Golden Road Trip: Ducks Open With Five-Game Trek

The Ducks open their 2016-17 regular season with a five-game road trip that begins in Dallas on Thursday. Following their contest against the Stars, Anaheim will travel to Pittsburgh (Oct. 15) for the first half of a back-to-back that continues the next night in Brooklyn - the home of the New York Islanders. The final two games will take place on Oct. 18 in New Jersey and Oct. 20 in Philadelphia.
This is the lone five-game road trip of the season for the Ducks, though the club will have two separate six-game excursions before the season ends.

DALLAS STARSARENA:American Airlines Center
2015-16 RECORD: 50-23-9, 109 pts
2015-16 STANDINGS: 1st in the Central, 1st in the Western Conference
2015-16 HOME RECORD:28-11-2
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. DALLAS: 43-62-11 (16-35-7 at Dallas)
DALLAS CONNECTIONS
Ryan Garbutt - Originally signed by the Stars in July 2011. Went on to record 70 points (30g/40a) and 215 penalty minutes in 198 games with Dallas.
The 411:Dallas is the ninth largest city in the United States and the third largest in the state of Texas with a population of more than 1.2 million. There are more than 30,000 hotel rooms in Dallas to accommodate the 25 million annual visitors within the city limits. Located in North Texas, Dallas is the main core of the largest metropolitan area in the South and the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city ranks among the top wholesale markets of the United States in apparel, gifts, and furniture, and hosts a large number of trade shows each year.
Miles Traveled (Honda Center to American Airlines Center: 1,420)
PITTSBURGH PENGUINSARENA: PPG Paints Arena
2015-16 RECORD:48-26-8, 104 points
2015-16 STANDINGS:2nd in the Metropolitan, 2nd in the Eastern Conference
2015-16 HOME RECORD: 26-11-4
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. PITTSBURGH:11-16-3 (3-11-2 at Pittsburgh)
PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS
Simon Despres - Drafted by the Penguins in the first round (30th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft; Earned 33 points (5g/28a) with 120 penalty minutes in 144 games with Pittsburgh.
John Gibson - Born in Pittsburgh
The 411:Located at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River, Pittsburgh is known as both "The Steel City" for its more than 300 steel-related businesses, and as the "City of Bridges" for its 446 bridges. Pittsburgh is one of the few American cities to be spelled with an 'h' at the end of a 'burg' suffix. From 1890 to 1911, the city's 'h' was removed, but was officially restored by the United States Board on Geographic Names after a public campaign. Six Fortune 500 companies call the Pittsburgh area home, including PNC Financial Services, PPG Industries, U.S. Steel, The Kraft Heinz Company, WESCO International, and Dick's Sporting Goods. Over 124 major motion pictures have been filmed within the city, including Wonder Boys, Dogma, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Miles Traveled (American Airlines Center to PPG Paints Arena: 1,223)
NEW YORK ISLANDERSARENA:Barclays Center
2015-16 RECORD:45-27-10, 100 points
2015-16 STANDINGS:4th in the Metropolitan, 5th in the Eastern Conference
2015-16 HOME RECORD:25-11-5
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. ISLANDERS: 12-12-6 (6-7-1 at Islanders)
ISLANDERS CONNECTIONS
Nate Thompson - Earned 10 points (3g/7a) and 88 penalty minutes in 82 games with the Islanders (2008-10).
The 411: Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with an estimated 2,636,735 residents in 2015. Brooklyn has played a major role in various aspects of American culture including literature, cinema, and theater. The Brooklyn accent has often been portrayed as the "typical New York accent" in American media. Among the many Brooklyn-based inventions include the deep-fried Twinkie, Sweet 'N Low, teddy bears, and America's first roller coaster. Twizzlers was developed by the National Licorice Company in Brooklyn in 1845.
Miles Traveled (PPG Paints Arena to Barclays Center: 391)
NEW JERSEY DEVILSARENA: Prudential Center
2015-16 RECORD:38-36-8, 84 points
2015-16 STANDINGS:7th in the Metropolitan, 12th in the Eastern Conference
2015-16 HOME RECORD:19-17-5
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. DEVILS:13-13-4 (5-7-2 at New Jersey)
NEW JERSEY CONNECTIONS
None
The 411: Newark is the largest city (by population) in New Jersey and had a population of 277,140 in 2010, making it the nation's 67th most-populous municipality. Located in the heart of New Jersey's Gateway Region, Newark is the second-largest city in the New York metropolitan area, approximately eight miles (13 km) west of Manhattan. Opened in 2007, the Prudential Center is home to the Devils and the NCAA's Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team. Fans and sports writers have affectionately nicknamed the arena "The Rock" in reference to the Rock of Gibraltar, the corporate logo of Prudential Financial, a financial institution that owns the naming rights to the arena and is headquartered within walking distance of it.
Miles Traveled (Barclays Center to Prudential Center: 37)
PHILADELPHIA FLYERSARENA:Wells Fargo Center
2015-16 RECORD: 41-27-14, 96 points
2015-16 STANDINGS:5th in the Metropolitan, 7th in the Eastern Conference
2015-16 HOME RECORD: 23-10-8
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. FLYERS:15-8-7 (7-4-3 at Philadelphia)
PHILADELPHIA CONNECTIONS
None
The 411:Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the fifth-most-populous in the United States, with an estimated population in 2014 of 1,560,297. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley, a metropolitan area home to 7.2 million people and the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States. Philadelphia is one of 13 U.S. cities to be home to four professional sports franchises -- the Flyers, Eagles, Phillies and 76ers.
In 1682, William Penn founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Philadelphia was one of the nation's capitals in the Revolutionary War, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction.
Miles Traveled (Prudential Center to Wells Fargo Center: 93)