Preview: Ducks Ring in New Year Tonight vs. Devils

The Ducks will celebrate the New Year tonight on home ice, hosting the New Jersey Devils at Honda Center.

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Anaheim plays its final game of 2024 looking to build on a resilient 5-3 comeback win Sunday over Edmonton, ending the Oilers' four-game point streak. The Ducks erased a 3-1 deficit on goals by Drew Helleson and Robby Fabbri, outshooting the Oilers 17-8 in the second period, and would then go ahead late in the third when Ryan Strome shoveled a wraparound attempt just barely over the goal line.

"We talked about timely scoring and we got it," Strome said. "I think there were really good contributions up and down the lineup. We had the defense pitching offensively and [Mason McTavish’s] line was great. I thought the penalty kill was great. I thought at times our power play looked a little bit more threatening.

"We just got the timely scoring. Some great plays at great times. I think the key thing for us is that every time we seem to play these good teams lately, I think last year we would’ve probably lost that game 5-0 or something like that. It feels like this year we are going toe-to-toe with these teams whether it is Colorado, Winnipeg, or now these guys. I know it is only December, but I think it is a really good sign that we are playing them straight up and down and competing."

While Strome delivered the decisive goal with just over two minutes to play, the McTavish, Fabbri and Cutter Gauthier line was again the focal point of the Anaheim attack - continuing a strong initial stretch from the newly united trio.

"McTavish and that line have been driving our team since the Montreal game when they got put together," head coach Greg Cronin said. "Strome's line was driving the team...And they have a different dynamic because they were out there against McDavid [on Sunday] and they've been a hybrid checking line that generates offense, but McTavish's line has been playing really well. Mac-T, I thought, was dominant at times. He was dominant on the faceoff dot. When a centerman is going like that, it's easy for the wings to mirror that speed and that tenacity."

Anaheim could welcome John Gibson back to the lineup Tuesday after the veteran goaltender missed both of the weekend's game due to an illness. The Ducks reassigned goaltender Calle Clang to the San Diego Gulls yesterday.

Meanwhile the visitor tonight comes with the best record in the Eastern Conference, a Devils team with points in seven of their last ten games and a 12-6-0 road mark. New Jersey split a home-and-home set with Carolina over the weekend, claiming a 4-2 victory on home ice before falling 5-2 in Raleigh the following night.

“There were just moments in the third period we did not manage well at all,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe told NHL.com's Wes Crosby on Saturday. “We’ve got the lead on the road, we’re in a great spot. We give it right back to them right away. It’s little things like that.”

New Jersey claimed a 6-2 victory in the season's first meeting between the teams, back in October at Prudential Center, behind a four-goal second period.

"We didn't stop the cycle game and were porous through the neutral zone," Cronin said that night. "That's a fast team. They get it wheeling and they attack the zone. If you don't stop it, it's going to be a long night."

New Jersey (24-12-3, 51 points) leads the Metropolitan Division.