Game 74: Ducks Look To Extend Winning Ways
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks(37-24-12) hit the road to take on the Calgary Flames(35-29-10). The game starts at 6:30 PM PT and will be on Prime Ticket locally and AM 830.
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Anaheim Outlook:
After losing three games in a row, the Ducks have now won three in a row. It changes every night, but currently, the Ducks are one point behind Kings and two points behind the Avalanche. Anaheim is in the second wild-card playoff spot. With nine games to go the Ducks could anywhere from second place in the Pacific Division to not making the playoffs.
Josh Manson suffered an upper-body injury in the Ducks last win over New Jersey. He is considered day-to-day and did go with the team on the road trip. The Ducks did recall Andy Welinski as a result. The Ducks also signed Kiefer Sherwood to a two-year entry-level deal. He is currently on an ATO with the San Diego Gulls.
Keys To The Game
The Ducks are getting goals from various lines in their past couple of wins and the defense has been on point. It appears the Ducks will be without Manson tonight, however, which means Welinski or Korbinian Holzer will have to step into some big skates to fill. A regulation win tonight could really push Calgary farther out of the playoff picture and a good start to the game is must for Anaheim to avoid overtime.
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 – Korbinian Holzer
Francois Beauchemin – Marcus Pettersson
In Net
John Gibson 28-17-6, GAA 2.46, SV% .925 (Confirmed)
Calgary Outlook:
The Flames have started to see their playoff hopes slip away. They have gone 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and are currently on a three-game losing streak. They are only six points behind Anaheim, but they only have eight games left to play. Flames are going to need to win most of their remaining games and get some help to make the playoffs.
Keys To The Game
The Flames defense has been getting burned as of late. Calgary has given up 16 goals in just their last three games. They lost 7-4 to San Jose, 4-0 to Vegas, and 5-2 to Arizona. If they want to make a push for the playoffs they need to improve their defense win the next three games because they are against Anaheim, San Jose, and Los Angeles.
Calgary Projected Lineup:
Offense
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Sam Bennett
Michael Frolik – Mikael Backlund – Troy Brouwer
Micheal Ferland – Mark Jankowski – Chris Stewart
Garnet Hathaway – Matt Stajan – Curtis Lazar
Defense
Mark Giordano – Dougie Hamilton
Michael Stone – Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak – Rasmus Andersson
In Net
Mike Smith, 19-9-2 GAA 2.85, SV% .910 (Unconfirmed)
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March 21st, 2018