Preview: Ducks Battle Blues on Saturday Night at Honda Center

The Ducks are nearing the end of the second-longest homestand in franchise history, tonight hosting the St. Louis Blues at Honda Center.
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Anaheim will look for a bounce-back performance tonight after suffering its fourth loss in the last five games Thursday night against Winnipeg. The Ducks scored first on a milestone moment for defenseman Cam Fowler, but could not hold on against yet another desprate Western Conference playoff contender.
"It was a playoff hungry team over there," Kevin Shattenkirk said. "I thought our intensity picked up right along with it...It was just nice to see that bounce-back after last game, a game where we looked pretty lackluster, and to see guys fight, battle a little more and enjoy it.
"We obviously don't have the playoff race in our minds, hut any time we can create those situations and be in tight games, I think it's a good thing for us."
Fowler gave the Ducks the night's first lead with a point shot through traffic, setting a new career high in points (10-33=43). The 13th-year Duck has 17 points in his last 18 games, sixth-most among all NHL defensemen in that span.

"I think he's been tremendous," Shattenkirk said. "He's been the leader on the back end, for sure. He takes a lot of pride in his game in the defensive zone and obviously knows what his role is as an offensive defenseman. It's been great to
see."
"He's been unbelievable," agreed head coach Dallas Eakins. "It's really interesting when you think about Cam's year. I'm super proud of him. I hope he's proud of himself to have a career year in a year like this. Especially for a guy, points wise, he had a rough start. I think he had one point in his first 15 games, and he's been able to turn it on and have a career year in the point department. He does a lot of things for us, and especially now he carries a lot of ice time. He's a leader in our dressing room. He basically does it all, so we're real proud of Cam."
The only defenseman in club history to record 400 points as a Duck, Fowler is also one assist and two goals shy of career bests in those categories.

"He's someone who I kind of grew up with in the league, someone who I watched play and became great friends with along the way," Shattenkirk said with a big smile. "I love when you can't count the old dogs out. They keep breaking their marks. I'm just super happy for him."
Another bright spot for Anaheim Thursday was the continued success of its second power-play unit, which scored for the second straight game and the third time in its last five.
"That's been fun for us," Shattenkirk said. "I think we've just prided ourselves on keeping things simple. Even tonight, Max [Jones] comes in and fits in well. We didn't try to do anything too fancy. I think that's what's worked for us. The main focal point is Frank [Vatrano] and trying to get him in any sort of situation where he can shoot the puck. Adding Derek [Grant] in that front has been enormous. His presence has been fantastic. We're working hard and trying to at least create momentum for our team."

"They're all on the same page," Eakins added. "They're sticking to the plan that's been drawn out for them, being very simple and moving the puck quick. It's the power plays in this league that don't have to be complicated and you don't have to be overly skilled. They're doing a lot of things right now."
The Ducks will take on a Blues team that has drifted out of the playoff race and will all but certainly miss the postseason for the first time in five years.
St. Louis won both matchups against Anaheim earlier this season, sweeping a rare two-game set back in November in eastern Missouri.
"We just did not have it," Eakins said after one of those setbacks. "We had one player compete in the first period, and that was the goaltender. It wasn't until the third period that we got our [stuff] together. I think that makes us even more angry as a group, that why now? It's basically too late. ... Every night in this league is a hard one. You are never, ever going to get an easy one."
Since then, the Blues have undergone significant changes to their roster, most notably the trades of two veteran forwards, longtime Blue Vladimir Tarasenko and now former captain Ryan O'Reilly.
Tarasenko, a first-round pick in 2010, played his first 644 games as a Blue and left St. Louis fifth all-time in scoring and goals. Tarasenko was traded to the New York Rangers. O'Reilly, maybe the key catalyst of the Blues' 2019 Stanley Cup championship after arriving in a trade from Buffalo earlier that season, was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite the turnover, the Blues have earned points in four straight games (3-0-1) after a 4-3 win in Detroit two nights ago.
"We're doing a lot of good things," Blues coach Craig Berube told NHL.com's Dave Hogg. "We need to keep building from here.
"We've talked a lot about shooting more pucks from outside and getting a screen in front. We get [Toropchenko's] goal, then we get a tipped goal off a screen, and then we get a rebound goal off a screen. That's good stuff."
St. Louis (32-33-6, 70 points) is sixth in the Central Division, 15 points back of the second Western Conference Wild Card spot.