The Ducks (2-1-0) look to hand the Hurricanes (3-0-0) their first loss of the season.
Following a thrilling comeback victory on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ducks look to keep things rolling against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are coming off a 5-1 beatdown of the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Chris Kreider supplied two goals, with both of them coming on the power play. The Ducks had six power plays on Tuesday, the latest coming with 1:34 remaining in the third period. It was during this power play that Kreider scored the game-winning goal.
"It's been good so far," Mikael Granlund said of the power play. "Been able to score some big goals for us. Other than that, we're getting some momentum, getting some chances. They're not always going to go in, but if you keep moving it well and getting some chances, it's going to go in, eventually."
"Seems like we're a little more focused on taking advantage of that opportunity," Olen Zellweger said. "Everything seems a little more sharp and detailed. A little more work-based is what we've kind of been talking about, which is, I think, pretty effective. That's what we're focusing on, outworking the (opposing) penalty kill. I think that gives us some good opportunities, especially when we're up a man."
After Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn served as alternate captains in the first two games of the season, Jackson LaCombe and Mason McTavish found themselves taking on that role for Tuesday's home opener. Head coach Joel Quenneville said that he thinks the franchise has reached a point where the younger players must now become key players and take on some of the leadership responsibilities.
"It's great," Granlund said. "It's a testament to how great players and great people they are. The leadership and passion they bring is awesome and I think everyone notices it."
"It'll be a good test," head coach Joel Quenneville said of tonight's matchup. "They do a lot of things right, they play a real strong structured team game. They have the puck a lot, they're fast, they defend well. We'll be tested every shift out there tonight. We'll find out a lot about our team tonight."
"They're going to be working hard," Granlund said. "They're going to challenge you every single situation. It's going to be a high-paced game. I think everyone knows what to expect. That's a really good team we're going to play against tonight, so it's going to be a good test for us."
Troy Terry missed the morning skate due to a personal issue, but will play tonight. Beckett Sennecke was back on the ice after missing Wednesday's practice due to a maintenance day and will also be in the lineup tonight.
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin did not travel with the team and will miss tonight's game. It's a big loss for the Hurricanes, who will be without their No. 1 defenseman.
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider - Leo Carlsson - Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier - Mason McTavish - Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano - Mikael Granlund - Troy Terry
Ross Johnston - Ryan Poehling - Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Drew Helleson
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Hurricanes Projected Lines
Nikolaj Ehlers - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - William Carrier
Andrei Svechnikov - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson
K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker
Alexander Nikishin - Shayne Gostisbehere
Mike Reilly - Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen (confirmed)