The Ducks (21-16-3) host the Wild (24-10-7) for the final home game before the team hits the road for a four-game stint on Monday.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will air on Victory+ and KCOP-13.
It was announced Friday that Leo Carlsson and Mikael Granlund were respectively named to the Sweden and Finland rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. They join Lukas Dostal and Radko Gudas (Czechia) and goaltender prospect Damian Clara (host Italy) as Ducks players selected to participate in the games in February.
“Everybody is happy for them,” head coach Joel Quenneville said. “Granny’s (Granlund) had a tremendous career and he’s a proud countryman and I’m sure he’s looking forward to that opportunity. It gives that team a lot of different options the way we like to apply him in all situations … Leo, he got off to a great start and I’m sure between now and then, before he leaves [for the Winter Olympics], this month will be a good test for him as well. Certainly, deserving as he has the potential to be one of the top guys out there. I’m happy for him.”
Anaheim earned a point in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning. Jansen Harkins opened the scoring while Beckett Sennecke and Mason McTavish scored the additional goals.
Sennecke’s goal was his 12th of the season and he earned his 30th point in the process. His goal tied Stanislav Chistov and Leo Carlsson for the most goals by a teenage Ducks player in a season.
Despite the point, the Ducks are on a four-game losing skid. Ryan Poehling said he felt the team has played well the last few games but talked about what they can do tonight to hopefully break the streak.
“It’s just knowing that we’ve gotta trust ourselves,” Poehling said. “We put ourselves in such a great spot and we’re the team that is capable of doing great things. We can’t get away from that. It starts with all of us just playing the right way … Play 200 feet and create our offense from there.”
The Wild dropped their most recent game to the Sharks in shootouts on New Years Eve. This is the second of three regular season matches between these two teams as Anaheim fell to Minnesota 0-2 in the first meeting.
Similar to the Ducks, the Wild are third in their division and Poehling discussed the types of challenges Minnesota presents.
“They’re big and they play hard and they make you earn it,” Poehling said. “They don’t give you much, so for a team like that to be that solid defensively and still have the capability to score goals is tough … For us to not give them anything is the biggest thing. You can’t give them an early jump and play from behind because that’s a team that kind of strangles you in that sense. For us to just kind of play our game right from the start is important.”
Dostal will get the start in the net for Anaheim and it is “likely” Gudas returns to the lineup, per Quenneville.
The team also announced Frank Vatrano will miss approximately six weeks with a shoulder fracture suffered on Dec. 27.
