The Hockey News' Derek Lee reports from the Ducks' morning skate.
The Hockey News' Derek Lee reports from the Ducks' morning skate.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Tonight, the Ducks will take on the Calgary Flames for the first time this season. The Ducks are coming off a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday while the Flames are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. It is the second and final game of a brief homestand for the Ducks.
“I think we’ve played some good games recently, so we want to continue building,” Ducks captain Radko Gudas said. “We’re playing within the system, we’re trusting each other to be in certain spots. We can speed up the game by knowing where (our teammates) are on the ice. (The Flames) are a pretty good team and they’re having their moms trip too, so we don’t want to hear their moms cheering inside the arena.”
“(The Flames) are fast,” Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said. “They play really hard. Their D are up and down in the play. They pinch the walls hard. They’ve got a good balance. They’re kind of similar to us where they bring a competitiveness that they rely on to win games. They put a lot of pressure on the puck.”
Troy Terry did not participate in today’s morning skate with his family expecting the birth of their second child. Cronin was unsure if Terry will be available to play tonight. Ross Johnston will draw back into the lineup if Terry is unavailable.
Ducks Projected Lines
Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Brett Leason
Leo Carlsson - Isac Lundeström - Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier - Mason McTavish - Robby Fabbri
Ross Johnston - Jansen Harkins - Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Brian Dumoulin - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Drew Helleson
John Gibson (confirmed)
Flames Projected Lines
Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospíšil
Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich - Connor Zary - Jakob Pelletier
Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Andrei Kuzmenko
Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley - MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal
Dustin Wolf (confirmed)