Blue Jackets at Ducks
THE STORY: The Ducks had a golden opportunity to continue their climb toward playoff contention, but Dallas had other ideas with a 6-2 victory at Anaheim on Wednesday. The Ducks will have an excellent chance to quickly put that debacle behind them when they host the NHL’s worst team – the Columbus Blue Jackets – on Friday. Anaheim is 12 points out of playoff position, a big improvement from its 21-point deficit on Jan. 7. The Blue Jackets have lost in every way imaginable, with their last two covering both ends of the spectrum. Columbus was routed 6-0 at San Jose on Tuesday and lost at Los Angeles 3-2 on Wednesday when Drew Doughty scored with four-tenths of a second left. Controversy continues to swirl around the finish as the Staples Center clock inexplicably stopped for about a second with 1.8 seconds to go.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), FS Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (13-32-6): Columbus has a goal differential of minus-55, the worst in the NHL by 26. The Blue Jackets also own the worst penalty-killing unit, which has yielded eight goals in 21 chances during their six-game winless streak (0-5-1). Center Jeff Carter was activated Thursday after missing 10 games with a shoulder separation suffered in a 7-4 loss at Anaheim on Jan. 8.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (19-24-7): The eighth-place team in the West qualified for the playoffs last season with 97 points, which means Anaheim needs 52 in its last 32 games. The Ducks are 9-2-1 in their last 12, but the two came against Dallas, arguably the best team among the five they would have to pass in the standings. Also, Anaheim plays 18 of its final 32 games on the road, where its six wins only top Columbus.
OVERTIME:
1. The Ducks have won three of the last four meetings, including 7-4 in the last encounter on the strength of a Corey Perry hat trick.
2. Perry and teammate Ryan Getzlaf haven’t recorded a point in their last four and three games, respectively.