Ducks Open Five-Game Road Trip in Steel City

The Ducks (18-10-1) start a five-game road stretch by heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins (14-7-6). Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. PT and will air on Victory+ and KCOP-13.

Anaheim is coming off a huge 7-1 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday, marking the fifth time this season the Ducks scored seven or more goals. The team also had 53 shots on goal with 44 coming in the second period which was good for the most by Anaheim through two periods in franchise history.

“I really loved our effort right from the get-go,” head coach Joel Quenneville said. “It was frustrating last Sunday in Chicago, and we started the same way, but I liked that we wanted to have it for 60 minutes, and tonight, we did.”

The team remains atop the Pacific Division with 37 points, and their record is good for the best start through 29 games in a season since 2014-15.

As they embark on this road trip, Frank Vatrano called it “tough” noting the opponents the Ducks will face; however, he said the mantra of club is to not get too far ahead of themselves.

“I think we just gotta take it one game at a time and play the hockey we know how to play,” Vatrano said.

Pittsburgh returns home for five games after spending its last three on the road and going 2-0-1. Most recently, the team suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

Sidney Crosby still leads the club with 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists). While Evgeni Malkin has 29 points and leads the team with 21 assists, it was announced today that he is now week-to-week with an upper body injury.

Despite the age on their roster, Quenneville said he and his team were taken aback by the skill they saw from the Penguins a couple months ago.

“When we saw [Pittsburgh] earlier in the year, kind of surprised us with how fast they are and where they’re at as well,” Quenneville said.

These two teams last met in October with the Ducks winning 4-3. In order to notch another victory, Vatrano discussed what the Ducks can do to get the best of the Penguins.

“I think we have to slow down their transition,” Vatrano mentioned. “Obviously, they have some players over there that can hurt you so I think for us, it’s be good defensively and try to slow down their transition as much as possible. Good defense leads to good offense.”