Game 33: Vancouver vs Anaheim

Vancouver(14-15-2) at Anaheim(17-9-6) 

Pregame Show: DucksNPucks Podcast

TV: 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, Bally Sports West

Radio & Post Game Show: KLAA AM 830

Anaheim Outlook

The Ducks are finally back in action after about two weeks off. Anaheim’s last game was against Arizona on December 17th. The Ducks played a wild game against the Coyotes, which eventually went to overtime and a shootout. Anaheim ended up losing 6-5.

The NHL postponed several games leading up to Christmas due to the rise in positive COVID tests. The Ducks road trip in Canada will be rescheduled sometime in February. The Ducks were supposed to play the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks.

The league was going to resume after Christmas on December 27th, but they decided to postpone the games on that day. The Ducks were supposed to play the Sharks on Monday. Anaheim will now have four games to makeup in February.

The NHL made a few decisions in response to this situation. First, the league plans to reschedule the postponed games in February when the Olympic break was scheduled. As a result, the league has opted out of having the players participate in the Olympics.

The league also brought back the Taxi Squad at least until the All-Star break in an effort to expand rosters and give teams more options to have a full lineup on game day. Additionally, the NHL has shortened the isolation period to 5 days. The updated protocol can be found here: New Isolation Rules.

The Ducks are in second place in the Pacific Division with 40 points and are two points behind Vegas. Anaheim continues to thrive on special teams. The Ducks are 26.7% efficient on the power play, which ranks 4th in the league. Their penalty kill is 85.5% efficient, which is 4th in the NHL.

Troy Terry leads the team in scoring with 18 goals.

Roster Moves:

The Ducks added Lukas Dostal, Bryce Kindopp, Jacob Larsson, Vinni Lettieri, Greg Pateryn, and Buddy Robinson to the taxi squad yesterday. Kindopp, Larsson, Lettieri, and Robinson were added to the roster today. Danny O’Regan was later added to the taxi squad.

Injury/COVID News:

Trevor Zegras, Max Comtois, and Sam Steel are all currently in the COVID protocol. None of them are experiencing any symptoms according to Head Coach Dallas Eakins. Per a team source, the new 5 day isolation rule does apply to Comtois, Steel, and Zegras. If all goes well Steel could return for Friday’s game in Las Vegas. Comtois could return on Sunday and Zegras on Tuesday.

Josh Mahura remains on the IR with an upper-body injury. He is listed as week-to-week.

Adam Henrique has an lower-body injury and remains on the IR.

Max Jones had surgery to repair a pectoralis major tendon tear and will be out for 4-6 months. He is also in the COVID protocol per Head Coach Dallas Eakins.

The Ducks currently only have 12 forwards available as listed below in the projected lineup. Kindopp won’t get in the lineup, so the Ducks will go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen with Jacob Larsson being the 7th d-man.

Projected Lineup 

Offense:
Sonny Milano – Isac Lundestrom – Rickard Rakell
Vinni Lettieri – Ryan Getzlaf– Troy Terry
Derek Grant – Sam Carrick –  Jakob Silfverberg
Nicolas Deslauriers – Buddy Robinson

Defense:
Hampus Lindholm – Jamie Drysdale
Cam Fowler – Josh Manson
Simon Benoit – Kevin Shattenkirk
Jacob Larsson

In Net:
John Gibson 11-7-5 GAA 2.71 SV% .913(Confirmed)

Vancouver Outlook

The Canucks are on a six game winning streak with Bruce Boudreau as their new coach. Vancouver is in 7th place in the Pacific Division. They have gone 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Brock Boeser and Phillip Di Giuseppe were added to the COVID protocol today.

Vancouver averages 2.52 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league. They give up 2.87 goals against on average. On the power play they are 19.6% efficient, which ranks 15th in the league. They are last in the league on the penalty kill at 67.0% efficiency.

J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat lead the team in scoring with 10 goals each.

Projected Lineup

Offense
Jason Dickinson – Bo Horvat – Nils Hoglander
Tanner Pearson – J.T. Miller – Conor Garland
Justin Dowling – Elias Pettersson – Vasily Podkolzin
Tyler Motte – Juho Lammikko – Alex Chiasson

Defense
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Tyler Myers
Quinn Hughes – Tucker Poolman
Brad Hunt – Luke Schenn

Goalie
Thatcher Demko 13-11-1, GAA 2.63, SV% .919 (Confirmed)

Listen to our hockey podcast by clicking below or visit us at Podomatic, Rumble, Spreaker, or YouTube.

Support us by becoming a DucksNPucks patron! Members can win game tickets, Ducks gear, and more!

Want to start your sports media career? Then Join The Puck Network!

DucksNPucks is part of The Puck Network, which covers the entire NHL. There are openings to cover your favorite team(s) and earn school credits! If you are interested, then apply by filling out the form here: Join Our Team. What are you waiting for? Start your sports media career TODAY!

December 29th, 2021