Avalanche at Ducks
Many believe the Anaheim Ducks will contend for the Stanley Cup, while those same "experts" wonder whether the Colorado Avalanche will qualify for the tournament. Expectations may vary between the clubs, but one similarity is evident as Anaheim hosts Colorado on Friday: Both teams are off to poor starts.
"We can't play like this,'' Avalanche coach Patrick Roy told reporters after Colorado fell into a five-goal hole en route to a 6-2 loss to previously winless Boston on Wednesday that wrapped up a 1-2-0 season-opening homestand. "If we want to make the playoffs, this is not the type of performance we need.'' The Ducks are winless (0-2-1) after an eye-popping 4-0 loss to Arizona on Wednesday that left captain Ryan Getzlaf perplexed."We just have to wake up," Getzlaf told reporters. "We’re playing like a team not playing for anything right now. It’s about accountability throughout this locker room." Anaheim has scored one goal this season and is 0-for-6 on the power play while the Avalanche have totaled 12 tallies - four by captain Gabriel Landeskog - and is a league-best 5-for-10 with the man advantage.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), Prime Ticket, FSN San Diego (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (1-2-0): Landeskog and John Mitchell (three goals) both have scored in every game, while defenseman Erik Johnson and Jarome Iginla (591 career goals) have recorded two tallies apiece. "Just getting pucks to the net and my teammates driving to the net and creating space for me and just those things," Mitchell, who scored a career-best 12 goals during his rookie season with Toronto in 2006-07, told reporters. "I'm happy they are going in, but obviously I would like to win first." Semyon Varlamov (1-2-0, 5.07 goals-against average, .841 save percentage) was pulled in favor of backup Reto Berra after permitting five goals on 19 shots versus Boston, and will remain on the bench as Roy said Berra will start against Anaheim as Colorado begins a stretch in which it plays 17 of the next 24 on the road.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (0-2-1): Coach Bruce Boudreau tinkered with his lines during the first two games, separating Getzlaf and former Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry, but putting the band back together - mostly with left wing Patrick Maroon - did little to ignite the offense versus the Coyotes. Defenseman Clayton Stoner (lower body) missed Wednesday's game and is questionable to play Friday. Frederik Andersen is expected to start in goal after backup Anton Khudobin allowed three tallies on eight shots in 12:53 and was lifted during his Anaheim debut Wednesday.
OVERTIME
1. D Francois Beauchemin, who has notched five assists in his first three games with the Avalanche, played nine seasons with the Ducks (2006-09, 2011-15) and won the Stanley Cup in 2007.
2. Mitchell's three-game scoring streak is the first of his career.
3. Anaheim won the 2014-15 season series 2-1-0, earning four points to Colorado's three, and has captured four of the last five meetings - two in overtime.