The Anaheim Ducks have been one of the most impressive teams so far this season, going 11-2-1 to earn 23 points in the lockout-shortened schedule.
The team will look to continue its strong play in a home matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at the Honda Center. The Ducks have been one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL and the work of goaltender Viktor Fasth has been stellar.
Coach Bruce Boudreau has the Ducks second in the league overall behind the Chicago Blackhawks and are coming off of a 5-1-0 road trip. Anaheim is on its second four game winning streak of the month and is entering the game after a 3-2 shootout win in Nashville on Saturday.
"The one thing that our group has been able to do so far is keep their cool and play the way they are supposed to and just keep going and eventually something goes in," Boudreau said.
Corey Perry scored the wining goal on Saturday and Bobby Ryan and Daniel Winnik are tied for the team lead with five goals, but the Ducks have gotten contributions from everywhere. The team is ranked in the top five of the league with 3.3 goals per game and Fasth has been amazing in net, going 8-0-0 to tie a record by winning his first eight starts in the league. The young goalie is ranked in the top 10 in save percentage and goals against average.
"(Fasth is) playing exceptionally well, and guys are playing well in front of him," Perry told the league's official website.
The Blue Jackets are struggling in its first season since trading franchise star Rick Nash and the team is just 1-5-0 on the road and are starting off a three game trip. The team is coming off of a 5-3 loss against Phoenix and are dealing with a number of injuries to primary players Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, two players that came over from the Rangers in the Nash trade.
Teemu Selanne has been excellent for the Ducks this season and he has been solid against Columbus in the past, scoring two goals and two assists in four games last year. Corey Perry had a hat trick in the two wins and will look to continue his success on Monday night. Anaheim is ranked in the top 10 in power play percentage, but is ranked only 27th in penalty kill percentage.
Columbus has issues scoring goals and is ranked just 28th in the league in goals per game and is allowing 3.1 against, ranked 22nd in the NHL. The power play has been struggling as well, ranking 26th in the league, while the penalty kill has been solid, ranking 11th with 83.9 percent. Fedor Tyutin is leading the Blue Jackets in points, while Selanne is tops on the Ducks with 15, including 11 assists.
The Ducks have been one of the most balanced teams in the NHL and have gone 8-1-1 over their last 10 games and have gone 2-1-1 within the division. The Ducks have only lost one game at home and are 7-1-1 on the road away from Anaheim.
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