Reports out of Alberta's capital suggest John Gibson getting the start tonight, which would mark his third consecutive game between the pipes for Anaheim. Gibson (8-7-3) was stellar in a career-tying 39-save effort in Anaheim's 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, and followed it up with a strong 27-save performance in a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
It also appears right wing Jared Boll draws back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past two games. He'll likely replace forward Chris Wagner.
Cam Talbot will make his eighth consecutive start for Edmonton tonight. The 29-year-old enters tonight's game with a 12-9-2 record, including a 22-save victory two nights ago in Edmonton's 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. He did, however, give up all four goals in Anaheim's 4-1 victory on November 15 at Honda Center.
The big news out of Edmonton this morning was the injury to defenseman Darnell Nurse, who head coach Todd McLellan says will be out for some time. Nurse, a physical, in-your-face d-man, suffered the injury in Edmonton's game against the Jets. "He's a very important part of our group that we'll be missing long term," said McLellan. "We'll know more after today or tomorrow."
Replacing Nurse will be veteran blueliner Mark Fayne, who last played on October 18 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Fayne only played 2:27 in that game before leaving due to injury.
Keep an Eye on…
Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. Earlier today, McLellan said the trio is "one of the top lines in the league" for its ability to neutralize the opposition while also producing offense.
Tonight's assignment is shutting down Connor McDavid, who enters the ring with 15 points (6g/9a) over a current seven-game point streak. McDavid had assists on three of the club's six goals on Thursday and sits atop the NHL with 34 points (11g/23a) through 25 games. The 19-year-old was held off the scoresheet in the first meeting of the season between these two clubs, and has just one assist in four career games against Anaheim.
"All three of us work hard," said Silfverberg. "We know where each other is. We play a lot with the puck. Even though we're playing against the other team's top lines, we're getting in on the forecheck and winning puck battles. We're making those guys play defense, and a lot of times that's not their biggest strength."
Something to Keep in Mind
This season, the Ducks are 5-0-0 against Canadian teams, 7-1-1 against Pacific Division opponents and 10-0-0 when leading after two periods.
Potential Line Combinations
Anaheim
Rakell-Getzlaf-Perry
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Ritchie-Vermette-Kase
Garbutt-Shaw-Boll
Fowler-Vatanen
Lindholm-Manson
Theodore-Bieksa
Gibson
Bernier
Edmonton
Lucic-McDavid-Draisaitl
Pouliot-Nugent-Hopkins-Eberle
Slepyshev-Caggiula-Pitlick
Maroon-Letestu-Kassian
Sekera-Benning
Klefbom-Fayne
Russell-Larsson
Talbot
Gustavsson
