GAMEDAY: Ducks Look to Stay Hot as They Host Panthers at Honda Center

The Ducks (7-3-1) look for their fourth-straight win as they take on the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (6-5-1) tonight at Honda Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT and will air on Victory+ and KCOP-13.

Anaheim comes into this game hot off a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils and currently leads the Pacific Division, tied for first with Vegas, with 15 points. That's the team’s best starting mark since the 16 points they notched in 2014-2015.

The Ducks have also set a franchise record with 40 goals through their first 11 games. With the team on a three-game winning streak, Cutter Gauthier, who has a point streak in a career-high six consecutive games, talked about how the Ducks playing a whole, complete 60-minute game has led to their winning ways.

“The first couple of games of the season, we probably had a good 40 or 30, but never a good 60,” Gauthier said. “Coach Q’s [Joel Quenneville] been preaching that, to have a full, good 60 minutes, three periods of Ducks hockey. I think the last handful of games we’ve been playing a tight game, super-fast game. We haven’t been straying away too far from that and that’s ultimately leading us to goals and opportunities to win these games.”

On the other end, Lukáš Dostál has been a huge contributor to his team’s success and on Monday was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week. According to head coach Joel Quenneville, Dostál will be in the net against the Panthers.

“He’s a battler,” Quenneville said of his netminder. “You can see he’s growing every single night in the net and handling the puck well and making some nice moves and plays with the puck as well. We’ve given up some dangerous chances that he’s made some big, timely saves in the last few games.”

Florida and Anaheim will conclude their season series and face off for the second time in a week as the Ducks won in a 3-2 shootout victory last Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla.

After playing a team twice in such a short period of time, Quenneville discussed what he can take from the first game and apply to tonight.

“It’s going to be a tight game,” he said. “It’s a hard game. Got to be respectful for these guys, it’s the first game on a trip and I know they’re going to be ready. We’re fortunate they’re missing some pieces, but they play such a strong team-game they seem to keep themselves in every hockey game.”

While Brad Marchand will face Anaheim after missing last week’s game, the Panthers will be without Jonah Gadjovich, who suffered an upper body injury on Oct. 25 and did not travel with the team on this west coast road trip.