Anaheim (26-22-5) at Minnesota (25-21-3), 8:00 p.m. EST
ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- As a goaltender controversy
quietly permeates through the locker room, the Anaheim Ducks
continue to generate success.
The Ducks seek their third straight victory when they visit the
Minnesota Wild in a battle of Western Conference foes on
Wednesday.
Fighting for playoff position, the Ducks received solid efforts
from Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry, who each netted a power-play
goal in the third period of Monday's 3-2 victory over the
Buffalo Sabres.
Defenseman Chris Pronger also tallied and Jonas Hiller made 21
saves for the Ducks, who have won three of their last four.
Hiller has started four straight games in place of the
ineffective Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who started for the West in
the All-Star Game despite owning a 12-12-4 record and 3.08
goals-against average.
While Giguere has lost three straight contests, Hiller has
thrived by surrendering three goals or less in each of his last
seven appearances.
Perry has scored six goals in his last seven games and 13 points
in his last 11.
Minnesota is coming off a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on
Saturday, improving to 3-5-2 in its last 10 one-goal games.
In that contest, Marc-Andre Bergeron finished with two goals and
an assist and Pierre-Marc Bouchard notched three assists for
Minnesota, which improved to 2-1-0 in its last three games.
Mikko Koivu and Eric Belanger also scored and Niklas Backstrom
turned aside 37 shots one night after being pulled in a 3-1
setback to the Edmonton Oilers.
