ANAHEIM DUCKS NOTES:
LAST ANAHEIM DUCKS
GAME OCT. 28, 2023 – ANAHEIM 7 @ PHILADELPHIA 4
Anaheim matched the franchise record for goals in a road game with a 7-4 win over Philadelphia Saturday to win their third consecutive road game in the Eastern time zone for the first time since 2018-19 (Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 2018). Frank Vatrano recorded his second hat trick of the season (also Oct. 15 vs. CAR), netting a goal at 15:20 of the first period, 6:58 of the second period and the Ducks first shorthanded goal of the season at 11:12 of the third period. Ryan Strome recorded a season-high three points (1-2=3), extending his point-streak to four games (2-3=5, +4). Mason McTavish recorded two assists to push his point streak to a career-long four games (2-3=5, +3), averaging a point-per-game to start the season. Adam Henrique (1-1=2) and Trevor Zegras (1-0=1) each netted their first goal of the season, while Max Jones recorded the primary assist on Henrique’s goal for his first point of the campaign. Jackson LaCombe, Jakob Silfverberg, Ross Johnston and Sam Carrick each earned assists. Silfverberg’s assist marked his 186th as a Duck, passing Rickard Rakell for sole possession of eighth on Anaheim’s all-time assist list. Lukas Dostal stopped 27-of-31 shots for his third win of 2023-24. Anaheim snapped the Flyers 3-0-0 home start with the win. PP: 2-2 PK: 3-4 SF: 25 SA: 31 TOI: Radko Gudas (21:36) Three Stars: 1. V. Vatrano (ANA) 2. R. Strome (ANA) 3. M. McTavish (ANA)
INJURIES PLAYER INJURY / ILLNESS EXPECTED TIME MISSED GAMES MISSED Jamie Drysdale Lower-body Day-to-day 6 Brock McGinn Lower-body Day-to-day 8 Alex Killorn Fractured finger Approximately 5-6 weeks 8 Isac Lundestrom Torn Achilles Approximately 6 months 8
2023-24 Man Games Lost: 33
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Anaheim Ducks look to sweep their four-game road trip tonight when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena (4 p.m. PT, TV: Bally Sports SoCal, AUDIO: Ducks Stream). Should the Ducks win, it will mark the fifth time, first since 2013-14, that Anaheim has swept a road trip of at least four games. The four instances to date all were 4-0-0 ventures: Dec. 17-23, 2013; Feb. 5-13, 2011; Oct. 21-27, 2008 and Nov. 19-24, 1993. Through eight games this season, Anaheim opponents have had a combined 22-6-2 record entering the contest vs. the Ducks. The Ducks are in the midst of seven games in 12 nights (game 6), while tonight concludes a stretch of five straight games Anaheim will face an Eastern Conference opponent. Milestones tonight include Jakob Silfverberg one game from appearing in his 700th game as a Duck, where he can become the fifth player in club history to reach the mark and join Ryan Getzlaf (1,157), Corey Perry (988), Teemu Selanne (966) and Cam Fowler (901). Following tonight’s game, the Ducks return home to begin a five-game homestand Wednesday, Nov. 1 vs. the Arizona Coyotes at Honda Center (7 p.m. PT).
CARDIAC COMEBACKS: The Ducks became the 10th team in NHL history to score twice in the final two minutes of regulation with the goalie pulled to win the game Oct. 26 @ BOS. Anaheim scored two goals in the final 1:55 of regulation, both with the sixth attacker (6- on-5), marking the first time in club history (regular season or playoffs) the Ducks have won a game when trailing by multiple goals with less than two minutes left in regulation. Anaheim is also the third NHL team the last 12 years (last instances in 2011-12) to score two such goals with the sixth attacker in a road game. * Goalie movement officially began being tracked during the 1997-98 season
The Ducks also became the 13th team in NHL history to win consecutive road games in OT after trailing in the third period of each contest (last: TBL, Oct. 14, 2021 (7-6 OTW @ DET) and Oct. 16, 2021 (2-1 OTW @ WSH). Anaheim forced OT after trailing by two goals with 1:55 in regulation to earn 4-3 OT victory, Oct. 26 @ BOS. The Ducks also overcame a 2-1, third-period deficit with 3:47 left in regulation and earned a 3-2 OT win Oct. 24 @ CBJ.
DUCKS-PENGUINS: Anaheim and the Pittsburgh Penguins open a two-game season series tonight at PPG Paints Arena and will conclude the series in eight days at Honda Center (Nov. 7). The Ducks own an all-time record of 15-23-4 vs. the Penguins, including a 5-14-3 mark in the Steel City. In Orange County, the Ducks are 10-9-1 vs. the Penguins, earning points in nine of its last 15 home contests in the series (9-6-1). During the 2022-23 campaign, the Ducks earned a point in a 4-3 overtime loss Jan. 16 at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh picked up a 6-3 win Feb. 10 at Honda Center, despite Pittsburgh native John Gibson stopping a career-high 53-of-59 shots. Gibson has appeared in his hometown on seven prior occasions, posting a 2-4-1 record and leads all-time Anaheim goalies vs. Pittsburgh with a 5-7-1 record, 3.58 GAA and .898 SV%. During the 2022-23 series, Adam Henrique (1-2=3), Trevor Zegras (2-1=3) and Mason McTavish (1-2=3) paced the Ducks in scoring while Zegras led the team in goals and Henrique and McTavish co-lead in assists. Henrique also leads active Ducks skaters in career scoring (3-5=8) and co-leads in goal scoring along with Cam Fowler and assists along with Jakob Silfverberg.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:
LAST 2 GAMES Oct. 28: Ottawa 5, Pittsburgh 2 – PPG Paints Arena PIT Goals: Crosby, Guentzel Multiple Points: Crosby (1G-1A) Goalie: Jarry (6 saves, 9 shots), Hellberg (15 saves, 17 shots) Key Stats: Sidney Crosby second multi-point outing of the season (1G-1A) wasn’t enough as Pittsburgh fell at home. PP: 0-2 PK: 2-3 Oct. 26:
Pittsburgh 4, Colorado 0 – PPG Paints Arena PIT Goals: Smith (2), Eller, Crosby Multiple Points: Smith (2G) Goalie: Jarry (31 saves, 31 shots) Key Stats: Tristan Jarry’s league-leading second shutout of the season helped Pittsburgh snap a three-game losing streak. PP: 0-2 PK: 5-5
INJURIES Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed G Alex Nedeljkovic Lower-Body 2 2 D John Ludvig Concussion 2 2 2023-24 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 4
RECENT TRANSACTIONS Date Transaction Oct. 26 F Radim Zohorna and F Vinnie Hinostroza recalled from WBS. F Corey Andonovski re-assigned to WBS.
Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Ducks: 25-13-4 In Pittsburgh: 15-5-2 In Anaheim: 10-8-2 OT Record vs. Ducks: 2-1-2 Shootout Record vs. Ducks: 1-0 2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh went 2-0-0.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. DUCKS: Evgeni Malkin – 21GP, 27 PTS (10G-17A) Sidney Crosby – 22GP, 26 PTS (9G-17A) Jaromir Jagr – 13GP, 22 PTS (11G-11A)
TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Penguins conclude their four-game homestand as they take on the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena (TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh; Radio: 105.9 The X). -Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game with wins in six of its last seven games against Anaheim (6-1-0). Going back further, the Penguins are 13-5-0 in their last 18 games against them dating back to Nov. 18, 2013. -The Penguins have wins in three-straight home games against the Ducks and are 7-2-0 in their last nine home games against them.
QUICK HITS
1) Pittsburgh’s team faceoff win percentage of 55.1% ranks first in the NHL. 2) Sidney Crosby has multiple points in five of his last 14 games against the Ducks and 19 points overall during that stretch (6G-13A). Here in Pittsburgh, Crosby’s been held without a point just twice in 10 games (6G-8A). 3) Jake Guentzel has seven goals and nine points in eight games against Anaheim. He enters tonight’s game with points in five-consecutive games versus Anaheim (6G-2A). 4) Defenseman P.O Joseph is looking to appear in his 100th career NHL game. Last year, Joseph set career highs across the board in games played (75), goals (5), assists (16), points (21) and plus/minus (+8). His plus-8 was tied for first on the Penguins. He has three point (2G-1A) in two career games versus the Ducks. 5) On Saturday, the Penguins played in their 500th regular-season game at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh owns an all-time record of 325-133-42 (692 points) at the arena, with its 325 wins being the most by an NHL franchise through its first 500 home games at a brick-and-mortar venue.
TEAM NOTES
HOME COOKIN’
Sidney Crosby found the scoresheet for Pittsburgh on Saturday night, figuring in on both of the Penguins goals (1G-1A) in the loss. It marked the 449th multi-point effort of his career which ranks first among active players (Alex Ovechkin, 418) and is 11th in NHL history. Nearly 40% of every NHL game that Crosby has played in has been a multi-point effort (449/1,198 – 39.1%) Crosby has been held without a point just once this season and has points in all five of his home games this year (3G-3A). His six points at home rank second on the team behind teammate Jake Guentzel:
