Preview: Ducks Meet Devils for Saturday Night Battle in New Jersey

The Ducks fly into the Garden State tonight, taking on the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.
NHL GAMECENTER

Anaheim's visit to New Jersey begins a three games in four nights stretch for the Ducks, with additional stops on Long Island and in Manhattan to face the Islanders and Rangers.
The Ducks (27-24-9, 63 points) need to right the ship in a hurry. Anaheim has lost three of its last four games and allowed 19 goals in the process, further falling out of a crowded Western Conference wild card race with 22 games to play on the regular season schedule.
The Ducks now trail Vegas by five points for the Pacific Division's third playoff spot and sit four points back of the second wild card position, but playing its league-high 61st game today, the Ducks have considerably less race track left to work with than their opponents.
Anaheim struggled to generate consistent offense in a loss to Nashville on Thursday in the absence of its top three centers, Ryan Getzlaf, Trevor Zegras and Isac Lundestrom, as well as winger Jakob Silfverberg, and it remains to be seen if any will rejoin the lineup tonight in New Jersey. Getzlaf and Silfverberg are on injured reserve.
The Ducks won the
first matchup against the Devils in November
on Dia de Muertos Night at Honda Center. Two nights after becoming Anaheim's all-time leading scorer, Getzlaf had a three-point performance while Troy Terry scored twice and John Gibson notched a 28-save shutout.

The annual stop in New Jersey marks a homecoming for forward Adam Henrique, who was drafted by the Devils in 2008 and played the first 455 games of his NHL career in red, black and white. Henrique has recently shifted to center in the absence of Anaheim's top three pivotmen,
again displaying the unique versatility so valued by his coaches
.
New Jersey hosts Anaheim to conclude a four-game homestand that saw wins over a couple of Western Conference powerhouses, St. Louis and Colorado. The Devils (21-32-5, 47 points) are seventh in the Metropolitan Division and will all but certainly miss the postseason for the ninth time in the past ten seasons, but the growth of the club's young core suggests the blueprint is there for future success.
Winger Jesper Bratt and former top draft pick Jack Hughes have blossomed into point-per-game players for the first time in their young careers while rookie Dawson Mercer has 34 points playing in a top-six role in his initial NHL campaign. Nico Daws, a 21-year-old native of Germany, has given the club some much-needed stability in net, having started seven of the past eight games with a 4-2-1 record.