The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Montréal Canadiens.
Trade deadline frenzy hit the Ducks late Thursday night as they acquired defenseman John Carlson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for two draft picks. Carlson is unavailable for Friday's game against the Canadiens as he makes his way across the country, but his addition bolsters the Ducks' blue line as they prepare for their first playoff run in eight years.
"He's a veteran guy," head coach Joel Quenneville said. "Important piece to the Capitals for a long time of his career. Veteran leader." Offensively, (he) sees plays, makes plays. Got a good shot. Defensively, he's reliable as well. Gives us a great presence on the backend and some experience. Can help our power play as well."
Carlson will wear his trademark No. 74, with fellow defenseman Ian Moore switching to No. 3. Moore said he wore the number when he was with the Chicago Steel in the USHL and was more than happy to make the switch for Carlson.
With a game still to be played on Friday night post-trade deadline, Quenneville said that the Canadiens are comparable to the New York Islanders––who the Ducks just played––with their style of play.
"They're fast, they're quick. They're around the puck," Quenneville said. "They try to out-man you. They work hard. They've got some discipline to their game, systematically, so it's going to be a hard game. There's not going to be a lot of room out there." They've got a good (defensive) gap. We liked our last game, and we want to make sure we try to extend it from last game to tonight."
Mikael Granlund (upper-body) participated in Friday's morning skate but was not part of line rushes. Quenneville said that he could "maybe be ready for Sunday." Troy Terry is dealing with the same upper-body injury that he had previously, per Quenneville. Terry has not skated with the team since Feb. 26.
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider - Leo Carlsson - Cutter Gauthier
Alex Killorn - Mason McTavish - Beckett Sennecke
Jeff Viel - Ryan Poehling - Frank Vatrano
Ross Johnston - Tim Washe - Jansen Harkins
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba
Olen Zellweger - Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov - Ian Moore
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Canadiens Projected Lines
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovský
Alex Newhook - Oliver Kapanen - Ivan Demidov
Zack Bolduc - Jake Evans - Kirby Dach
Josh Anderson - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Lane Hutson - Noah Dobson
Mike Matheson - Kaiden Guhle
Jayden Struble - Alexandre Carrier
Jakub Dobeš (projected)