The Anaheim Ducks, riding a five-game winning streak, face the Vegas Golden Knights in a crucial Pacific Division matchup on Saturday night. Anaheim (9-3-1) leads the division with 19 points, two ahead of Vegas (7-3-3) with 17. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. PT from T-Mobile Arena.
The Ducks are preparing for what head coach Joel Quenneville called their 'biggest test' yet, as they aim to extend their hot start—their best since the 2014-15 season. Anaheim enters on a roll after a 7-5 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday, marking the first time in franchise history the team has scored seven goals in consecutive games. Forward Alex Killorn highlighted the team's resilience: “It seems like we’ve caught a little momentum. It’s a really resilient group. There’s not a lot of games where we’ve been up, we’ve kind of come back a lot... everyone just kind of goes out and plays. There’s kind of a freedom to our game where guys feel that freedom and you could tell by how much we’re scoring, guys just have a lot of confidence.”
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are in the midst of a six-game homestand where they've gone 1-2, most recently dropping a 6-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning after leading 2-0. Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy expressed frustration with the loss and previewed the Ducks' offensive surge: “They’re scoring a lot. The game’s a little more wide open than what we’ve seen out of them [in] previous years. They’ve got big talent, too, and they’re starting to adjust to the league. You knew that would happen sooner or later with guys like [Leo] Carlsson and [Cutter] Gauthier; they’re high picks and they’re getting their opportunity.” Cassidy hopes his team responds with some edge against the division leaders.
Projected lineups show continuity for both sides. For Anaheim: Forwards include Chris Kreider -- Leo Carlsson -- Troy Terry, Cutter Gauthier -- Mason McTavish -- Beckett Sennecke, Nikita Nesterenko -- Ryan Poehling -- Alex Killorn, and Ross Johnston -- Jansen Harkins -- Frank Vatrano. Defense pairs: Jackson LaCombe -- Drew Helleson, Olen Zellweger -- Jacob Trouba, Pavel Mintyukov -- Ian Moore. Goalie Petr Mrazek starts, with Lukas Dostal as backup. Scratched: Sam Colangelo. Injured: Ryan Strome (upper body), Radko Gudas (lower body), Mikael Granlund (lower body).
Vegas lines: Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Mitch Marner, Brett Howden -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith, Brandon Saad -- Tomas Hertl -- Pavel Dorofeyev, Cole Reinhardt -- Colton Sissons -- Keegan Kolesar. Defense: Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin -- Zach Whitecloud, Jeremy Lauzon -- Kaedan Korczak. Akira Schmid in net, Carl Lindbom backup. Scratched: Alexander Holtz, Ben Hutton. Injured: Adin Hill (lower body), Mark Stone (upper body).
The Ducks will use the same skaters from their Stars win, while Vegas held an optional morning skate with no changes expected. This game closes Anaheim's brief road trip before returning home.
