Preview: Ducks at Blues

[December 14, 2017]  The Anaheim Ducks had their struggles on a recent six-game trip and now head out on another six-game trek that will carry them into the Christmas break. Coming off a 2-0-1 homestand, the Ducks will face five teams from the Metropolitan Division after opening the road trip against the Western Conference leading St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

Injury-ravaged Anaheim welcomed back captain Ryan Getzlaf from a 19-game absence on Monday, only to see leading scorer Corey Perry hurt in the same game. "It’s just hard watching your teammates go down but you have to continue to improve and push forward," Ducks forward Cam Fowler said. "This is a big part of our schedule, this road trip coming up. We’re going to learn a lot about ourselves.” The Blues had a four-game winning streak snapped in a 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night in a showdown between the teams with the two best records in the NHL. Despite owning the best record in the West, St. Louis is 3-4-0 in its last seven games at home, including a 3-2 defeat to Anaheim on Nov. 30.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

ABOUT THE DUCKS (13-11-7): The latest blow for Anaheim was an injury to the lower right leg of Perry, who will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. "When you see him, it’s not like he’s limping. He’s not on crutches or anything," coach Randy Carlyle said Tuesday. “He’s in the weight room this morning. That’s a great sign. But to give you a more definitive time frame, probably in a week or so.” Carlyle did note that center Ryan Kesler, who has yet to play this season, and defenseman Hampus Lindholm will accompany the team on the road trip.

 

ABOUT THE BLUES (21-9-2): St. Louis also is missing some key players, with second-leading scorer Jaden Schwartz expected to miss up to six weeks and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on injured reserve after taking a puck off the foot. Fellow blue-liner Jay Bouwmeester also sat out Tuesday's game for what coach Mike Yeo termed a "nagging" injury. "You wish they were in your lineup but that's the way it goes," netminder Jake Allen said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves and people won't feel sorry for us because we're missing three of our top players."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Allen took the loss in the Nov. 30 setback to the Ducks, but he is 5-2-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average versus Anaheim.

2. Getzlaf, who has been sidelined since Oct. 29 before returning Monday, has 34 points in 37 games against St. Louis.

3. Blues F Kyle Brodziak had two goals against Anaheim last night but has failed to hit the scoresheet in seven games since.

PREDICTION: Blues 3, Ducks 2

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