Ducks at Hurricanes
Anaheim's Nick Ritchie has caught fire since missing the first nine games of the season holding out for a three-year contract at $1.533 million per and not scoring in his first eight contests. The 6-2, 234-pound power forward has all four of his goals in the last four games - three in the past two - as the Ducks hunt for their third straight victory and a winning road trip Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Obviously being a bigger guy I like to get to the front of the net," Ritchie told reporters after scoring his second goal of the game with 1:28 left to give Anaheim a 3-2 victory over Florida on Wednesday. "It's a place where I need to do it on this team. I've done a good job of it the last couple of games and I got rewarded for it." The Ducks and Hurricanes have each won four of their last five games as their seasons continue to mirror each other with fast starts and rough stretches in between. "It's still early, but it's quite a few games into the season, so we're still trying to figure it out, but it's definitely stepping stones in the right direction," Anaheim goaltender John Gibson told reporters. "It's something we can build off of and hopefully carry it throughout the road trip and through Christmas." Carolina is coming off a 2-1 victory at Montreal on Tuesday behind 48 saves from Curtis McElhinney, prompting coach Rod Brind'Amour to tell reporters: "... So now I know how it feels where the goalie just stole the game. And we need that sometimes."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FS Carolinas
ABOUT THE DUCKS (12-10-5): Ondrej Kase has three goals and two assists in his last six games after missing the first 18 contests with a concussion and being held off the scoresheet in his first three games back. Gibson (9-8-4, 2.54 goals-against average, .927 save percentage), who is expected to play his 200th game Friday, made 42 saves Wednesday - the fifth time this season he's stopped 40 or more shots - in winning for the third time in four starts. Defenseman Josh Manson (three goals this season) has scored in the last two games while Ryan Getzlaf (team-high 18 points), Adam Henrique and Pontus Aberg share the club lead in goals with six apiece.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (12-9-3): McElhinney (7-2-0, 2.12, .930) has allowed five goals in winning his last four games and with Petr Mrazek also in tow, Scott Darling (2-4-1, 3.14, .892) was placed on waivers Thursday. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk's second goal of the season was the difference Tuesday and Victor Rask scored his first goal in his fourth game after missing the first 20 contests of the campaign with a hand injury. Sebastian Aho (team-high 25 points) and Teuvo Teravainen (18) have been kept off the scoresheet in their last two games while Micheal Ferland (club-most 11 goals, 15 points) hasn't recorded a point in three contests.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim has allowed seven goals in 18 short-handed situations over their last six games while Carolina is 10-for-10 on the penalty kill over the past five.
2. Prior to their recent successes, the Ducks followed a 5-1-1 start with a 3-8-4 stretch while the Hurricanes went 4-0-1 and 4-8-2.
3. Anaheim has won four straight meetings, including two in shootouts, and has also won the last four encounters in Raleigh, N.C.