The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
A battle for first place in the Pacific Division commences on Saturday, with the Ducks taking on the Vegas Golden Knights. The Ducks were victorious in the previous matchup in Las Vegas, beating the Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime.
That loss for Vegas was in the midst of an eventual four-game losing streak, but they have won three of their last four games since then and have collected seven points out of a possible eight in that stretch. The Ducks are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and are looking to get back into the win column.
“(Vegas is) a good hockey team,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “The third period there, they really had us in our end there. They do a lot of good things. They're very quick, they're very skilled and they're talented. They see plays, make plays and they’ve got structure. They’re well-rounded in all areas, very meaningful game for us as well.”
“(Their) transition game is excellent,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “A lot of speed, attack-oriented. I thought we played well that night. It was a good hockey game, could have went either way. And now what they're going through is they're not sneaking up on teams anymore, right? People are aware of (Leo) Carlsson and some of their younger players. So, that's their challenge they have in front of them, and we'll be one of those teams now that we've seen them once, right? So hopefully we're up to the task.”
“They defend well,” Frank Vatrano said. “They're a team that thrives off transition. So, for us, don't be stubborn at lines getting in behind them, and try to create offense from below the goal line.”
“Playing hard the first 10 minutes of the game will be huge for us,” Carlsson said. “Shoot everything from the start, too.”
Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov draws back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three consecutive games. Rookie Ian Moore will replace him in the press box.
Report: Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov "Would Like to be Moved if He's Not Going to Play"
“You’ve got seven (defensemen) over a course of the year, everybody's gonna get stretches where you're playing and not playing. You’ve got to make some tough decisions sometimes, and that's where it is. I thought he was making some progress in the start of the year to where you're at today. He was killing penalties, coming off a good game in that area. I just think that offensively, there's something there I think he can add to our game and his game. I think he's been okay.”
Ducks forward Ryan Poehling (upper-body) participated in morning skate for the first time since his injury on Nov. 13. Quenneville said that Poehling could return by next weekend at the earliest. Mikael Granlund remains out with a lower-body injury, he has not yet skated again since re-aggravating his injury against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 13.
Since the last Ducks-Golden Knights matchup, the Golden Knights have lost both forward William Karlsson and defenseman Jérémy Lauzon to injury. Karlsson left that game early with an undisclosed injury and is currently week-to-week. Lauzon is also suffering from an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Ducks Projected Lines
Cutter Gauthier - Leo Carlsson - Beckett Sennecke
Chris Kreider - Mason McTavish - Troy Terry
Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston - Jansen Harkins - Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe - Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Radko Gudas
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Golden Knights Projected Lines
Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Braeden Bowman
Pavel Dorofeyev - Tomáš Hertl - Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad - Brett Howden - Reilly Smith
Cole Reinhardt - Colton Sissons - Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb - Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin - Zach Whitecloud
Ben Hutton - Kaedan Korczak
Akira Schmid (confirmed)