Devils at Ducks preview
New Jersey has five-game point streak; Anaheim eyes third straight win
by Dan Arritt / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
DEVILS (25-27-12) at DUCKS (26-30-8)
8 p.m. ET; PRIME, MSG+, NHL.TV
The Game
The Anaheim Ducks will try to win their third straight game to match their longest winning streak of the season when they play the New Jersey Devils in the finale of a six-game homestand at Honda Center on Sunday.
The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and 3-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, and are 2-2-1 on the homestand. They haven't won three in a row since the first three games of the season, Oct. 3-8.
The Devils, playing the fourth of a five-game road trip, have a five-game point streak (3-0-2). They are coming off consecutive overtime losses at the San Jose Sharks (3-2) on Thursday and the Los Angeles Kings (2-1) on Saturday.
Players to watch
Devils forward Nikita Gusev has two goals and six assists in a five-game point streak.
Ducks forward Danton Heinen was one of five players Anaheim acquired before the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb 24; and he has one point (one goal, one assist) in each of his first two games.
They said it
"It's hard to say what it is right now, but if we want to still have a chance to do something this season we have to win the next two games." -- Devils forward Pavel Zacha
"The new guys are really buying into the system we want to play. We want to get pucks deep and play a hard-nosed game, win battles and capitalize on our chances. Sonny [Milano] had two goals [on Tuesday] night, Danton [Heinen] scored [Friday], so it's huge for us." -- Ducks defenseman Brendan Guhle
Devils projected lineup
Jack Hughes -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood -- Travis Zajac -- Joey Anderson
Jesper Bratt -- Pavel Zacha -- Nikita Gusev
Kevin Rooney -- Michael McLeod -- John Hayden
Mirco Mueller -- P.K. Subban
Dakota Mermis -- Damon Severson
Fredrik Claesson -- Connor Carrick
Cory Schneider
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Josh Jacobs, Jesper Boqvist
Injured: Will Butcher (upper body)
Ducks projected lineup
Sonny Milano -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen -- Adam Henrique -- Kiefer Sherwood
Max Jones -- Sam Steel -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Andrew Agozzino -- Carter Rowney
Brendan Guhle -- Josh Manson
Jacob Larsson -- Michael Del Zotto
Christian Djoos -- Matt Irwin
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched: David Backes
Injured: Cam Fowler (lower body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Hampus Lindholm (upper body)
Status report
Schneider will start after Blackwood played against the Kings on Saturday. ... Boqvist, a forward, was recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Saturday and is joining the Devils in Anaheim.
Stat pack
The Devils were 7-3-4 in February, their first month with a winning record this season. ... Milano has three points (two goals, one assist) in two games since he was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets. ... Irwin has nine hits and six blocked shots in two games since he was acquired from the Nashville Predators.