The Ducks will kick off a three-game road trip with a trip to the Show-Me State, tonight facing off with the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
PUCK DROP: 5 P.M. PT | WHERE TO WATCH | AUDIO: DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Tonight’s game, originally scheduled for 3 p.m. PT, will instead begin at 5 p.m. PT as a result of Blues travel issues last night in Minnesota.
The Ducks begin the trip looking to build on a 2-1 win over the Predators Friday night at Honda Center, a stingy defense effort backstopped by Lukas Dostal’s 28 saves and goals by Troy Terry and Alex Killorn.
“You could tell right away it was going to be gritty,” Terry said. “It felt like we were trying to get each other going and were maybe a little disjointed. We tried to just limit their opportunities. We weren’t as sharp with the puck, but we hung in there. And I can’t not mention Dostal. He was unbelievable.”
Highlights from Anaheim’s 2-1 win over Nashville at Honda Center.
“I thought we did a really good job coming back when they tied it and the game could’ve gone either way at that point,” head coach Greg Cronin said. “We responded well. That, to me, is the reflection of a team that believes in themselves.”
The win was Dostal’s 20th of the season, making him the seventh goaltender in Ducks franchise history to reach that milestone. Dostal has earned victories in nine of his last 14 games (9-4-1) and is tied for second among NHL leaders in wins since the start of February.
“Obviously this stretch has been tough,” Dostal said. “But this is a huge win, because the boys really pulled together. I think in the third Nashville had a push, they’re an experienced team with veteran guys, but I think we held our ground and it’s important for the group and our growth, for sure.”
“He’s been great,” Killorn added. “It’s not often you see young goalies that are as consistent as he’s been…He’s stepped up and he’s played great for us, and he keeps us in every single game, so it’s been really special to watch.”
Cronin on Anaheim’s win over Nashville, play of Isac Lundestrom’s line
The win pushed Anaheim to 29-30-7 on the season, still eight points back of the final Western Conference Wild Card berth after Vancouver’s 6-2 win over Chicago last night.
The Ducks now meet the Blues for the second time in nine days, tonight hoping to avenge a narrow 4-3 defeat last week at Honda Center. The Ducks twice rallied late in the third period that night to pull within one, and nearly tied the game in the dying seconds of regulation, only to come a half-second short of forcing overtime.
“[Anaheim] is playing good hockey over there,” St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn said that night. “You may look in the standings and see them a little bit below, but they come at you fast, they have a lot of young talent and they played us hard. I didn’t think it was our best game from goal line to goal line, but we found a way.”
Since the victory in Orange County, the Blues have skated to a 1-1-1 mark, including a 5-1 win last night over the Wild. The club will honor Schenn with a pregame ceremony tonight in honor of his 1,000th NHL game.
St. Louis (32-28-7, 71 points) sits fifth in the Central Division, two points back of a Wild Card spot.
