Preview: Ducks Look to End Winless Skid on the Road in Winnipeg

The start of a five-game road trip begins tonight as the Ducks face the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place. Game time is set for 3 p.m. PT, with TV and radio coverage on Prime Ticket and AM 830, respectively. The Ducks are looking to snap a 10-game winless skid that has pushed them out of a playoff spot for the time being. They enter today's game with a 19-18-8 record - good for 46 points - and sit one point behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card spot and two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the first wild card. Within the Pacific Division, the Ducks' struggles pushed them far beneath the Vegas Golden Knights (third place), who currently hold a 14-point advantage in the standings.

There really isn't any other way to put it - the past three-plus weeks have been grisly. And even when it seemed like the Ducks were turning a page, familiarity crept in. Everything seemed to be going Anaheim's way in Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, at least through the opening 20 minutes. They got on the board early, held the Penguins at bay with some stellar goaltending from John Gibson, and jumped out to a 3-0 lead against a red-hot Penguins team. But for whatever reason, the Ducks took their foot of the gas in the second period. Pittsburgh roared back with three unanswered goals to tie the game and held all the momentum until the Ducks re-took the lead on Jakob Silfverberg's shorthanded goal late in the period. The lead didn't last long, as the Penguins simply overpowered them during a stretch of the third that saw them score twice in less than minute. In the end, the Ducks gave up seven goals and were left searching for answers.
So, how do the Ducks dig themselves out of this hole? Ryan Getzlaf says it starts from within. "We have to go to work," he said. "Message is the same. We have to make a decision - a conscious decision. It won't just happen. You have to think about it, go through the motion and go through the whole process."
Turnovers and mental mistakes have a concerning trend for the Ducks over this stretch, and it continued on Friday. Sometimes they can get away with them, but not that night. Not against the Penguins. Not today against the Jets, either.
Maybe a road trip will be the elixir to solve their woes. Maybe getting away from home will do the Ducks some good. Maybe it'll give them the energy that - for whatever reason - they seemed to lack throughout their longest homestand of the season (six games).
"It seems like when we have to reach back for more energy or stiffness with our group, we're unable to do it," said head coach Randy Carlyle. "We just seem to be lacking energy. You can see that with players with the puck, standing still and making backhanded, soft plays versus skating with it. Those are the things that are perplexing to everybody."
The Jets enter today's game sitting atop the Central Division with a 28-14-2 record (58 points). Though tied in points with the Nashville Predators, the Jets have played two fewer games, thus giving them the edge in the standings. They've gone 6-4-0 over their last 10 games, but have done their best work at home. The Jets are 16-6-2 at Bell MTS Place and currently rank tied for the second-most wins and points at home in the NHL. They also have the league's best power-play at home this season at 36.6%. With a 48-13-4 mark in Winnipeg over the past two seasons, Bell MTS Place has been one of the toughest buildings to play in for opposing clubs.
Veteran right wing Blake Wheeler is having a tremendous season, leading the Jets with 57 points (8g/49 assists) through 44 games. The 32-year-old Plymouth, Minnesota native has seven points (2g/5a) in his last four games, including a four-point performance (1g/3a) against the Avalanche on January 8. Mark Scheifele co-leads the Jets in goals (24 with Patrik Laine) and ranks second in points (55). Scheifele (2g/4a) is one of four Jets riding active four-game point streaks (also Kyle Connor (3g/3a), Bryan Little (3g/2a) and Brandon Tanev (2g/2a)).
Though Connor Hellebuyck (19-13-1) has seen the majority of work in goal for the Jets, Laurent Brossoit has been on a roll lately. Brossoit comes in with a 9-1-1 mark in 11 appearances this season and is riding a six-game winning streak. He leads all NHL goaltenders that have played at least 10 games this season with a 2.10 goals-against average and .939 save percentage, and has yet to lose in regulation in the 10 games he has started. After spending parts of four seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Brossoit signed a one-year contract with the Jets on July 1.