Canucks at Ducks
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks wrap up their six-game road trip Friday when they take on the struggling Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. Vancouver improved to 3-2-0 on its trek Thursday as it scored three first-period goals against the Los Angeles Kings and held on for a 3-2 victory. The Canucks scored twice on the power play to improve to 10-for-26 with the man advantage during their road trip. Anaheim is looking to halt its six-game losing streak. The Ducks went 1-3-3 on a seven-game road trip before dropping a 4-2 decision at home to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Anaheim is 2-1-2 in its last five meetings with Vancouver and has won six of the last 10.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (8-7-1): Defenseman Kevin Bieksa was on the receiving end of an elbow by Los Angeles' Trevor Lewis just over three minutes into the first period of Thursday's win over the Kings. The incident left Bieksa spitting up blood and sent him to the locker room, but he returned to start the second period and did not miss a shift thereafter.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (5-7-3): Anaheim added depth up front Thursday when it claimed Ben Maxwell off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. The 23-year old appeared in four games with the Jets, recording a minus-2 rating and one shot on goal. Maxwell has registered one goal, one assist and 17 penalty minutes in 36 career contests with the Montreal Canadiens and the Jets franchise. The Ducks have scored a Western Conference-low 29 goals this season and are one tally ahead of the New York Islanders for the fewest in the NHL.
OVERTIME:
1. The Ducks are just 1-for-17 on the power play over their last six contests.
2. Four of the last five games between the Canucks and Ducks have been decided by just one goal.