Ducks at Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to build off an inspiring victory when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in a matchup of teams that have not yet lived up to expectations. Valtteri Filppula’s late shorthanded goal gave the injury-plagued Lightning a 2-1 victory over the red-hot New York Rangers on Thursday for only their fourth triumph in 13 games.
“It was nice to get the win against a really good team that’s playing really well right now,” Filppula told reporters. “This should give us some confidence moving forward.” Gritty veteran Ryan Callahan (lower body) practiced Friday and could return to the lineup, which would be beneficial against the physical Ducks. Anaheim, many experts’ favorite for the Stanley Cup, is still recovering from a 1-7-2 first month while gaining points in eight of 10 games in November (6-2-2). Captain Ryan Getzlaf has raised his level of play after a rough start for the Ducks, registering four points in the last three contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket, FSN San Diego (Anaheim), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (7-9-4): Coach Bruce Boudreau went back to Frederik Andersen in goal Thursday after a rough night in Nashville and the Dane rewarded him with 24 saves in a 3-1 victory over Florida. “He’s our No. 1 guy and we got to make sure he plays,” Boudreau told reporters. “I have to show him that I have the utmost confidence in him.” Corey Perry leads the team with five goals and 12 points, despite collecting only one point in the last three games for a Ducks' offense that ranked 29th in the league entering Friday’s game at 1.85 goals per contest.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (9-9-3): Ben Bishop is 2-0-1 in his last three outings after a five-game losing streak, but has been solid throughout while surrendering two or fewer goals in seven of his last eight starts. While Callahan could return, fellow forwards Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin and Cedric Paquette are questionable to go along with Ondrej Palat, who is out a few more weeks. Jonathan Marchessault joined a line with Alex Killorn and Filppula Thursday while captain Steven Stamkos played with Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov.
OVERTIME
1. The Ducks have killed off 90.3 percent of the power plays they have faced – best in the NHL through Thursday’s games.
2. Tampa Bay won both meetings with the Ducks last season and has gained at least a point in nine straight (5-0-4) against them.
3. Anaheim D Cam Fowler has a goal and an assist to go along with a plus-3 rating in the first three contests of a four-game road trip.