Preview: Gibson to Make Milestone Start as Ducks Host Final Home Game Before 4 Nations Break

The Ducks will celebrate their final home game before the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off with a milestone moment between the pipes, tonight hosting the Dallas Stars at Honda Center.

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Goaltender John Gibson, Anaheim's projected starter tonight, will appear in his 500th career NHL game, becoming the first Ducks goaltender in franchise history to reach the milestone. Gibson is the club's all-time leader in games played and saves, and sits just five wins shy of matching Jean-Sebastian Giguere for the most by a Duck.

Gibson will become the 11th active goaltender with 500 career appearances, and the 85th in NHL history.

Anaheim enters play Tuesday with wins in four of its last five games, including three straight on home ice, after a tightly contested 3-2 victory over Montreal two nights ago. The Ducks trailed 2-0 in the second period but would pull even in a matter of 40 seconds on goals by Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano.

"I thought we played fast, both teams did," McTavish said. "We capitalized on our chances. Obviously got down with a slow start, but battled back...We were a little sloppy at the start [until] we got a couple goals in the second, which propelled us. [Alex Killorn] had a big goal in the third."

Killorn's goal completed the comeback with less than nine minutes to go in regulation, marking Anaheim's fifth multi-goal comeback win of the season - fourth-most in the NHL.

"After the first period, we did a better job getting up ice and creating more," Killorn said. "We didn't spend as much time in the defensive zone. We ended plays quicker after the first period in the defensive zone.

The win pushed Anaheim to 22-24-6 on the season, nine points back of a Western Conference Wild Card spot.

Meanwhile, across the hall tonight is one of the top teams in the conference, a Dallas squad chasing Winnipeg for a division title. The Stars visit OC on a five-game winning streak, tonight kicking off a California road trip that will take them to the 4 Nations break.

"I thought we grinded and battled and, a lot like the streak we’ve been on, we didn’t beat ourselves," Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer told NHL.com's Taylor Baird after Sunday's win over Columbus. "We found a way to weather the storm when we needed to and found a big goal when we needed to.”

Dallas got a head start on the NHL trade deadline season over the weekend too, adding veterans Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund from San Jose for two draft picks. Both players made their Stars debut Sunday night.

“it was nice to get a win in our first game here," Ceci said. "This is a really good hockey team. It's fun to be a part of, it's fun to win games. It was kind of nice to come over with [Granlund]. We flew together and we had each other [Sunday] to get to the rink and what not, so that was nice."

Added Granlund, "“You can tell right away that this team has been doing good. Everybody knows exactly what to do out there, so it is kind of nice to jump in on that one. I am sure my game will get better as the time goes on and I get more comfortable and learn other guys’ tendencies and all that. It’s good to get the win in the first game and just move on from here.”

Dallas (34-17-1, 69 points) sits second in the Central Division.