Preview: Ducks Look for Third Straight Win Tonight vs. Maple Leafs

The Ducks continue a five-game homestand with a third straight date against an Original Six opponent, tonight hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Honda Center.

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Anaheim returns to action tonight after a dramatic comeback victory Friday over the New York Rangers. The Ducks trailed 2-0 with just over five minutes to play in regulation before goals by Cutter Gauthier and Olen Zellweger would force overtime, which Mason McTavish ended on the first shift.

"It was a great comeback," Zellweger said. "It was a great effort down the stretch and three big penalty kills to keep us in it."

The third-period comeback win was Anaheim's eighth of the season, tied for the most in the NHL, and it was largely driven by the Ducks young core - highlighted by a four-point night for center Leo Carlsson.

"I think it’s been, since the 4 Nations tournament, he’s come back and he seems like he has more pace to his game, more explosiveness," head coach Greg Cronin said. "I’ve talked about this, about how he needs to get to the inside of the ice, play in the inner third of the ice and he’s doing that. His goal, he just ripped through the middle and snapped it...When he’s not carrying the puck, he’s driving inside ice which is giving him puck recoveries in the offensive zone."

Carlsson owns 10 goals and 10 assists with a +10 rating in the 18 games since representing Sweden last month, tied for 20th in the NHL in scoring during that span.

Also among the young Ducks with a big night Friday was Zellweger, who joined the rush with less than two minutes to play in regulation and beat former Verzina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin up high to tie the game.

"He adds an element to our team that we don't have, he's an explosive offensive player," Cronin said. "He gets up and down the ice. He scores the goal getting up the ice...The thing I love about Zelly is he's fearless. He makes mistakes and you coach him on those mistakes, but it doesn't effect him. On the next shift, he's ready to go."

On the blue line, the Ducks did lose defenseman Jacob Trouba to injury in the third period Friday following an awkward collision with his former teammate, Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, and a subsequent fall into the boards. Trouba did not return to the game and his status for tonight has not yet been announced. Paired with Zellweger in recent games, Trouba is the only Ducks defenseman to appear in each of the club's 47 games since his December trade from the Rangers.

"[Assistant coach Brent Thompson] did a great job (managing the defense)," Cronin said. "We lost Trouba, so we were down one of our primary penalty killers as well. We had a good job managing the personnel..And the defensemen were terrific, all five of them. We handled a few more penalties after [Trouba] went out so they did a great job."

Whether or not Anaheim has Trouba in the lineup, on the other side tonight is a tough test for the club's defensive corps in a first-place Toronto squad. The Leafs enter play Sunday with points in three straight games after a 3-1 win over the Kings last night in LA, pushing Toronto past Florida for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

“I just liked the way we clogged the middle of the ice, and I thought we defended real well,” Maple Leafs captain John Tavares told NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “Tonight, I think it certainly was evident, but I think it’s really been there over the last number of games, just the effort to block shots and be in lanes and get sticks on things and desperation.”

Toronto earned a 3-2 win over Anaheim in the season's first meeting, back in December at Air Canada Centre. Veteran winger Max Pacioretty had three points for Toronto that night while goaltender Joseph Woll earned the win in relief of injured former Duck Anthony Stolarz.