Game 30: Ducks Host Former Coach

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks(12-11-6) continue their homestand against the Minnesota Wild(13-11-3). The game starts at 7:00 PM PT and will be on Prime Ticket locally and AM 830. The Ducks will face their former coach Bruce Boudreau again. Anaheim was 1-2-0 against his Minnesota Wild last season.

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Anaheim Outlook:

The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a solid 3-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Ryan Miller recorded his first shutout as a Duck and it was the 40th of his career. The Ducks are still without Hampus Lindholm, who is on the IR and Joseph Blandisi tonight.

Jared Boll, Ryan Kesler, and Ryan Getzlaf all skated this morning but won’t play tonight either. Getzlaf was wearing a visor. There is no exact time frame when Getzlaf and Kesler will return, but the hope is they will go on the Ducks next road trip. Jakob Silfverberg is a game-time decision and John Gibson will get the start in net tonight.

Keys To The Game

The Ducks need a repeat performance like they had against the Senators. If the Ducks can sustain a decent forecheck, then they can take pressure off the defense and goaltender. Adam Henrique has been on fire for the Ducks since the trade. He has five points(2 G + 3 A) in just four games. If Henrique, Rakell, and Perry can keep producing then good things will happen for Anaheim.

Anaheim’s Projected Lineup:

Offense
Rickard Rakell – Adam Henrique – Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano – Chris Wagner – Kevin Roy
Nick Ritchie – Antoine Vermette – Ondrej Kase
Logan Shaw – Derek Grant – Dennis Rasmussen 

Defense
Cam Fowler  – Kevin Bieksa
Jaycob Megna – Josh Manson
Francois Beauchemin – Brandon Montour

In Net
John Gibson 8-10-2, GAA 2.97, SV% .921 (Confirmed)

Minnesota Outlook:

The Wild currently have 29 points are tied for 5th place in the Central Division. They are on their California road trip where they lost to Los Angeles a few nights ago. After they play Anaheim tonight they will conclude the trip in San Jose. Jason Zucker leads the team with 13 goals and Eric Staal has 10.

Keys To The Game

The Wild have one of the best power plays in the league with 22.5% efficiency, which ranks 5th in the league. They will look to draw penalties and cash in on their power play chances. Minnesota has a solid penalty kill as well at 82.0%, which is just outside the top ten in the NHL.

Minnesota’s  Projected Lineup:

Offense
Mikael Granlund – Mikko Koivu – Jason Zucker
Nino Niederreiter – Eric Staal – Marcus Foligno
Daniel Winnik – Charlie Coyle – Chris Stewart
Tyler Ennis – Matt Cullen – Zack Mitchell

Defense
Jonas Brodin – Ryan Murphy
Ryan Suter – Mathew Dumba
Mike Reilly – Nate Prosser

In Net
Devan Dubnyk, 11-8-2, GAA 2.78, SV% .914 (Confirmed)

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December 8th, 2017

Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, ducksnpucks, minnesota wild