Senators at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators are well out of playoff position, but the two young teams have been playing the spoiler role quite well of late as they prepare to test each other Tuesday night in southern California. Ottawa has won four of its last five games, including impressive victories over Vancouver and the New York Islanders, while the Ducks beat Colorado and Toronto recently and are 4-2-1 in their past seven outings.
“They were really good on the bench,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins told reporters after a 5-4 overtime loss to Minnesota on Sunday. “The guys are in the games. They understand the points are big on the other side and they still want the points. … They’re competing hard, which is great to see.” The Ducks, who only have Golden State rivals San Jose and Los Angeles beaten the Western Conference standings, edged the Senators 3-2 in a shootout at Ottawa on Feb. 4 to halt a three-game losing streak in the series. The Senators are second from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but beat the Islanders 4-3 at home Thursday before knocking off San Jose 2-1 on ex-Shark Chris Tierney’s overtime goal Saturday to open a five-game road trip. “I think start to finish we played the way we wanted to, played the right way as a group,” Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson told reporters after the Senators posted 38 shots and forced 12 giveaways.
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, RDS, TSN5
ABOUT THE SENATORS (25-32-12): Forward Jayce Hawryluk, picked up on waivers from Florida last month, has made an impression with one goal and five assists along with a plus-1 rating in nine contests - including his current four-game point streak. Right wing Connor Brown has scored five times in his last seven games to lead the team with 42 points while Brady Tkachuk scored twice in three contests to reach 20 for the second time in his two NHL seasons. Rookie goalie Marcus Hogberg is expected to return to the team after missing three games for personal reasons and will likely split duties with Craig Anderson as the Senators visit Los Angeles on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (28-32-9): Right wing Jakob Silfverberg scored twice in Sunday’s setback to reach 20 goals for the fourth time in five seasons and sits second on the team behind center Adam Henrique. Silfverberg and forward Rickard Rakell have combined for nine points and a plus-10 rating over the past three contests while left wing Sonny Milano boasts two goals along with three assists in seven games since being acquired from Columbus. Veteran Ryan Miller (8-6-4) is likely to get the start in goal with No. 1 goalie John Gibson (20 wins) slowed by a groin injury, and Anthony Stolarz was recalled from AHL San Diego where he is 21-12-6 with a .922 SP.
OVERTIME
1. Tierney has registered a goal and five assists in his last five games, but has not scored in 16 contests versus the Ducks.
2. Anaheim LW Danton Heinen scored his third goal in his seventh game with the team Sunday after being acquired from Boston.
3. The Senators allowed at least one power-play goal in the past six games while the Ducks are 0-for-13 with the man advantage in the past five.