Our long national nightmare is over! The Ducks broke their recent three game skid by defeating Minnesota Friday night. The victory put the Ducks into a tie for the Presidents Trophy. They can break that tie tonight with home win over Nashville, one of the teams the Ducks are tied with.
John Gibson was outstanding in the Ducks net, stopping 32 of the 33 shots he faced from the Wild. Seven penalties is still too many to surrender, but Anaheim was more responsible with the puck than they had been in recent games. One other point of concern aside from penalties is the power play. There is too much firepower on this team to be so inept with a man advantage. It is surprising how much Sami Vatanen's absence has affected the rest of the team. He might be back tonight and if so, his creativity and puck moving would be welcome additions.
The Preds are 2-1-0 on their road trip so far. Tonight's tilt against the Central Division leading Predators is a big test. Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin told Ducks.com, "They always play hard against us. It's going to be a physical matchup. That's all I expect, another one-goal game."
At this time, Frederik Andersen is anticipated to start in goal, but Bruce Boudreau has not made that call yet. Patrick Maroon was a healthy scratch Friday, and may very well sit again, but that decision will be made closer to game time. Tonight's lineup should resemble:
Forwards Beleskey-Getzlaf-Perry Flash-Kesler-Silfverberg Etem-Rakell-Palmieri Cogliano-Thompson-Sekac
Defensemen Beauchemin-Lindholm Fowler-Despres/Wisnieski Wisnieski/Vatanen-Stoner
Goalies Andersen Gibson
My Uverse service has been very spotty. I wrote this article while it was working. If I can update closer to game time, I will.
-Ed
Update 14:10 PDT - Vatanen will not return tonight.