14-8-0) at DUCKS (15-6-3)
Tonight they host a Lightning team that pounded them 5-1 a little over a week ago. The Lightning are one of the top teams in the East but an injury to Steven Stamkos has made scoring difficult for them in his absence. Tampa Bay has dropped three straight games and has been outscored 16-6 over that time.
I had to make this quick because I'm heading out to work. My feeling is with the way Anaheim played against New Jersey and the fact that they are at home means the skid ends tonight.
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Other Notes:
- Ducks made a minor move to help combat that darn injury bug that won't leave the team alone. Anaheim acquired forward Tim Jackman from Calgary in exchange for the team's sixth-round selection in the 2014 NHL Draft.
- Head coach Bruce Boudreau said defenseman Francois Beauchemin is listed as day-to-day after getting banged up in the Jersey game. Frankie is the Ducks best defender and a rock on the bench. This, out of all the injures, may have the biggest negative impact on the team.
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