Game 73: Ducks & Devils Meet, Both Battling To Make The Playoffs

Photo: NHL YouTube

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks(36-24-12) finish their homestand against the New Jersey Devils(37-26-8). The game starts at 6:00 PM PT and will be on Prime Ticket locally and AM 830.

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Anaheim Outlook:

The Ducks have earned back-to-back wins, but are in a four-way tie with Dallas, Colorado, and Los Angeles. The bad news for Anaheim is they only have 32 ROW(Regulation or Overtime Wins). Dallas has 34 and Colorado and LA both have 37. The Ducks do play all three of those teams and if Anaheim can win out the rest of the season, then they will make the playoffs. The Ducks would have 104 points and even if Dallas and LA won the rest of their other games they would only have 102 points.

Keys To The Game

The Ducks got some balanced scoring in the game against Detroit which each line scoring a goal. Anaheim also got really physical and emotional in the win over the Red Wings. Corey Perry, Nick Ritchie, and Ryan Kesler each got into a fight and scored a goal. The Ducks need to build on that game to finish the final 10 games of the season strong.

Anaheim’s Projected Lineup:

Offense
Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie – Adam Henrique – Ondrej Kase
Jason Chimera – Derek Grant – Chris Kelly

Defense
Cam Fowler  – Brandon Montour
Hampus Lindholm – Josh Manson
Francois Beauchemin  – Marcus Pettersson

In Net
John Gibson 27-17-6, GAA 2.47, SV% .926 (Unconfirmed)

New Jersey Outlook:

The Devils, like the Ducks, are fighting for their playoff lives. New Jersey is currently holding down the second wild-card spot with 82 points. They did help the Ducks last night by beating Los Angeles Kings 3-0. Taylor Hall leads the team with 31 goals and Kyle Palmieri has 19.

Keys To The Game

The Devils just need a repeat performance of last night’s game against Los Angeles. New Jersey built an early 2-0 lead and they also keep the Kings power play at bay, which had six chances last night and couldn’t convert. The Devils also blocked 22 shots, which they will look to do again tonight against the Ducks.

New Jersey Projected Lineup:

Offense
Taylor Hall – Travis Zajac – Kyle Palmieri
Michael Grabner – Nico Hischier – Brian Gibbons
Patrick Maroon – Blake Coleman – Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood – Brian Boyle – Drew Stafford

Defense
Andy Greene – Sami Vatanen
John Moore – Damon Severson
Will Butcher – Ben Lovejoy

In Net
Keith Kinkaid 19-9-2 GAA 2.85, SV% .910 (Confirmed)

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March 18th, 2018