Ducks at Oilers
THE STORY: The Anaheim Ducks simply can't buy a win on the road. After collecting three straight triumphs to put some distance between itself and the Western Conference basement, Bruce Boudreau's troops traveled to Alberta looking to make some hay in Cow Town. A physical encounter on Thursday resulted in the Ducks dropping a 1-0 overtime decision to the Calgary Flames and falling to 3-10-6 on the road this season. Jonas Hiller returned after missing a contest with a lower-body injury and turned aside 18 shots. Jeff Deslauriers, who was drafted by the Oilers in 2002, may be between the pipes against his former team. While Anaheim has played rather sickly on the road as of late, it seems to find the cure in Edmonton. The Ducks have defeated the Oilers seven straight times at Rexall Place. Back to the present, the Oilers dropped their fourth straight game overall and 11th in 13 contests (2-10-1) with a 2-1 overtime setback to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSPT, RSW
ABOUT THE DUCKS (13-22-7): Teemu Selanne is certainly a classy guy. The 41-year-old Finn, who was originally selected for his 11th career All-Star Game, lobbied that teammate Corey Perry was more deserving of the nomination. Selanne contended that the reigning Hart Trophy winner should represent the Ducks. "The MVP should be there," Selanne said. "It's better this way. Obviously we have an MVP on our team. It's better that Perry goes. Perry was MVP last year and it's important that he's there." Selanne said his aching body would also welcome some rest during the All-Star break.
ABOUT THE OILERS (16-22-4): Leading scorer Jordan Eberle is the latest Edmonton player to be bitten by the injury bug after he took an innocent-looking spill in Dallas. Eberle, who tied his career high of 43 points from last year, is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks with a knee injury. Top overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was named to the All-Star team on Thursday, is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
OVERTIME:
1. What a difference a season makes. In 2010-11, Ducks D Toni Lydman finished with a career-best plus-32 rating. Thus far this campaign, Lydman is a minus-12.
2. Edmonton coach Tom Renney welcomed back LW Magnus Paajarvi following his 10-game stretch with Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League. "Maybe you need to hit a home run in a Little League park before you swing for the fences at Yankee Stadium," Renney said of Paajarvi being sent down to the AHL to regain his confidence.