Resurging Anaheim Ducks to continue road trip with win over Minnesota Wild - NHL Preview
The Anaheim Ducks will play their third match of an eight game road trip as they travel to Minnesota to face the Wild on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at the Xcel Energy Center.
Both franchises are in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference, and both teams’ players will be looking to win a close encounter to improve their chances of reaching the coveted eighth spot.
Anaheim will face their third game of an eight match road trip against the Minnesota Wild and will be looking to continue their New Year resurgence.
The Ducks picked up form in January winning nine of their twelve games. This month Anaheim is 3-3 and will be looking to pick up steam as they continue on a long trip on the road.
The Ducks will enter the game on the back of a 5-3 pounding of struggling Columbus Blue Jackets as their offence continues to deliver.
Right Winger Corey Perry’s hat trick destroyed Columbus who put up a fight but were ultimately unable to mount any significant resistance.
Coach Bruce Boudreau was more than happy at his team’s victory and said that his team should continue to perform in the same manner throughout the away run.
"I told them to never complain about winning a game," coach Bruce Boudreau said after Sunday's victory. "If we want to continue to win on this trip we have to get more like we played in Detroit rather than (how) we played here."
The Ducks are ten points behind eighth spot as they occupy 13th in the Western Conference with a 22-24-9 record and 53 points.
For Minnesota things could not have gone much worse.
Starting the season strongly the Wild were in a playoff spot for most of the time but lost their way in mid-December and have struggled to regain momentum since.
Currently on a four game losing streak including two horrific performances against Columbus Blue Jackets both 3-1 defeats, Minnesota have dropped down to 12th in the Western Conference with a 25-22-8 record and 58 points.
The Wild have struggled considerably in both offence and defence during their four game skid, scoring just five times while allowing 13 goals.
"This time of year, we know we need wins. At this time of the year, outplaying a team unfortunately doesn't matter a whole lot," coach Mike Yeo said. "Deserving to win, unfortunately, doesn't count for a whole lot. We have to find ways to win."
Minnesota’s struggles will help Anaheim considerably and the Ducks will be favourites to make it two road wins in a row.
Recommendation: Anaheim win
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