Anaheim and Carolina are two of the top three teams in offensive zone time this season, but something will have to give as the perennial Eastern Conference contending Hurricanes bring their unbeaten record to Honda Center.
GAME 3: Anaheim Ducks (2-1-0, 4 PTS) vs Carolina Hurricanes (3-0-0, 6 PTS)
When: Thursday, 7 p.m. Pacific
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Local TV: FOX-Plus KCOP 13, Victory+
Radio: Ducks Stream
Line: CAR -1.5
O/U: 6.5
Starting Goaltenders: Ducks - Lukáš Dostál; Hurricanes - Frederik Andersen
Injuries: Ducks - Ryan Strome (IR, upper-body), Jansen Harkins (IR, upper-body); Hurricanes - Jaccob Slavin (out, lower-body), Pyotr Kochetkov (IR, lower-body)
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The first major test for Joel Quenneville’s new club storms into Orange County on Thursday, as the unbeaten Carolina Hurricanes match up with the Anaheim Ducks.
Carolina has been a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference with its signature brand of up-tempo, high-pressure hockey under head coach Rod Brind’Amour. They’ll provide a measuring stick for Anaheim, who has found early success with its own fast-paced, hard-working style.
“It'll be a good test,” Quenneville said. “They’re a good hockey team. They do a lot of things right. They play real strong structured team game. They have the puck a lot, they're fast, they defend well. So we'll be tested every shift out there tonight, and we'll find out a lot about our team tonight.”
According to the NHL’S EDGE analytics, the Ducks and Hurricanes are two of the top teams in the entire league through three games in offensive zone time. Carolina leads the league playing 46.3% of the time in the offensive zone, and the Ducks are just a percentage point behind second-place Ottawa at 44.4%.
Something will have to give between these two forward-leaning teams, and Quenneville said it’ll be imperative to grab an early lead. The Ducks have allowed the first goal in all three games thus far, including 2-0 deficits in each of the last two games.
“They're frustrating to play against when they do get a lead on you,” Quenneville said. “You open it up and they'll make you pay a price, so let's make sure that that doesn't occur tonight. They're very handy in playing the right way when they do get a lead, but they play the right way no matter what time of the game it is. So that’s the test tonight. It's almost like every shift's going to have some meaning.”
One way for Anaheim to get ahead early would be to take advantage of its own hot power play. The Ducks have two power play goals in each of the last two games, including three by Chris Kreider, to sit at second in the NHL with a 36.4% conversion rate.
Mikael Granlund has been on the right flank of Anaheim’s top extra man unit, and he said the power play form changes depending on the penalty kill in front of them. Pittsburgh played more passive, which allowed more movement for the Ducks, but Carolina, as they do all over the ice, is a puck-pressure group.
“We're gonna see you complete a different PK tonight. It's going to be a different challenge for us,” Granlund said. “Tonight, there's going to be a lot of pressure all over the ice. We got to move the puck quick, support each other. There's going to be a different test every single night, and it's going to be a good one tonight.”
Anaheim and Carolina split the season series last year with both teams winning on the road. The Ducks are 4-2-0 against the Hurricanes in the last three seasons.
Projected Ducks Line-Up:
Chris Kreider-Leo Carlsson-Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier-Mason McTavish-Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano-Mikael Granlund-Troy Terry
Ross Johnston-Ryan Poehling-Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe-Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger-Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov-Drew Helleson
Lukáš Dostál
Petr Mrázek
Projected Ducks Scratches: Sam Colangelo
Category: General Sports
