Canucks at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have picked the wrong time to hit a lull, dropping out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference in the wake of a three-game losing streak. Anaheim faces a welcome opponent to get back on track against when it resumes a four-game homestand against the skidding Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
The Ducks were on a nine-game point streak at home prior to Monday's 4-2 loss to St. Louis, which dropped them below the top eight teams in the West and behind third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division. “Everything we’re doing is mental mistakes,” captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “It’s not anything to do with physical fatigue. We’re working and doing things. We’re skating. It’s the mental errors that aren’t allowing us to continue our success.” Anaheim has won its last three meetings by a combined 13-2 margin over Vancouver, which has lost all four games since rookie sensation Brock Boeser suffered a back injury. The Canucks have been shut out in back-to-back contests and managed only three goals during the four-game slide since Boeser was lost for at least a month.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (25-36-9): The absence of 29-goal scorer Boeser has stalled the offense and coach Travis Green acknowledged the team's psyche has been dented by the lack of scoring. "It's going to weigh on them," Green said. "Wasn't too long ago where we were scoring and sprinkling them around a little bit. Again, you play a game, you reset and you get back at it." Daniel Sedin has cooled off with one assist in the last five games and has failed to notch a point in eight straight versus Anaheim.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (34-24-12): Anaheim has scored five times during the three-game slide and one of the players mired in a deep freeze is forward Ondrej Kase, who has been held off the scoresheet in 10 straight contests following a stretch in which he pumped in six goals in seven games. “The season is long so it’s going up and down,” said Kase, who has 17 goals in his second season. “We need to go up again.” Getzlaf is riding a six-game point streak, collecting a pair of goals and 11 assists in that span.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks leading goal scorer Rickard Rakell has a goal and four assists in two meetings versus Vancouver this season.
2. The Canucks are 0-for-7 with the man advantage over the last five games.
3. Anaheim has not allowed a power-play goal in 10 of the last 11 games.