About the Ducks - 02-15-12
A preview of the Ducks.
When and where: 7 p.m. EST. Consol Energy Center.
TV: Root Sports, Prime Sports.
Record: 23-24-9, 55 points. The Ducks are in 13th place in the Western Conference and last place the Pacific Division.
Leading Scorer: Teemu Selanne (right), 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists).
Last Game: 2-1 road win against the Wild, last night. Jonas Hiller made 17 saves for the Ducks.
Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 home win, Nov. 5, 2010. Sidney Crosby scored both of the Penguins' goals.
Ducks Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Selanne. He has 33 career points in 20 games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Ducks: Nate Guenin, defenseman; Brad Lauer, assistant coach; Rick Paterson, director of player personnel.
Ex-Ducks on the Penguins: Dan Byslma, head coach; Chris Kunitz, left winger; Richard Park, right winger.
Useless Ducks/Mighty Ducks Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The first captain in Ducks/Mighty Ducks history was Troy Loney.
Best Ducks/Mighty Ducks Video We Could Find: Dan Bylsma, then of the Mighty Ducks, roofing a nifty backhander against the Thrashers during the 2001-02 season:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (29-13-3, 2.35 GAA, .911 SV%) for the Penguins and Jonas Hiller (20-19-9, 2.72 GAA, .907 SV%) for the Ducks.
Injuries: For the Penguins, center Tyler Kennedy (high ankle sprain) is out. Right winger Arron Asham (head) and center Sidney Crosby (head/neck) are on injured reserve. For the Ducks, goaltender Dan Ellis (groin) is on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' held an optional skate today. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Lightning were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Steve Sullivan - Cal O'Reilly - Dustin Jeffrey
Craig Adams - Joe Vitale - Richard Park
Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Deryk Engelland
Zbynek Michalek - Matt Niskanen
-The Ducks' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Wild last night were:
Jason Blake - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Bobby Ryan - Saku Koivu - Teemu Selanne
Matt Beleskey - Nick Bonino - Andrew Cogliano
Niklas Hagman - Rod Pelley - George Parros
Francois Beauchemin - Cam Fowler
Luca Sbisa - Lubomir Visnovsky
Toni Lydman - Sheldon Brookbank
Notes:
-Malkin has 297 career assists.
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(Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)