The Anaheim Ducks will host the Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center on Wednesday night, aiming to maintain their lead in the Pacific Division. Anaheim enters with a 14-7-1 record after a 4-3 overtime win against the Golden Knights, while Vancouver sits at 9-12-2 following three straight losses. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT, airing exclusively on Victory+.
Anaheim Ducks (14-7-1) face the Vancouver Canucks (9-12-2) in their first meeting of the season, marking the fifth game of a six-game homestand at Honda Center. The Ducks are coming off a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over the Golden Knights on Saturday, where Cutter Gauthier scored the winner on a fumbled puck by Mitch Marner, his third overtime goal of the career.
"I saw a pizza right up the middle, and I tried to turn around and shoot it," Gauthier said. "I didn’t really know what was going on, but I don’t think the goalie did either, and I’m thankful that puck went in."
The comeback from a two-goal deficit was the third such rally this season, contributing to wins in three of their last four games. Head coach Joel Quenneville praised the team's resilience: "I liked the way we competed. I thought we bounced back in that game. When the game was on the line in the third, I thought we played real smart hockey, and we did a good job in the overtime period."
Ducks forward Troy Terry credited the home crowd for the energy boost: "I don’t think we could come back in that game without the energy in the building. We could feel it. (The fans) deserved for us to do something."
This matchup follows three days off for Anaheim, with Quenneville noting concerns about slow starts: "It’ll be an interesting response for us knowing our starts have been concerning some nights, but I think that we want to make sure we get off to a good beginning here."
Vancouver has dropped three in a row, but Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas emphasized focus on the divisional foe: "We’re going to try and take away the time and space from them and try to play as much of the 60 minutes as we can. If we can take away space and time from them, I believe it’s going to work in our favor to have the puck more than them."
Petr Mrázek will start in net for Anaheim, with Lukáš Dostál day-to-day due to an upper-body injury. For Vancouver, Nikita Tolopilo is set for his second NHL start amid several injuries, including Thatcher Demko (lower body).
Projected Lineups
Ducks:
Cutter Gauthier -- Leo Carlsson -- Beckett Sennecke
Chris Kreider -- Mason McTavish -- Troy Terry
Frank Vatrano -- Ryan Strome -- Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston -- Jansen Harkins -- Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe -- Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger -- Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov -- Radko Gudas
Petr Mrazek / Ville Husso
Canucks:
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk
Conor Garland -- David Kampf -- Brock Boeser
Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Nikita Tolopilo / Jiri Patera