Rangers at Ducks
The league-leading Anaheim Ducks look to pick up where they left off as they continue their season-high eight-game homestand against the surging New York Rangers on Wednesday. Corey Perry scored his first goal since returning from a knee injury as Anaheim skated to a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville on Sunday to improve to 12-3-1 in its last 16 contests. The former Hart Trophy winner tallied in both the Ducks' 6-0 victory over the Rangers on Oct. 10, 2013 and a 2-1 triumph the following month to increase his total to five goals and four assists in 10 career meetings.
While Anaheim leads the league with 58 points, New York has won two in a row and 10 of 11 to make its presence felt in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers scored three power-play goals and four times overall in the first period en route to a 6-1 rout of Buffalo on Saturday before heading west to begin a three-game road trip against the California contingent. "This is a great challenge, and it's a real good time for it, too," center Dominic Moore said of New York's trek that includes a Stanley Cup final rematch against Los Angeles on Thursday and a date with San Jose two days later.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (21-11-4): Henrik Lundqvist owns a sparkling 1.68 goals-against average while posting wins in nine of his last 10 starts, but he has struggled mightily versus Anaheim with a 3-4-1 record and 2.71 GAA. The Swedish Olympian is expected to watch Cam Talbot get the call when the Rangers face the Kings for the first time since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final at Staples Center. "I'm real anxious to see how we're going to respond," coach Alain Vigneault said of the daunting road trip. "I think as a group and as a team, we've been getting better and our game is getting better, and it's a perfect time for us to show it."
ABOUT THE DUCKS (26-9-6): Captain Ryan Getzlaf has recorded 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in his last 17 games to seize the team lead with 44. Getzlaf's 13 tallies are four shy of Matt Beleskey, who doesn't seem intent on relinquishing that advantage after scoring twice in as many games. Frederik Andersen owns an impressive 12-4-2 mark at home and stopped 32-of-33 shots in his lone career meeting with New York.
OVERTIME
1. New York assigned LW Anthony Duclair to the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Tuesday. The 19-year-old scored four goals and set up four others at the World Junior Championship for his native Canada after collecting a tally and six assists in 18 games with the Rangers.
2. Anaheim is a blistering 20-0-6 in one-goal games this season and is the only NHL club without a regulation loss in such contests.
3. New York's John Moore will replace fellow D Matt Hunwick in the lineup, the team said on Tuesday.