Ducks at Canucks
Two teams with big question marks face off Saturday night as the Anaheim Ducks visit the Vancouver Canucks in the regular-season opener for both clubs. Vancouver raises the curtain on the 2012-13 season with injuries to a pair of key forwards and a major trade piece still in the fold. The Ducks aren't much better off as they head into the campaign with two of their top players facing uncertain futures.
The pressure to succeed will be intense in Vancouver, where the Canucks advanced to Game 7 of the finals two seasons ago but were bounced in the first round of the postseason by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings last year. The Ducks missed out on the playoffs last season, finishing a disappointing 13th in the Western Conference thanks to an abysmal showing away from Anaheim.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports West (Anaheim), CBC (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (2011-12: 34-36-12, 5th Pacific Division): This could be the final year for the current core of the Anaheim offense. Teemu Selanne, the league's greybeard at 42, may be playing his last season - though head coach Bruce Boudreau says the Finn is still in phenomenal shape and hasn't yet confirmed his plans beyond 2013. Of greater concern is the pending restricted free agency of forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Anaheim will need to get creative in order to afford them, and may seek to trade one or both of them if the club receives a decent offer. Getzlaf is looking to erase the memories of a difficult 2011-12 that saw him score just 11 goals.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (2011-12: 51-22-9, 1st Northwest Division): With the sting of its five-game loss to the eighth-seeded Kings still fresh, Vancouver is forced to open the season without forwards Ryan Kesler (shoulder/wrist, out indefinitely) and David Booth (groin, 4-to-6 weeks). To complicate matters, the extended offseason came and went without a trade for in-limbo netminder Roberto Luongo, meaning he'll begin the season with the club even though both sides have made it clear his future is not in Vancouver. With projected backup netminder Eddie Lack (groin) not expected back right away, Luongo will back up anointed starter Cory Schneider until his long-awaited deal is consummated.
OVERTIME
1. The teams split four meetings last season.
2. Vancouver signed D Alex Edler on Friday to a six-year deal worth $30 million; Edler was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
3. Despite being drafted in 1988 - the same year Getzlaf and Perry turned 3 - Selanne led the Ducks in scoring last season with 66 points.
PREDICTION: Canucks 3, Ducks 2