Anaheim will look to salvage at least two standings points from what has become a disappointing road trip after consecutive losses to Edmonton (6-0) and Seattle (4-1). The Ducks have now lost seven regulation contests in a row and sit at 23-43-10 on the season.
"Edmonton has a top-notch, explosive team," head coach Dallas Eakins said after last night's setback vs. the Oilers. "I thought we had a really good first period, maybe one of our best periods of the year. But I think the discrepancy in finish on the two teams -- they're loaded with guys that can finish and we're challenged with it. We just couldn't get anything past their goaltender tonight."
Anaheim fired 36 shots on net, including 17 in the first period, but were shut out for the first time since December. Still playing without two of the club's top scoring forwards, Adam Henrique and Troy Terry, the Ducks have scored just two goals in the last three games.
"We have to stick together as a team, through the ups and downs no matter what, and it seemed to get away from us in the third period," Max Jones told NHL.com's Derek Van Diest. "I thought we played well in the first period, but we need to move through the ups and downs of the game better, sticking together. It seems like we kind of lost the team values that we should hold through the entire game."
The Ducks did get forward Trevor Zegras back in the lineup Saturday after he missed the trip opener in Seattle with injury. Zegras returned to Anaheim's top line alongside Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, skating 19:08 of ice-time with three shots on net and two blocked shots.
Anaheim will now move across Alberta to cap a four-game season series with Calgary, the clubs' third meeting in less than a month. The Ducks earned a 3-1 victory in Calgary on Mar. 10 on a night where Gibson set the Ducks all-time saves record. The Flames then responded with a 5-1 rout at Honda Center, helping further a losing skid the Ducks are still trying to crack.
"Other than a few spurts in the second period, maybe for about six minutes in the second, we couldn't sustain much," Eakins said that night. "Every time we turned, they were in our face."
The Flames will likely bring a similar level of desperation tonight, currently two points back of Winnipeg for the Western Conference's final postseason position. They'll enter play Sunday riding a three-game winning streak, all victories over divisional opponents.
"You can look at the standings, where we are and the fight that we're in, so a big two points for us obviously and got to keep this going," defenseman Troy Stecher
told NHL.com after Friday's OT win vs. Vancouver
. "It speaks volumes to the character we have in this room. It seemed anytime we scored we took a step backwards. It's not something you want to do, but at the end of the day we find a way to get two points and stay in the hunt."
Calgary (36-25-15, 85 points) is fifth in the Pacific Division and hoping to make its fourth playoff appearance in the last five seasons.
