"It's good to be home," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Hopefully we can continue our home home-ice record and our identity on home ice. Tonight's another tough test."
Tightening up on the defensive side of the puck, the Panthers kept their streak alive with a 4-1 win at Nashville in their last outing on Saturday. Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Jonathan Huberdeau and Gustav Forsling all scored, while Spencer Knight turned aside 24 of 25 shots.
In the third period, the Panthers limited the Predators to just five shots on goal.
"I really liked that we were on the right side of the puck a lot of the game in the last game, basically the last five periods," Brunette said. "Carry that over. I still think we can be a little cleaner with the puck. That comes with a bit of fatigue last game. Just get back to our pace."
Cracking the scoresheet in Nashville, Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov each kept their point streaks alive. Huberdeau has tallied eight goals and 12 assists during his career-long, 11-game streak, while Barkov has posted six goals and nine assists during a seven-game run of his own.
Named the NHL's third star of the week on Monday, Huberdeau, who produced seven points (three goals, four assists) in three games last week, ranks second in the league in points (104), first in assists (77), fifth in power-play points (33) and tied for second in shorthanded points (5).
After backing up Knight against the Predators, Sergei Bobrovsky will return to the crease to face the Ducks. Needing one more win to tie Roberto Luongo's franchise-record for wins in a season (35), the two-time Vezina Trophy winner owns a 34-6-3 record behind a .911 save percentage.
"The last couple games here will be just a tune-up for the playoffs," Panthers forward Mason Merchant said of the homestretch. "You can't really let your eye off the prize. Keep playing."
Watching their record dwindle down to 29-33-12, the Ducks have gone 2-11-3 over their last 16 games and enter tonight's matchup on the heels of a tough 5-2 loss at Carolina on Sunday.
Trailing the Hurricanes by a score of 3-2 after the opening period, Jordan Staal found the back of the net twice in the third to complete his hat trick and put the game out of reach for Anaheim.
Since their slump began over a month ago on March 8, the Ducks have been outscored 62-36 while accumulating a league-worst seven points in the standings during that 16-game stretch.
That being said, they still boast a dangerous one-two punch up front in Troy Terry and rookie Trevor Zegras. Terry leads the team in goals (32) and points (58), while Zegras, who has made a name for himself with highlight-reel goals, sits second in points (54) and first in assists (34).
Sharing time between Anaheim's pipes, John Gibson has posted a 17-24-10 record with a .904 save percentage, while Anthony Stolarz owns a record of 11-7-2 with a .920 save percentage.
"They've definitely got some young skill and speed," Marchment said. "We'll have to do a good job, play a full 60 tonight and shut them down."
Recently announcing that he would be hanging up his skates after this season, Ryan Getzlaf, who spent his entire 17-year career with the Ducks, will play his last game in Sunrise tonight.
Helping the Ducks capture the Stanley Cup in 2007, Anaheim's longtime captain has notched 1,013 points (282 goals, 731 assists) in 1,151 career games.
"What he's done throughout his career has been spectacular," Brunette said. "He's been the face of that franchise for a long time. It feels like yesterday he just started. I remember him as a young rookie coming up with Corey Perry. To see what he's done in his career is pretty special."
