The Anaheim Ducks were bound to hit a few bumps in the road. That kind of stuff happens during a long season. Lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night? Well, that could change things a bit.
A few bumps and bruised and a severe infestation of the flu has help elevated the Ducks recent 0-2-1 skip from a bump to a hill. Not an insurmountable hill, but a hill nonetheless.
Anaheim has rare gameless weekend to help them get ready for the Penguins on Monday night.
DUCKS (15-5-2) at PENGUINS (12-8-0)
The Pens, like the Ducks, are in a bit of a funk themselves. Pittsburgh took a beating from the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, on Saturday night. It was the teams fourth loss in their last five games. Pittsburgh and its high-flying offense is suddenly having trouble scoring goals. They have netted more than one goal just once over that stretch and appear to be gripping the twigs a little tight than they had been earlier in the season.
I watched the Devils games and I thought the Pens looked a bit lethargic. With that said, they did out shoot the Devils 28-22 and had some golden opportunities to score but could never seem to break through. It seemed to frustrate them and that is something the Ducks should key in on.
Look, Anaheim is still one of the league's best team's and a little adversity never hurt anyone. With a healthy Ryan Getzlaf and a flu-less Corey Perry I like the Ducks chances in this one.
What to watch for...
- Getzlaf has four goals and three assists over his past three games and three goals and three assist sin seven career games against the Pens. Look for the captain to stay hot.
- Emerson Etem is also coming back from a bout with the flu. The Long Beach native has points in three of four games and seems to be find his stride in the NHL. The Ducks will need more secondary scoring if they hope to get back in the win column.
- Cam Fowler is quietly having an excellent year. Through 22 games, he has 13 points (2g 11a) and is a plus-2. In 37 games last season he had 11 points (1g 10a) total and finished minus-4. Cam has never finished a season with a positive plus/minus rating. Can he do it this season?
- Frederik Andersen has a .943 save percentage. Viktor Fasth (.885) and Jonas Hiller (.898) are both sub .900
- Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is still playing well, giving up more than two goals twice in his past eight starts.
- Despite all the offense they posses, none of the Penguins have reached double-digits in goals scored. Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz each have nine.
The Ducks have two in double-digits/ Can you guess who they are?
- A win on Monday and the Ducks improve to 8-5-2 on the road. Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboHTW
On Facebook at StevePalumboNHL
Email me at StevePalumboNHL@gmail.com