Preview: Ducks Back on Home Ice for Duel with First-Place Rangers

The Ducks will head down the California coast for the home half of a weekend back-to-back tonight, facing off with the New York Rangers at Honda Center.

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Anaheim returns to home ice after a frustrating 4-3 loss last night in San Jose. The Ducks limited the Sharks to 19 shots in the setback but a couple of odd-man rushes and failed defensive zone clears would provide San Jose with just enough offense to steal the two standings points.

"It doesn’t matter how many shots you have, it's the quality of the shots," head coach Greg Cronin said. "And we actually had quality shots we didn't take. Give them credit, they did an unbelievable job blocking shots, and they stayed with it.”

"Our detail was a little off," defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. "In some areas, we need to be a lot better. In our defensive zone, we need to watch our coverage and make sure we get back on backchecks."

The night did include a bright spot for the Ducks, when LaCombe was awarded his first NHL goal after a lengthy video review late in the second period.

"I honestly didn't know if it was in or not," LaCombe admitted postgame. "The guys on the bench were saying it was in. I was just waiting and then it was a goal, so I was pretty excited."

The loss, Anaheim's fourth in its last five games, also dropped the club to 15-29-1 on the season.

"It’s a bummer, obviously," LaCombe said. "I thought we played well, and we had a few good chances at the end to tie it up but that didn't happen. So we just got to move on to the next game."

That next game comes tonight against one of the NHL's top teams, a New York Rangers squad fighting to get back on track and keep their spot atop the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers will head south to Orange County themselves today after a tight 2-1 loss to the Kings last night that included an emotional return for goaltender Jonathan Quick. New York has now lost four of its last five games and seen it's divison lead shrink to just two points.

“It’s right there,” New York captain Jacob Trouba told NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “It’s not a matter of not getting the opportunities or getting way outplayed or getting outmatched on the ice. It’s a pretty close game. We’re just not capitalizing, and it’s frustrating, but the only way to get through it is to continue to work.”

“Start was no good, we were outworked,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette added. “They were quicker, they wanted the puck more than we did. I thought the second and third period we turned it around, but in a tight game like that, you give up that goal in the first and can’t get back in.”

The Kings honored Quick during a TV timeout to a standing ovation.

“It’s a hockey game, road game, trying to get two points,” the always intense goaltender said. “Came up a little short.”

New York (28-15-2, 58 points) is tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.