The Anaheim Ducks, holding a 26-21-3 record, will aim for their sixth consecutive victory as they visit the Seattle Kraken (22-18-9) on Friday night. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Victory+ and KCOP-13.
Anaheim secured its fifth straight win on Wednesday by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in a shootout. Jeffrey Viel contributed his second goal in as many games since joining the Ducks, while goaltender Lukas Dostal made 40 saves and stopped both of Colorado’s shootout attempts, earning his fourth consecutive win.
“The guys did a hell of a job in the defense, honestly,” Dostal said. “They allowed me to see pucks. Whenever there was a crossing pass, we know they play like that, so I was just trying to make sure that I’m aware of five guys on the ice that play against me and it worked out well today.”
Tonight’s contest marks the beginning of six straight games against Pacific Division opponents for Anaheim ahead of the Winter Olympic break. The Ducks and Kraken will meet twice during this stretch, concluding their four-game regular season series. Currently, Anaheim leads Seattle by two points in the divisional standings.
Head coach Joel Quenneville confirmed that Dostal will start in goal again for Anaheim, making it his sixth appearance in seven games. Quenneville cited Dostal’s current form as the reason for maintaining him as starter: “I think that we gotta take care of business here,” Quenneville said about facing Seattle. “I think that no matter what the situation is, I think he would be getting these starts with the momentum that he has right now. It’s a good opportunity for him to get back in there.”
Seattle recently ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. Matty Beniers leads Seattle with 32 points; Jordan Eberle has scored 17 goals; Vince Dunn tops assists with 24.
Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas expects a challenging matchup: “They’re a team that makes the other team feel very frustrated about their game,” Gudas said regarding Seattle. “They play a physical game, they have a ton of fast skill guys … I feel like we’re doing the right things out there and it’s been working for us so we’re looking forward to continuing building on what we did the last few games. I think if we can sustain that and if we can stay out of the box against these guys, we can have success tonight.”
Mason McTavish remains sidelined due to an upper-body injury after being scratched from Wednesday’s lineup; Coach Quenneville is hopeful McTavish could return later during this road trip.
