Preview: Ducks Battle the Bolts Tonight at Honda Center

The Ducks will defend home ice tonight for the first time in 2025, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Honda Center.

PUCK DROP: 5 P.M. | WATCH: VICTORY+ / FOX PLUS (KCOP-13) | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER | GET TICKETS

Anaheim returns home after splitting a two-game trip to Winnipeg and Edmonton, rallying for a dramatic comeback win overe the first-place Jets before suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to the Oilers on a late goal the following night.

“It’s a long season and we’re always taking the view that it’s a process," head coach Greg Cronin said. "We have to keep staying in the process, trust the structure, trust each other. The leadership group is doing a really good job of reinforcing the messages. I think in the second period [Friday against Edmonton], we got out of our structure a bit and we ended up losing the game in terms of the momentum in the game.

“And I think in the third we got back to it. If you just play that way every night you’re going to give yourself the best chance to win.”

Added defenseman Jackson LaCombe, whose third-period equalizer helped Anaheim nearly complete yet another two-goal deficit, "“I thought we played well, it’s a great team we played against and the second of a back-to-back is tough, especially against Winnipeg in the first game. I thought our team did a great job battling all night...We kind of slowed down in the second, but I thought we picked it up in the third and it was a close game."

The last-minute defeat snapped Anaheim's three-game winning streak and dropped the club to 16-18-4 on the season, sixth in the Pacific Division by point percentage (.474).

“There is no quit in this group," said winger Brett Leason. "I think we have a lot of third-period comebacks and it just shows that everybody is going to fight. Obviously, they got one late and we couldn’t do it [Friday], but we competed hard, and we were a few bounces from winning that game."

Anaheim now welcomes a hungry Tampa Bay team to town, a visitor looking to snap a three-game losing streak extended by last night's 2-1 loss to the Kings. LA broke a tied score late in the third period off an offensive zone turnover, nullifying what the Bolts felt like was a well-played road game.

“It’s unfortunate, because you look at the totality of the game, and we couldn’t have played a better road game than what we played,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “To come out with zero points, it’s frustrating because this was a game, whoever was going to crack first was probably going to lose, and unfortunately we cracked, and it’s too bad because I think the boys deserved a better fate.”

The Lightning (20-14-2, 42 points) sit fourth in the Atlantic Divison, but third by point percentage (.583).