Preview: Ducks Begin Five-Game Gauntlet Against Predators

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The Anaheim Ducks came out flat after a relatively quiet trade deadline, falling 2-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night. They’ll get a chance to validate general manager Bob Murray’s confidence in them on Tuesday night as they face the suddenly burgeoning Nashville Predators.

Nashville, a popular Stanley Cup Final pick in the preseason, struggled to live up to those lofty expectations in the early going.  The narrative has changed as of late, re-igniting some of that preseason fervor.

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The Predators have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, thanks in large part to the white-hot production of Filip Forsberg, who’s notched 11 goals and 17 points in his last 13 games. That includes a stretch where he registered two natural hat tricks within a six-game stretch.

For the Ducks, a matchup against Nashville represents the first in what will be a difficult five-game stretch including Chicago, Washington and St. Louis twice. Anaheim has struggled as of late, embodied in the fact that they haven’t won consecutive games since mid-January.

A strong showing against a gauntlet of quality teams would go a long way to easing some angst in Anaheim, and perhaps propel them into a strong sprint to the finish line.

Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks

TV Broadcast Channels: PT25, FST

Radio Broadcast Channels: AM 830, 102.5

Nashville Predators: 32-24-9, 73 points

Road Record: 13-16-2

Hot Players: Filip Forsberg

Key Injuries: Miikka Salomaki, Ryan Ellis

Forwards

Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson

Kevin Fiala – Mike Fisher – Craig Smith

Colin Wilson – Calle Jarnkrok – James Neal

Cody McLeod – Vernon Fiddler – Austin Watson

Defense

Mattias Ekholm – PK Subban

Roman Josi – Matt Irwin

Anthony Bitetto – Yannick Weber

Goaltender

Pekka Rinne (likely)

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Anaheim Ducks: 33-22-10, 76 points

Home Record: 20-8-3

Hot Players: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Getzlaf

Key Injuries: Simon Despres (LTIR), John Gibson, Clayton Stoner 

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Andrew Cogliano-Ryan Kesler-Jakob Silfverberg

Patrick Eaves-Ryan Getzlaf-Ondrej Kase

Nick Ritchie-Rickard Rakell-Corey Perry

Logan Shaw-Nate Thompson-Jared Boll

Defense

Cam Fowler-Kevin Bieksa

Hampus Lindholm-Josh Manson

Sami Vatanen-Brandon Montour

Goaltender

Jonathan Bernier (likely)

Game Notes

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] Clayton Stoner, once thought to be a potential trade chip for Murray at the deadline, has suffered a setback in his return from an abdominal injury.

Stoner, once the butt of many a joke, has turned himself into a decently reliable defenseman, posting some surprisingly solid possession numbers in the last two seasons.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] John Gibson’s return to the Anaheim net remains at least a few games away. Randy Carlyle is learning what he has in Jonathan Bernier in the meantime, and the results aren’t staggering.

Though Bernier only allowed two goals against Vancouver, both were of the head-scratching variety. A bobbled save led to the first goal, while wrist shot right through the five-hole led to the second.

The 28-year-old Quebec native has to elevate his game if he hopes to cement his NHL career past the current campaign, as he’s currently sitting on an unimpressive .905 save percentage.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] After a lackluster start to the season, Nashville is beginning to look like the team that many expected them to be before it began.

Their shot metrics have been registering in the league’s top 10 in the last 25 games, which can bode very well for the postseason.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]4)[/miptheme_dropcap] Much of the preseason excitement around Nashville’s roster was centered around their blue line, and they certainly haven’t disappointed in that regard.

They may be down one excellent puck-mover in Ryan Ellis on Tuesday though, as he suffered a lower-body injury in Montreal last Thursday.

The Ducks just can’t seem to string wins together as of late, while goals have also been hard to come by. The going won’t get any easier in the next five games, but maybe they show an ability to rise to the level of competition against Nashville on Tuesday night. That’s a big maybe.