Game 28: Freeway Faceoff Round 1

By Michael Walters

Los Angeles(11-14-2) at Anaheim(11-12-4)

Pregame Show: DucksNPucks Podcast

TV: 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, Fox Sports West

Radio & Post Game Show: KLAA AM 830

Anaheim Outlook

The Anaheim Ducks square off with their SoCal rivals the Los Angeles Kings for the first time this season. The Ducks are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on their annual black Friday matinee affair. Anaheim is 1-4-1 in their last six black Friday contests at home. The Ducks went 3-6-4 in the month of November and will look to turn things around in December starting against the Kings.

The Ducks continue to struggle to find their identity this season. They have had flashes of greatness against solid teams like St. Louis and the New York Islanders, but then revert to mediocre play against average teams like Detroit, Chicago, or Minnesota. This has been considered a rebuilding year for Anaheim, but they have shown they can still compete with the league’s best. The Ducks just need to find a way to play consistent night in and night out.

Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf lead the team with nine goals each.

Roster News:

John Gibson will not play tonight due to an illness per the Ducks. Anthony Stolarz has been called up to back up Ryan Miller as a result per multiple reports.

Jacob Larsson was reassigned to San Diego.

Josh Manson took part in the morning skate today per the Athletic’s Eric Stephens.

Projected Lineup

Offense:
Rickard Rakell  – Ryan Getzlaf – Troy Terry
Max Jones – Adam Henrique – Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie – Sam Steel – Ondrej Kase
Devin Shore – Derek Grant – Carter Rowney

Defense:
Hampus Lindholm – Erik Gudbranson
Michael Del Zotto – Cam Fowler
Brendan Guhle – Korbinian Holzer

In Net:
Ryan Miller 3-1-2, GAA 3.13, SV% .899(Confirmed – Eric Stephens)

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Los Angeles Outlook

Like the Ducks, the Kings haven’t had things go their way this season. The Kings have the worst record in the Western Conference but are only two points behind the Ducks. Obviously, these are trying times for both clubs, but what better way to get fired up than to play your local rival.

The Kings are literally a mirror image of the Ducks in terms of several stats. Los Angeles gives up 3.30 goals against per game and also has special team issues. The LA power play is only 11.8% efficient and the penalty kill is 75.6% efficient. The Kings also have difficulty winning on the road with a 2-9-1 record away from Los Angeles this season. Regardless of the stats this should be a hard fought game and could likely be decided by one or two goals.

Anze Kopitar leads the team in scoring with 10 goals.

Projected Lineup 

Offense:
Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Michael Amadio – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Adrian Kempe – Blake Lizotte – Austin Wagner
Kyle Clifford – Nikolai Prokhorkin – Trevor Lewis

Defense:
Ben Hutton – Drew Doughty
Paul Ladue – Sean Walker
Joakim Ryan – Matt Roy

In Net
Jack Campbell 4-4-1, GAA 2.86, SV% .898(Confirmed – Jon Rosen)

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December 2nd, 2019