Game #9

Anaheim Ducks @ Florida Panthers

Time: Thursday, October 26th, 4:30PM PST

BB&T Center Sunrise, Florida

TV: FS-F, KCOP-13

Radio: AM 830

The Enemy: Litter Box Cats

The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in which the team posted a second consecutive win with identical 6-2 scores. Their win over the Flyers on Tuesday was perhaps the most complete game this season. This will be their second game of a four-game road trip, and the first of two matchups against the Panthers this season. Last year the Ducks lost both matchups against Florida. With a win on Tuesday, the Ducks improved their record to 4-3-1 (9 points) keeping them in 5th place within the Pacific Division.

The Panthers are coming off a loss to the Montreal Canadiens in which they allowed 3 goals in 95-seconds and were defeated 5-1. They will face the Ducks for the first game of a five-game home stand. The Panthers are currently 3-5 (6 points) and sit 7th in the Atlantic Division.

All Eyes On Me:

Traveling to Florida will be a homecoming for Ducks rookie Jaycob Megna. A native of Plantation, Florida, Megna will be looking forward to playing in front of friends and family. More on Megna’s family reunion can be found below in a great player piece written by Eric Stephens:

Keys To The Game:

In the last two games, the Ducks have received scoring from multiple lines. This has been a beautiful thing to see as secondary scoring has always plagued the Ducks. Currently Brandon Montour, Nick Ritchie and Rickard Rakell lead the team with 3 each. With Ryan Getzlaf and Hampus Lindholm returning last game, Anaheim gained some much needed veteran leadership. The Ducks will hope their presence will continue to spark a suddenly resurgent offense and bring some stability in regards to discipline. The Ducks currently lead the league in penalty minutes per game at 16:30. Although Anaheim was able to score 5 consecutive goals against the Flyers, they took too many dumb penalties allowing Philadelphia a chance to create some momentum. For the Ducks to be successful Thursday, they will need to figure out a way to maintain their composure and not take bone-headed penalties. (Bieksa and Ritchie I hope you’re listening!)

The Panthers will be looking to rebound as they allowed Montreal to snap a 7-game losing streak in easy fashion. Florida is currently last in the NHL on the penalty kill (69.7%) and will be looking to take advantage of a Ducks team who takes many more penalties than they give. The Panthers will still be without veteran goalie Roberto Luongo who injured his hand last Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Florida will look to James Reimer to make his second consecutive start in net and hope he can bounce back from allowing 5 goals last game. In their last five games, the Panthers are 1-4.