The Ducks have reached the finale of a franchise-record 10-game homestand, tonight hosting the New Jersey Devils and
celebrating Lunar New Year
at Honda Center.
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Preview: Ducks Cap Franchise-Record Homestand Tonight vs. New Jersey
Anaheim will look to close the nearly month-long homestand and hit the road on a high note after back-to-back losses to Boston and Edmonton, which dropped the club to 12-26-4 overall and 3-5-1 heading into the last of the 10-game home stretch.
"We have to find consistency in our game," said defenseman Simon Benoit. "We know we can beat those good teams, we just have to be on our "A" game every time we play one of them. Wednesday] was just not the night."
Anaheim particularly struggled on the breakout in Wednesday's loss to Edmonton, with several early defensive zone turnovers helping the Oilers establish a 4-1 lead by the end of the first period.
"I'd like to give a reason on the d-zone coverage or something like that," head coach Dallas Eakins said. "The first four goals, we have the puck on our stick. We have control of the puck. We should be able to break the puck out. And suddenly it's on their stick. Our executions on our breakouts or sometimes going in alone on our breakouts, it's not a good plan. We have the puck. We're getting into our spots to breakout, but we're not executing. Now, we're spread out and you're going to be in trouble or it's going to turn into zone time for the other team. Rather than forcing it sometimes, we're going to have to punt it out of our zone."
The Ducks did welcome back forward Max Jones to the lineup Wednesday as the big winger tallied three hits and two takeaways in 13:24 of ice-time.
"I wish it were under a different circumstance and game, but it's good to be back," Jones said. "[In practice], you try to do all the of the skating you can, but your mind is not moving like it is during the games. It was good to get that one out of the way."
Another bright spot for Anaheim Wednesday was the play of winger Max Comtois, who registered his first multi-point performance of the season with two assists and was effective on the forecheck throughout.
"He certainly played a good game," Eakins said. "He was responsible. He was making plays. It's certainly a baby step in the right direction, but something that if he sticks with it, it can snowball."
The Ducks will host a New Jersey squad tonight beginning the California contigent of a five-game road trip. The Devils last played Tuesday night in a 5-3 victory in Carolina, rallying from a two-goal deficit to pull within four points of the 'Canes atop the Metropolitan Division.
"That's a big win for us, to be down in the game and make a comeback against a good defensive team like [Carolina]," Dawson Mercer, who scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period,
[told NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg
. "Those points are massive for us right now.
"You can't let that get into your head, what happened, happened. The game is never over until that buzzer goes. I think we really stuck with [it]."
New Jersey has been the NHL's best team away from home ice this season, with a 15-2-1 record on the road and wins in four of their last five road games.
The Devils earned a comeback 4-2 win over the Ducks in the first meeting of the two-game season series, Oct. 18 at Prudential Center. Jakob Silfverberg scored twice in the first period but the Devils responded with two of their own in both the second and the third to grab the two points.
New Jersey's Lindy Ruff earned his 783rd in career head coach that night, passing Al Arbour for sole possession of fifth in NHL history.
The Devils (26-12-3, 55 points) sit second in the Metropolitan Division.
