Predators at Ducks
THE STORY: Goal-scoring has been a rare struggle for the normally prolific Anaheim Ducks so far this season. Shaking out of their offensive doldrums Wednesday night isn't going to be easy as they entertain Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators. Rinne has already stymied the Ducks once this season, turning aside all 20 shots he faced on the way to a 3-0 victory back on Oct. 29. He received a seven-year, $49-million extension shortly after that game, and has been his usual steady self in the early portion of the season. The Ducks have dropped five straight and eight of nine following a solid start, and are in danger of falling out of the race in the Western Conference before the calendar flips to December. Nashville is coming off a subpar performance in a 4-3 loss to the host Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. The Predators' tilt against Anaheim marks the end of a five-game road trip during which they've gone 2-1-1.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network Canada, Fox Sports Tennessee, Prime Ticket
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (7-5-2): Goals are beginning to come more easily for the club after a slow start in that area. Nashville has scored at least three goals in six consecutive games after being held below that total in their previous six contests. Patric Hornqvist has been the catalyst for Nashville's offensive explosion, scoring in each of the last six games after being held off the scoresheet in his first seven games. It's the longest goal streak of his four-year NHL career.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (5-6-3): Aside from a four-goal outburst against Washington at the beginning of the month, Anaheim has been held to one or zero goals in every game during its losing skid. Things have become so bad that normally mild-mannered forward Teemu Selanne picked up a misconduct and game misconduct in Saturday's 5-0 loss to the Red Wings. Selanne, who leads the Ducks with 14 points in 14 games, was thrown out for shouting at officials from the penalty box.
OVERTIME:
1. Selanne's rare burst of frustration bumped him to 30 penalty minutes for the season. He has just 600 in 1,273 career NHL games, and never more than 82 in a campaign.
2. Expect Rinne to face the Ducks after backup Anders Lindback played Tuesday in Los Angeles. Rinne is 7-2-2 with a 1.95 goals-against average and two shutouts against Anaheim.