Preview: Ducks Continue Playoff Chase, Visit Vancouver for Crucial Divisional Game

The Ducks visit Vancouver tonight for one of the season's most critical games thus far, capping a road back-to-back against the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Six points separate Anaheim and Vancouver in the race for a Western Conference playoff bid.

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Anaheim kicked off the trip with a bounce-back performance, following up maybe the season's most disappointing loss, 6-3 to Chicago on Saturday, with potentially it's most impressive win last night in Edmonton. The Ducks fell behind 1-0 on a power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl, but would respond with four straight before the end of the first period - ultimately more than enough run support for Lukas Dostal between the pipes.

"I liked the way we played for all 60 minutes," Dostal said. "We were putting pucks deep and we played simple hockey. That's something we've tried to preach all season and it paid off [Tuesday]...We held the neutral zone well, which didn't allow them to gain speed or odd-man rushes, which is the way they play. We were able to eliminate that...We blocked shots and played on our toes."

"We played a structured game the whole way," added defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who recorded his first career three-assist game. "Our forwards did a great job working in the offensive zone...Dosty did a great job and our structure allowed us to not give up much.

With the win, Anaheim's eighth in the last 11 games, the Ducks improved to 27-26-7 on the season and remained six points back of the final Western Conference Wild Card berth.

“We were actually upset with ourselves for the performance we had against Chicago, a sloppy game,” head coach Greg Cronin said. “I thought the first eight minutes [Tuesday] before [Leo Carlsson] scored we were on our heels, but I loved the way we responded after the first goal.

“We got into a rhythm and played the right way."

The Ducks now head to British Columbia for a battle between two teams trying climb the playoff standings later, both narrowly on the outside of the bracket at the moment.

"We've got to play the same way," Dostal said. "Focus on simple hockey, play the same way we did in Edmonton and we can succeed that way."

"Gotta play the same way," LaCombe agreed. "We're going to play a great team and we're chasing them. Big game for us."

Vancouver opens a five-game homestand tonight, looking to shake off consecutive losses to the Kraken and Ducks over the last week.

"[The Ducks] are a rush team," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said his team's 5-2 defeat at Honda Center last Thursday. "We got the 2-0 [lead], a two-on-one and we didn’t connect that. I think we had a breakaway and a couple of missed opportunities. Then all of a sudden they had a rush game. We just decided to abandon the game plan. We just need some guys to rise to the occasion whether that is a middle drive to go the net, we had shots on net with nobody going to the net, so a little disappointed in the grit part of our game."

Authors of two of the biggest trades of the NHL season thus far, the Canucks are still adjusting to life without star forward JT Miller - hoping to get top-line center Elias Pettersson going as the team's go-to offensive weapon. Pettersson, who collected a combined 191 points across the last two NHL seasons, owns just 11 goals and 35 points in 54 games this year, and yesterday acknowledged the lack of production has been a challenge mentally.

“I think about it a lot," Pettersson told media Tuesday. "To be honest, I haven’t been the way I want to be this year. I haven’t played to the expectations that I have for myself, [or] the franchise has on myself. I’ll be the first one to tell you, but that’s in the past. I just want to take these last 22 games, plus more, and hopefully play my best hockey. I wish we had more wins. I wish that I’d played a lot better. But can’t dwell on that, I’m trying to look ahead."

Vancouver (27-22-11, 65 points) sits fifth in the Pacific Division, two points back of Calgary for the final Wild Card spot.