Ducks at Blue Jackets
The Anaheim Ducks kicked off the season with four consecutive losses away from home but will hope for better results this time when they open a three-game road trip at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night. Anaheim has won three of four overall and is coming off impressive home wins over Arizona and Calgary.
"This league’s all about trying to string things together," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "Every time you win one, you want to put it back to back. We’ve done that now and we got to go out on the road and get some wins now." Anaheim could get a boost with the impending return of defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who finally obtained his work visa -- a delay attributed to his contract stalemate at the beginning of the season. Columbus carries a four-game point streak into Wednesday's matchup after dropping a 2-1 overtime decision at St. Louis on Saturday. The Blue Jackets had won their previous three games, capped by a record-setting 10-0 bludgeoning of Montreal.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (6-5-2): Getzlaf returned to the lineup following a two-game injury absence with a flourish, setting up three goals in Sunday's 4-1 victory over Calgary. That boosted Getzlaf's career total to 331 assists, tying former teammate Teemu Selanne for No. 1 in franchise history. "He's well aware of it. He bugs me, are you kidding me?" Getzlaf said of Selanne. "Those things are a natural progression and hopefully they continue. Being up there with Tee is a big honor for me."
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (5-3-2): The 10-goal outburst 24 hours earlier notwithstanding, coach John Tortorella was not happy with the effort level in St. Louis while lauding captain Nick Foligno for brawling with the Blues' Ryan Reaves. "I did not see enough of that from our top guys," Tortorella said. "Not all our top guys, but a couple of top guys." Tortorella did not name names, but it became clearer at practice with whom he was upset, dropping Brandon Saad from the second to fourth line.
OVERTIME
1. Getzlaf has 12 goals and 42 points in 35 games versus Columbus.
2. The Blue Jackets are 13-for-13 on the penalty kill in the last four contests.
3. Anaheim is 9-for-21 on the power play over the last six games.