Devils at Ducks
The New Jersey Devils are jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race while the Anaheim Ducks are fighting for their postseason lives in the West. New Jersey attempts to improve its standing and remain perfect on its six-game road trip when it visits Anaheim on Sunday.
The Devils sit in the second wild-card spot in the East but are just one point behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division with one game in hand. They kept pace in the race on Saturday by improving to 3-0-0 on their trek with a 3-0 triumph in Los Angeles. The Ducks are even in points with the Kings, Colorado and Dallas in the West but find themselves out of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining. Anaheim has posted back-to-back victories after losing three straight and is 9-1-2 in its last 12 at Honda Center as it concludes a four-game homestand during which it is 2-1-0.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FS West (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (37-26-8): Keith Kinkaid put on quite the performance in his 100th NHL appearance on Saturday, turning aside 38 shots en route to the fourth shutout of his career - two of which have come against Los Angeles. New Jersey shares the league lead with 10 short-handed goals after Michael Grabner scored for just the second time in 10 games since being acquired from the New York Rangers on Feb. 22. Taylor Hall, who leads the team with 76 points and is four shy of matching his career high, has been kept off the scoresheet in three of his last four games after notching a point in 26 consecutive contests.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (36-24-12): Rickard Rakell, who leads the club with 60 points, is three assists shy of 100 in the NHL. The 24-year-old Swede is riding a 13-game point streak against Eastern Conference opponents during which he has collected 10 goals and 10 assists. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm needs two assists to reach 100 for his career and is one goal away from setting a new career high of 11.
OVERTIME
1. Devils D John Moore has gone 12 games without a point and is two shy of 100 for his career.
2. The Ducks are 33-for-35 on the penalty kill over their last 13 overall contests and 31-for-31 at home since Jan. 23.
3. New Jersey LW Patrick Maroon, who began his career with Anaheim, missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.