Ducks at Canucks
The Anaheim Ducks own the NHL's best record and have won seven of their last nine games, but that hasn't stopped coach Bruce Boudreau from tinkering with his lines. Anaheim begins a three-game road trip - all against teams in Stanley Cup playoff position - in Vancouver against the Canucks on Monday, and it appears Boudreau will again break up captain Ryan Getzlaf (team-high 61 points) and Corey Perry (club-best 28 goals) in an attempt to get more scoring throughout the lineup. Patrick Maroon and Kyle Palmieri joined Getzlaf at Sunday's practice before the Ducks took flight for British Columbia while Perry skated with Rickard Rakell, Matt Beleskey (injured) and Jiri Sekac.
Anaheim leads Montreal by one point in the race for the Presidents' Cup and Nashville by two for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Canucks, who begin a five-game homestand, sit second in the Pacific - 13 points behind Anaheim - after splitting their last eight games (4-3-1), and their standing is precarious as they lead fellow division members Calgary by one, Los Angeles by three and San Jose by four after Saturday's 3-2 victory over the Sharks. "It was a four-point game," Radim Vrbata told reporters after scoring twice in San Jose, raising his team-high total to 25. "... Overall it was a big effort, especially in this building."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN West (Anaheim), SNET Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (42-18-7): Anaheim is about to get healthier as Beleskey (upper body), and defensemen Sami Vatanen (lower body) and James Wisniewski (foot) practiced Sunday and could be back in the lineup this week. Frederik Andersen (30-9-8, .915 save percentage, 2.38 goals-against average) has split two games since missing 10 with a head injury and will play a big role down the stretch if the Ducks are to maintain their lofty perch in the standings. Anaheim is 0-for-12 on the power play in its last seven games and 1-for-21 in its last 12 as Boudreau told reporters the unit "hasn’t been working to the coaches’ specifications."
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (37-24-4): Eddie Lack (9-8-3, .918, 2.52) is 3-1-1, .930, 2.41 in seven games and keeping Vancouver above water since taking over for Ryan Miller, who is out with a lower-body injury. The Canucks, who play 11 of their final 17 games at home, meet the Kings on Thursday before playing three teams out of the postseason picture - Toronto, Philadelphia and Columbus. "I just know that playoffs are on the line, and it doesn't matter who we play," coach Willie Desjardins told reporters after Saturday's game. "We have to play like this every night, and if we do we'll get some wins and if we don't, we won't."
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim LW Tomas Fleischmann has a goal and an assist in three games since being acquired from Florida at the trade deadline.
2. Two of the top four teams in one-goal games square off as the Ducks are an NHL-best 26-0-7 - the only club without a loss - while Vancouver is 18-3-4.
3. Anaheim has won three straight meetings and nine of the last 10, including a 4-0 victory in Vancouver on Jan. 27 as Andersen made 17 saves.