At the Rink: Canadiens at Ducks

ANAHEIM -- Center Brian Flynn and right wing Torrey Mitchell will make their debuts for the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday when they play the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.

Mitchell and Flynn skated with left wing Brandon Prust on a new-look fourth line at the morning skate after they were acquired from the Buffalo Sabres prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday. Mitchell and Flynn played on a line together for about half the season.

"For them, it's a plus that they know each other," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "But we went through a lot of things the last two days with those guys, regarding system-wise and the structure. There's a few things that we do a little bit different, and they've got to get used to that, and it's going to take some time."

Mitchell, from Greenfield Park, Quebec, is invigorated by the move to the Eastern Conference's top team and going back to his hometown.

"Anxious, a little nervous and just excited," Mitchell said. "It's going to be a lot of emotions, a lot family and friends watching from home, so hopefully I'll put out a good product."

Right wing Devante Smith-Pelly will play Anaheim for the first time since he was traded for left wing Jiri Sekac on Feb. 24. Smith-Pelly was seen as one of Anaheim's better young prospects, and he didn't see the trade coming.

"I think my ice time from one game to the other was about a 15-minute difference, so I think that was maybe an indication, but I didn't think it would happen literally the next night," Smith-Pelly said. "I guess you've got to be ready for this time of year.

"I've never been through it at all, ever in my life, at any point in my career. It was a little different. It's been a tough week, but I'm enjoying myself, and this is a good team to come to."

The Ducks are 6-1-0 in their past seven games and the Canadiens are on a 9-2-2 run. Anaheim re-tooled nearly a quarter of its roster before the deadline to help it adapt against different styles, and Montreal presents a challenge of speed.

"I think it will be a great test for us," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They're really quick, but they've also got great structure in their game, and they've got a pretty good goalie. It's going to be a great test. From goalie, defense to forwards, they're pretty strong."

Right wing Tim Jackman will be out 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury, the Ducks announced. That leaves them with less physicality on the fourth line. But Sekac brings a new element of skill, and he said Anaheim's style fits his.

"Our team is way more offensive that the Habs," Sekac said. "[The Canadiens are] a lot more defensive team than the offensive team. It gives me more confidence in here."

Sekac elaborated more on why it didn't work in Montreal.

"It was hard," he said. "I was playing as a defensive forward. I was playing all the defensive faceoffs. It doesn't seem like that, but it sucks a lot of energy out of you. When you want to put some energy into the offense, you just don't have any left. It's just harder to play in Montreal because the team is very defensive. It's just the way they play."

Anaheim has outscored its opponents 17-3 in the third period the past seven games.

Here are the projected lineups:

CANADIENS

Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Brendan Gallagher

Alex Galchenyuk – Tomas Plekanec – Lars Eller

Dale Weise - Jacob De La Rose – Devante Smith-Pelly

Brandon Prust – Brian Flynn – Torrey Mitchell

Andrei Markov – P.K. Subban

Jeff Petry – Sergei Gonchar

Tom Gilbert – Nathan Beaulieu

Carey Price

Dustin Tokarski

Scratched: Mike Weaver, Manny Malhotra, PA Parenteau

Injured: Alexei Emelin (shoulder)

DUCKS

Kyle Palmieri – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry

Tomas Fleischmann – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg

Patrick Maroon – Nate Thompson – Andrew Cogliano

Jiri Sekac – Rickard Rakell – Emerson Etem

Cam Fowler – Simon Despres

Hampus Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin

Clayton Stoner – Josh Manson

John Gibson

Frederik Andersen

Scratched: Chris Wagner

Injured: James Wisniewski (foot), Korbinian Holzer (upper body), Matt Beleskey (shoulder), Sami Vatanen (lower body), Tim Jackman (lower body)

Status report: Price will start after he had his four-game win streak ended Monday. … Gibson will make his first appearance against Montreal, after Andersen played Tuesday in a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes. … The Ducks had an optional skate, and Boudreau had said he would likely use the same lineup, besides Gibson. … Beleskey and Vatanen skated and Boudreau said Vatanen is about two weeks away and Beleskey could return sooner.

Who's hot: Subban has a goal and three assists in his past three games. Desharnais has two goals and an assist in his past three games. … Silfverberg had his first career three-point game Tuesday. Cogliano had his eighth career multigoal game.