PREVIEW: Ducks, Sharks Square Off in Critical Division Battle

The Ducks (41-28-5) head up to Northern California for a one-game road trip against the Sharks (34-31-7).

Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. PT and will be nationally televised on TNT.

Anaheim lost a tough one in overtime on Monday as the Maple Leafs scored with five seconds left in the extra frame for a 5-4 victory.

“We should have had two points in the game and been moving on to [Tuesday],” said John Carlson, who had his first goal as a Duck in the game. “We did a good job for a lot of the game in terms of how we played and in terms of dealing with the emotions, but we’ve got to be more mature and come out on top of these games.”

Despite the loss, Anaheim has a two-point lead over Edmonton for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

But all eyes are on tonight’s matchup featuring some of the brightest young stars not only in California, but in the NHL. The Ducks post an average age of 21 for their top three scorers while the Sharks’ top three scorers’ average age is 20.

At 20 years old, Beckett Sennecke is one of those top three scorers for Anaheim and is tied for the most goals amongst rookies (22). As the regular season winds down, head coach Joel Quenneville shared what he’s looking to see out of the Calder Trophy contender.

“I think putting it all together here down the stretch, the games are meaningful, the shifts are valuable,” Quenneville said. “I think adding that on a regular basis from here on out throughout the whole year for him is going to be a work in progress, but the upside is we want to make sure there’s balance. Let him play and let’s play a team game.”

After losing six games in a row, the Sharks have won their last two, most recently beating the Blues 5-4 on Monday. Macklin Celebrini has been a huge part of the team’s offensive identity this year and leads the way for the Sharks with 101 points on the season (38 goals, 63 assists).

The Ducks will be without their leading goal scorer, Cutter Gauthier as he will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury. Quenneville said Radko Gudas will also miss tonight’s game for Anaheim.

On the flip side, Nathan Gaucher will make his debut for the Ducks at SAP Center. Quenneville said they’re “excited to see” the center who was selected 22nd overall by Anaheim in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Gaucher is equally excited, especially knowing the magnitude of the matchup tonight.

“I worked hard for this and it’s going to be awesome,” Gaucher said of his debut. “I’ll keep my game simple and the first one is always something you remember so I’m excited. Playing in a real regular season game and meaningful game down the stretch here for the Ducks just ups the value so much. It’s going to be an exciting game, intense, and I’m going to try and help this team win the best I can.”

This is the third of four regular season meetings between the clubs as the teams have split the season series so far.