Tonight is the first of a back-to-back with the Wild, who have already clinched a playoff berth by virtue of securing a top 4 spot in the Honda West division. The Wild (33-14-5) still have something to vie for in their remaining four games, as they sit one point back of Colorado for second in the division.
GAMECENTER
Anaheim enters tonight with wins in five of its last eight road games (5-3-0) and is 7-4-0 the last 11. That includes a satisfying 3-2 shootout victory Wednesday night in St. Louis, an emotional night for veteran David Backes. The 37-year-old is likely to retire after this season, making that game likely his last in St. Louis, where he played his first 10 NHL seasons and was the Blues captain for five of those.
"To be back where it all started, to be in a building where I spent so many nights honing my craft and doing what I love to do, in a city that I absolutely love, if you gave me a blank sheet of paper and said, 'How do you want to end your career?' This might have been second to hoisting the Stanley Cup," Backes said. "That's not always a reality, but this is pretty amazing."
Said Ducks coach Dallas Eakins, "Our guys came to play. Our guys were really upbeat on the bench, really supporting each other and got the outcome we wanted. The overtime certainly was exciting for the fans. I'm not so sure about the coach. It was a little bit of a track meet. In the shootout, Stolarz was excellent."
Minnesota has pretty much owned the Ducks this season, winning five of the previous six matchups - March 24 (3-2), March 22 (2-1), February 20 (5-1) and February 18 (3-1). The two teams split the first matchups at Honda Center, a 1-0 Ducks win Jan. 18 behind John Gibson's 34-save shutout while Minnesota earned a 3-2 win Jan. 20.
Eakins announced this morning Gibson will get the start tonight and that starting Ryan Miller "is the plan for tomorrow." Miller, who announced his pending retirement last week, ceremoniously played his last home game on Saturday at Honda Center but could get one more start in these final two games.
Wednesday night Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf became the first player in Anaheim history to play 1,100 NHL games with the franchise and he's still six points shy of tying Teemu Selanne's team record of 988.
