GAME #77

Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00PM PST

Rogers Arena

TV: SNP, FS-W

Radio: AM 830

The Enemy: Nucks Misconduct

The Anaheim Ducks will continue their road trip through Western Canada as they take on the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. The Ducks are coming off a great comeback 4-3 victory in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night and will hope to keep the momentum moving in the right direction when they play a Vancouver franchise that has been struggling over the course of the season.

The Canucks are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars, but are only 2-8-0 in their last ten games with the win against Dallas included. The team is missing just about every player that knows how to score a goal in the NHL, and the team has suffered drastically from it. Names like Brock Boeser, Erik Gudbranson, Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund, and Derek Dorsett are all currently listed on the injury report for the Canucks.

So what does this mean for Anaheim?

Pretty simple, do not mess this up. This is an opportunity to claim what might be considered the easiest two points remaining on the schedule (I know Arizona is still to come on April 7th, but the Coyotes actually look like a halfway decent team at this point). The Canucks lost to the Ducks just 13 days ago by a 3-0 score, completing their third consecutive shutout.

The Canucks proceeded to lose two more games after that before finally snapping their losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks know what is on the line in regards to the standings each and every night, and with teams like the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings winning yet again, the Ducks know that they need the two points in order to stay in the hunt for the top 3 spots in the Pacific.

They were finally able to get a little bit of help around the league in the playoff race with the Colorado Avalanche falling in regulation to the Vegas Golden Knights, giving the Ducks a tiny amount of breathing room where the Wild Card spots are concerned. With Dallas losing against Vancouver, they have all but removed themselves from the playoff race, giving Anaheim one less team to worry about heading into April.

In any case, the Ducks cannot rely on the rest of the league to punch their playoff ticket for them. Vancouver has been a mess, to put it politely, and the Ducks need to find ways to play stout defensively and leave Rogers Arena with the two points.

All Eyes On Me

Troy Terry.

Do I really need to say anything else?

Keys to the Game

1. Keep the Offense Rolling - The Ducks have looked much better offensively in recent games, most notably coming in clutch with a late goal to push the game against Edmonton to overtime. Keep the goals coming and the points in the standings will follow.

2. Troy Terry - Man, am I excited for this debut. I think I can speak for all Ducks fans when I say that this debut has been long-awaited and should be a hell of a good time to watch.

3. Defense - The Canucks offensive struggles are well-noted at this point. The Ducks should be more than capable of shutting down an anemic offense in a game that they know they need a result out of.