LAS VEGAS – The Anaheim Ducks are riding a five-game winning streak, coming off a rollercoaster 7-5 win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday. The Ducks are currently first in the Pacific Division and could potentially find themselves at the top of the Western Conference with a win and a Colorado Avalanche loss.
The Ducks lead the league in goals per game (4.15) and are currently the only team in the league scoring four or more goals per game. They’ve gotten contributions across the board, from rookies Ian Moore and Beckett Sennecke to versatile forwards Nikita Nesterenko and Ryan Poehling.
“It’s amazing,” Poehling said. “I think a lot of these young guys on our team, even the ones that have played in the NHL already, are so talented with the puck and they’re quick learners, too. Defensively, you can trust them. Offensively, you just let them go. It’s a ton of fun to watch guys who are so young have so much success. They’re great guys, too. It’s a fun team to be a part of and I’ve enjoyed watching them grow through this process.”
“I think we just have some momentum,” Sennecke said. “All our guys have a lot of confidence right now and every game we play, we’re scoring a lot of goals. It’s giving a lot of guys a lot of confidence to make plays, and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Golden Knights are just two points back of the Ducks after falling 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner have been the offensive catalysts for the Golden Knights with 21 and 17 points, respectively. Marner joined the team this past offseason after nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Just the way they’re structured (makes them so good),” Poehling said. “They’ve got big defensemen, a lot of skilled forwards, and they play the right way. They have top-end talent, and they have guys that are good at their role. It’s honestly just a complete team, and it’s been that way for a few years now.”
“You’ve got to play a complete game,” Quenneville said. “They’re very skilled and very quick. They play in five-man units. Seems like they’re all in play and good position, so you’ve got to earn everything you get. We’ve got to play sounder, we’ve got to be disciplined and expect to get a real good test in all areas tonight.”
With a back-to-back this weekend against Vegas (road) and the Winnipeg Jets (home), Petr Mrázek will start his third game of the season. Despite a 5.52 GAA and .831 SV%, Mrázek is 2-0-0 thanks to sublime goal support––Anaheim has scored seven goals in both of his appearances.
Quenneville said that Ryan Strome (upper-body, IR), who joined the team on this two-game road trip participated in both morning skates, is getting “very close to consideration to playing” against the Jets. Per Quenneville, Mikael Granlund (lower-body) and Radko Gudas (lower-body) are also close to returning from injury.
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider – Leo Carlsson – Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier – Mason McTavish – Beckett Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko – Ryan Poehling – Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston – Jansen Harkins – Frank Vatrano
Jackson LaCombe – Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger – Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov – Ian Moore
Petr Mrázek (confirmed)
Golden Knights Projected Lines
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad – Tomáš Hertl – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Cole Reinhardt – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin – Zach Whitecloud
Jérémy Lauzon – Kaedan Korczak
Akira Schmid (confirmed)
