The Ducks are back in the Music City for the second time this season, tonight facing off with the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
PUCK DROP: 5 P.M. PT | TV: BALLY SPORTS SOCAL | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim hits the road looking to turn the page from a disappointing eight-game homestand, which saw the Ducks go 1-6-1 on home ice with losses in each of the final five games.
"I thought we battled," Cam Fowler said after a 3-2 setback to Detroit Sunday that saw the visitors score the game-winning goal in the final minutes of regulation. "Five-on-five, I thought we had good control of the play...But at the end of the day, we have to figure out of a way to bank some more points and finish for 60 minutes. We didn't do that [Sunday]."
"We wanted to work it behind the net, get the cycles going and find guys in the slot area," added Trevor Zegras, who scored twice in the loss. "I feel like we could've had a couple more for sure but their goalie played well. Credit to them."
The loss dropped the Ducks to 13-25-1 on the season, seventh in the Pacific Division.
"There are good things we're doing in our game but we have to clean up the unforced errors," Fowler said. "The penalties allow teams to get back in the hockey game. Sometimes, we feel like we have control of the game but a couple turnovers or a couple penalties and the momentum switches. We have to find ways to keep the momentum for 60 minutes and make sure we're dictating the pace of the game."
Sunday's setback did include a special moment for Fowler, whose assist on Zegras' second goal tied him with Steve Rucchin for the fifth-most points in Ducks franchise history.
"It means I've been here for a long time," Fowler quipped. "For me, it was nice seeing [Chris] Pronger, [Teemu Selanne] and the Niedermayers [at Legacy Night]. Those are the guys that put this franchise on the map and brought a Stanley Cup to Southern California. We're trying to fill those shoes as a team moving forward. I've been here a while and I'm definitely proud to be a Duck."
Anaheim now turns into attention to Nashville for the first of a five-game road trip, with tonight's lineup requiring at least one revision on the back end after a blockbuster trade yesterday. The Ducks acquired left wing Cutter Gauthier from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick.
"Obviously, it was a difficult decision to trade Drysdale," Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek said. "He's an up-and-coming young defenseman, but when I've been watching our team over the last month or so, we've had difficult scoring goals...I want to thank Jamie for his hard work and dedication to the organization. He's got a great future ahead of him."
Drysdale skated in 10 games this season for Anaheim.
On the other side, the Preds welcome the Ducks back to Broadway, looking to build on a 4-3 win over the division rival Dallas Stars Saturday in Texas.
“We were way more competitive,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette told team beat writer Zach Gilchriest. “It was really good to get the win because that wasn’t an easy place to win. We’re still having a little bit of a hard time with keeping momentum, but I thought when we lost it we were able to get it back and get the win out of it.”
Nashville's offense is yet again led by veteran Swedish winger Filip Forsberg, who scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season Saturday, tied for 11th in the NHL. Forsberg also became just the 11th Swedish-born player in NHL history with eight 20-goal seasons.
The Predators (22-17-1, 45 points) sit fourth in the Central Division, currently holding the Western Conference's top Wild Card spot.
