The Ducks are back on home ice tonight for one of the final times this season, tonight hosting the division rival Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center.
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Anaheim tonight looks to bounce back from an unsuccessful two-game road trip, which saw a 4-1 loss in Calgary and a 6-2 defeat Saturday afternoon in Vancouver. The Ducks went ahead first less than two minutes into the game in the loss to the Canucks, but would surrender five goals late in the first period in a span of less than five minutes, ultimately digging much too deep a hole for any comeback hopes.
“It didn't feel like we weren't ready to play,” forward Troy Terry said. “They were determined, they were playing simple, they were just shooting pucks at the net and it felt like every time they shot a puck, they were getting a stick on it in front. I think they were just beating us to our net and maybe we weren't ready for that to start, and it cost us.”
Terry's opening goal in Vancouver marked a bright spot on an otherwise long afternoon, as the two-time All-Star winger became just the fifth player in franchise history with four straight 20-goal seasons.
"It's been a rollercoaster of a year in a lot of ways for me," Terry said. "I'm proud of a lot of things I've done this year. It was a bit challenging to get [number 20] for a little bit. I'm trying to stick with it. Was nice to see it go in."
The Ducks now sit at 33-35-8 on the season with six games left to play, five against teams currently in a playoff position. Anaheim will need a 4-2-0 mark in those games to end the year with a .500 record.
Meanwhile, Edmonton enters play Monday night on the doorstep of a clinching a playoff berth but with some key players still sidelined by injuries - including both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers are 2-4-0 on the season with both players out of the lineup, including a 3-0 shutout loss to the Kings on Saturday.
“It’s one of those games where we were there,” Edmonton forward and former Duck Corey Perry told NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “We just didn’t create a whole lot. And they play hard in the D-zone, and they take those second opportunities away from you. When you get that one chance, you got to make it count...You take two of the best players in the world, you take ‘em out of our lineup, I mean, it is what it is. They’re the best players in the world for a reason. We had some chances. We couldn’t sustain pressure.”
Edmonton is also missing goaltender Stuart Skinner and defensemen Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg, but did welcome back recent trade acquisition Trent Frederic, who made his club debut against the Kings.
"I thought he played really well," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "There was a little re-evaluation just finding out how he's feeling, and then he continued to play after that. His minutes were a little bit lower [Saturday], but when he was on the ice, I loved his game."
The Ducks have earned wins in two of the three meetings with the Oilers so far this season. Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier lead Anaheim in scoring, each collecting five points in those three contests, while Mason McTavish has netted three goals. McDavid, Draisaitl and defenseman Evan Bouchard have scored six of the Oilers’ eight goals in the series thus far.
Edmonton (44-27-5, 93 points) is third in the Pacific Division.
