Vancouver Canucks take on the Anaheim Ducks live on Friday night in NHL action at 10:00 PM ET.
The Anaheim Ducks are one of the early teams to beat in the NHL after starting off with two straight wins for the second time in franchise history. The team hopes to continue that streak on Friday night at home against the Canucks.
The team opened the season with an emphatic 7-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and continued their strong play with a 5-4 victory over Calgary on Monday. The team finished its Canadian tour to start off with a much better road record than last season when the club lost 15 of their first 17 road games.
The last time the team opened 2-0-0 was back in in 2006, when they opened with three wins before going on to the club's lone Stanley Cup title. The team has relied heavily on 42-year-old Teemu Selanne, who already has four points, including two goals, in the early part of the season. The Ducks have also gotten a boost from third-liners Daniel Winnik, Andrew Cogliano and Saku Koivu, who have combined to score 14 points.
"I didn't expect the goal production (from the third line)," coach Bruce Boudreau, whose team hosts Nashville on Saturday, told the Ducks' official website. "But they're all very fast skaters. The first day I put them together, they seemed to have more jump than anybody else and they've kept that up."
The Ducks have been one of the highest scoring clubs this season and won't be scared off by Vancouver goaltender Cory Schneider, who they scored five goals on in 14 shots in the opener. Schneider is in a tough position with the team, as he is struggling as they are shopping their backup (and former starter) Roberto Luongo.
The two-time defending Presidents' Trophy winners are planning to trade the goalie this season after being upset in the first round by the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. The team went down 2-0 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Kings behind bad play from Luongo, forcing Vancouver to go to Schneider, who won one of the next three games as Los Angeles advanced after winning Game 5.
Luongo will be the biggest name in trade talks this season, as the Canucks have a great deal of money invested in the position with him and Schneider. His play as steadily declined over the past few years and the Canadian could be a hot commodity for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are trying to rebound from a number of disappointing seasons of missing the playoffs.
Luongo was back in net for Sunday's 3-2 shootout loss against Edmonton, but it was Schnieder who was key on Wednesday as Vancouver beat the flames 3-2 behind 34 saves from the goalie.
"I had to show myself and my teammates that first game was a fluke, and I felt better as it went on," he said after Vancouver completed its season-opening homestand.
Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller has been excellent early in the season and is 5-1-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average in six career home starts versus Vancouver. Selanne has been stellar on the power play this season, netting a goal in the opening win. With another special team's goal on Friday, he will move past Phil Esposito for third all-time in that category with 250.
Anaheim is one of the early leaders in the league in power play percentage, ranking first with 60 percent. The team hasn't done as well killing penalties, ranking 30th in the league through two games with a 42 percent clip. The Ducks are scoring in droves, raking first in the NHL with 6.0 per game, which should keep the Canucks on edge all night.
According to the Associated Press, these teams have alternated wins and losses in their last six in Anaheim and last 10 overall.
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