About the Ducks - 11-05-10
A preview of the Ducks.
When and where: 10 p.m., Honda Center.
TV: FSN Pittsburgh, KDOC.
Record: 5-7-1, 11 points. The Ducks are in 14th place in the Western Conference and last place in the Pacific Division.
Leading Scorer: Ryan Getzlaf, 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists).
Last Game: 3-2 overtime win against the Lightning, Wednesday. Teemu Selanne had a goal and an assist for Anaheim.
Last Game against the Penguins: 5-2 road loss, Nov. 16, 2009. Matt Cooke had two goals for the Penguins
Ducks Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: We're going with a personal favorite. Teemu Selanne (right). The Finnish Flash has 32 career points in 19 games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Ducks: Randy Carlyle, head coach.
Ex-Mighty Ducks/Ducks on the Penguins: Dan Bylsma, head coach; Chris Kunitz, LW.
Useless Ducks Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Kunitz holds the Ducks' single-season record for best plus/minus. He was a plus-19 in 2005-06.
Best Ducks Video We Could Find: "Danny Byuhl-sma" scoring a nifty backhander goal on Thrashers goaltender Milan Hnilicka during the 2001-02 season:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (1-5-0, 3.35 GAA, .863 SV%) for the Penguins and Jonas Hiller (4-5-1, 2.99 GAA, .918 SV%) for the Ducks.
Injuries: For the Penguins, Forward Sidney Crosby (hand) is probable. Forward Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Ducks, forward Matt Beleskey (concussion) and defenseman Cam Fowler (neck/nose) are day to day. Forwards Joffrey Lupul (blood infection), Dan Sexton (nose) and defenseman Andy Sutton (finger) are on injured reserve .
Potential lines and defensive pairings:
-The Penguins did not practice with a full crew yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings in practice against the Stars Wednesday were:
Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Mike Comrie
Matt Cooke - Evgeni Malkin - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Mark Letestu - Max Talbot
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Eric Godard
Deryk Engelland - Brooks Orpik
Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Alex Goligoski - Zbynek Michalek
The Ducks' primary lines in practice yesterday were:
Bobby Ryan - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Jason Blake - Saku Koivu - Teemu Selanne
Kyle Palmieri - Todd Marchant - Nick Bonino
Josh Green - Aaron Voros - George Parros - Ryan Carter - Troy Bodie
Their primary defnesive pairings against the Lightning Wednesday were:
Tony Lydman - Lubomir Visnovsky
Paul Mara - Cam Fowler
Andreas Lilja - Sheldon Brookbank
Notes:
-Sidney Crosby (hand) and Pascal Dupuis (new kid) did not practice yesterday but are each expected to play.
-"We have a lot of guys who care, and we'll look to bounce back." - Crosby on his team's struggles.
-Deryk Engelland has emerged as a top-six defenseman.
-Fleury has 149 career regular season wins.
-Pascal Dupuis has appeared in 599 career regular season games.
-The moustache of Ducks enforcer and Washington, Pa. native George Parros' is no more:
-Our live blog begins at approximately 10 p.m. Please have some Red Bull and tune in.
(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)