The Ducks have hit the road to kick off a brief two-game trip, tonight facing off with the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
PUCK DROP: 5 P.M. PT | TV: BALLY SPORTS SOCAL | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim visits the Lone Star State looking to build on a 4-2 win over Buffalo Tuesday night at Honda Center. The Ducks raced out an early 3-0 lead that night, with a pair of goals from Jakob Silfverberg and a power-play tally by Sam Carrick and held on despite a late push by the Sabres in the final minutes of regulation.
"We were skating and I thought we played hard," head coach Greg Cronin said. "I thought we did the right things as far as managing the puck. [Buffalo is] offensively a very talented team. Their expected goals [rate] is high because they generate a lot from both the back end and the forwards. One of our keys was to make sure you manage the puck well.
"They're a good team and they obviously were upset about the way they played [in the first two periods] and they came at us hard. [John Gibson] was good and I thought we were pretty solid on the 5-on-6 after they got the goal."
"That was a big one for us," agreed Silfverberg. "It's been a struggle at home as of late. Obviously, the crowd has been fantastic for this kind of drought we've had, so it's nice to reward them with a big game...At the end of the day, we get two points and a good game for us."
Silfverberg helped start that fun early in the action, scoring twice after Buffalo turnovers for the trusted defensive veteran's first multi-goal game of the season.
"It feels good," Silfverberg admitted. "It hasn't been raining in goals this year so it's nice to get these two and obviously two big goals for the team, too. Hopefully me and the team can keep this rolling."
Tuesday's win also marked the NHL debut for defenseman Olen Zellweger, who was recalled from AHL San Diego earlier that day. The American Hockey League All-Star, who ranked second among all AHL rookie blueliners in scoring, collected his first NHL point with an assist on Carrick's goal and finished with two shots, three blocked shots and one hit in 13:42 of ice-time.
"It was great, and awesome to get the win," Zellweger said. "I was really excited there in the first few shifts. Felt really good out there. Overall, it was a great experience."
Added Cronin of the rookie defenseman, "I didn't notice him that much, which is really good. When I did notice him, it was offensively. He was shooting the puck and sliding across that offensive blue line. I think [assistant coach] Brent Thompson did a good job managing the matchups with him.
"From training camp, I know he's tenacious and I think tonight he was focused on playing defense...I think it was a really good baptism for him in the NHL."
Zellweger and the Ducks now head to Dallas for a matchup against one of the NHL's top teams, a Stars squad with a 14-8-2 record on home ice and points in seven of their last 10 games (6-3-1) overall.
Dallas returns home tonight after capping off a four-game eastern road trip with a 5-4 win in Detroit two nights ago. The Red Wings led 2-1 after one that night, but a dominant middle frame by the Stars, which saw four goals and 25 shots on net, along with a four-point night by center Roope Hintz powered the comeback victory.
"We didn’t start well tonight, so we talked about it in the room and said we needed to step it up," Hintz told NHL.com's Dave Hogg. "We played well in the second, and in the end we got the win. That’s all that matters."
Added top-line winger Wyatt Johnston, "[Tuesday] was a really big game, because it meant we could finish off our road trip on a positive note. We played some really good teams on this trip, so 2-1-1 is a pretty good job.”
Dallas (28-13-6, 62 points) sits third in the Central Division, three points back of first-place Winnipeg.
