The Ducks (9-3-1) are looking for their sixth straight victory as they head to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights (7-3-3).
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT and will air on Victory+ and KCOP-13.
This game closes out a two-game road stint for Anaheim before the team returns to Honda Center tomorrow.
The Ducks are off to their best start since 2014-15 and their 19 points have them atop the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Golden Knights (17).
On Thursday, Anaheim won its fifth game in a row with a 7-5 victory over the Stars, making it the first time in franchise history the team has scored seven goals in consecutive games.
“It seems like we’ve caught a little momentum,” Alex Killorn said. “It’s a really resilient group. There’s not a lot of games where we’ve been up, we’ve kind of come back a lot. We didn’t want to put ourselves in that situation too much, but it shows that there’s so much young energy in this room that there’s not battle scars or wounds, everyone just kind of goes out and plays. There’s kind of a freedom to our game where guys feel that freedom and you could tell by how much we’re scoring, guys just have a lot of confidence.”
The Golden Knights are in the middle of a six-game home stretch where they’ve currently gone 1-2. Most recently, VGK lost 6-3 to the Lightning where after a 2-0 lead, they allowed six goals over the final two periods.
Coming off that loss, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said he wasn’t a fan with “how our game ended the other night” and added he hopes his team comes in a bit “ornery” against this division-leading Ducks squad.
“They’re scoring a lot,” said Cassidy of the Ducks. “The game’s a little more wide open than what we’ve seen out of them [in] previous years. They’ve got big talent, too, and they’re starting to adjust to the league. You knew that would happen sooner or later with guys like [Leo] Carlsson and [Cutter] Gauthier; they’re high picks and they’re getting their opportunity.
“You’ve got a blend of the veteran guys who have been there and done it around the young kids and a coach that’s won, and all of a sudden, things are coming together. We’ve got to be ready for them.”
As his team looks for their sixth win a row, Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville described this recent stretch of games as a “test” but knows this matchup against Vegas presents a stronger challenge.
“This will probably be our biggest test, knowing the importance of the two points and how we have to play to be effective,” Quenneville said “I think you’re going get some important games and tests along the way, but this is one where we can assume this is like an exam tonight.”
As for the goaltenders, according to Cassidy, Akira Schmid will be in the net for Vegas tonight and per Quenneville, Petr Mrázek will do the same for Anaheim.
