Ducks at Red Wings
With his team mired in a franchise-record 11-game losing streak, Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray felt compelled to address the growing speculation that there will be a change behind the bench. Whether a vote of confidence for coach Randy Carlyle makes any difference remains to be seen for the Ducks, who visit the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
"At this time, I am not considering a coaching change," Murray said after Anaheim dropped a 4-3 overtime decision at Winnipeg on Sunday night in the opener of a five-game road trip. "I am more focused on our players, specifically with who is going to step up in this situation." Turning things around will not be easy given the current schedule -- the Ducks play nine of their next 10 away from home sandwiching the All-Star break. The Red Wings have been in a spiral of their own, losing three straight and 13 of 15 (2-10-3) before easing to a 5-2 victory at Minnesota on Saturday. "When you do the simple things and play together as a unit and team out there, good things happen," Detroit defenseman Mike Green said.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FS Detroit
ABOUT THE DUCKS (19-18-9): While Murray is sticking with Carlyle, he started to address his roster by making a trade Monday, sending veteran forward Andrew Cogliano to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Devin Shore. Neither player has produced much this season -- Cogliano scored his third goal Sunday and has 11 points while Shore has five tallies and 17 points -- but Shore is seven years younger than the 31-year-old Cogliano. "We were trying to get younger, obviously, but we're also looking for people with a little bit more creativity because we're not scoring enough goals," Murray said.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (17-23-7): Forward Todd Bertuzzi had scored only once in 18 games before breaking out in a big way by recording his first career hat trick as part of an eight-point night with linemates Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist. "I love playing with them," Bertuzzi said. "I think we have some good chemistry. We've played a lot of good games that we've been together and we're building off each other and we're still learning." Detroit could be getting some more help along the blue line as Danny DeKeyser, sidelined the past 19 games due to a hand injury, is on track to rejoin the lineup.
OVERTIME
1. Larkin has 22 points in his last 20 games.
2. Ducks F Rickard Rakell, a 34-goal scorer last season, had a goal Sunday in his third game since missing more than a month.
3. Red Wings G Jimmy Howard is 10-6-3 with three shutouts against Anaheim.