After two games on the road, the Anaheim Ducks return to Honda Center to face the Mammoth in the first of a three-game home series. The game is scheduled for 7:22 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
The Ducks recently split their two-game road trip but ended with a 4-1 victory over St. Louis on Monday, marking their first win against the Blues since December 2021. Goals were scored by Pavel Mintyukov, Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, and Chris Kreider. Both McTavish and Kreider have extended their point streaks to four games each, while Carlsson is now on a seven-game point streak.
Head coach Joel Quenneville announced that Ryan Strome will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. Quenneville explained his decision: “(Ryan Poehling) came back in our lineup and really helped us down the middle with some speed,” Quenneville said. “We’re looking for pace. I think at the same time, it’s a tough situation scratching guys like that, it’s not easy. But at the same time, we had a good conversation and we’re going to keep ourselves ready knowing we do have some depth in the middle.”
The last meeting between these teams was on November 17 when Anaheim won 3-2 in overtime. They are set to meet again in Utah in March for their final regular season matchup.
With goaltenders Lukas Dostal and Petr Mrazek expected to be out for two to three weeks due to injury, Ville Husso will start tonight’s game against Utah according to Quenneville. He commented on having depth at goaltender: “Organizationally, we feel very fortunate to have the depth we do at the department,” Quenneville said. “You got two periods in the summer when everyone’s looking for the third goalie because you know during the course of the season and during playoff time, they become very important to your team and sometimes end up being the guy. Here, we’re seeing (Husso) at an early part of our season. It’s an important stretch for us and I thought he delivered a couple great games for us right off the bat.”
The Mammoth enter this contest amid a four-game losing streak after falling 6-3 to San Jose on Monday during their six-game road trip. Logan Cooley leads Utah with 14 goals and 23 points; Mikhail Sergachev and Clayton Keller both have 14 assists.
Ducks forward Troy Terry spoke about preparing for Utah: “They’ve got some forwards that can really make you pay if you turn the puck over against them,” Terry said. “For us, we want to play fast and not let them get set in their controlled and speed game. Limit their puck touches off the rush … and just try to play in their end. I think that’s where we’re most successful against them.”
