TIME: 08:00 P.M. EST
VENUE: Honda Center
The Anaheim Ducks recent hot streak may seem surprising given their current place in the standings. To them, its exactly how well they should have been playing all along.
Anaheim seeks a fifth straight victory when it hosts the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
The Ducks entered this season with high expectations behind reigning MVP Corey Perry, but their rough start led to the firing of former coach Randy Carlyle on Nov. 30.
Trade rumors swirled as they continued their subpar play under new coach Bruce Boudreau, though any potential moves may want to be reconsidered given Anaheims 7-0-1 run since Jan. 6.
The Ducks (17-22-7) have won four straight since losing to Calgary 1-0 in overtime Jan. 12, beating red-hot Ottawa 2-1 on Saturday.
They still have a long way to go to climb back into the playoff race – theyre 13th in the Western Conference – but feel theyre ready to make a run down the stretch.
“You go through peaks and valleys throughout the season,” said winger Jason Blake, who has four goals and two assists during the four-game streak. “It wasnt the start that we were looking for. We dug ourselves a pretty big hole. But when you win a couple of games, you start feeling good about yourself and you get some confidence.
“The whole team is buying into what were trying to do in here, and it seems to be working.”
Corey Perry scored his team-leading 22nd goal and Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in the win over the Senators.
“We knew that if we played our game, we had a chance,” said Hiller, who has won his last four starts with a 1.25 goals-against average. “We played a really solid game. Everybody was sacrificing and playing for the team, and thats the way you win. If we keep playing that way, we can pretty much beat anybody.”
Anaheim hopes that continues against Colorado, which sits in eighth place in the West – 13 points ahead of the Ducks.
The Avalanche (26-21-2) are on a roll of their own, winning three of their last four after beating Los Angeles 3-1 on Saturday. Theyve scored seven goals in their last two games after scoring six in their previous five.
Peter Mueller scored the game-winner late in the second period, and rookie Gabriel Landeskog netted an insurance power-play goal with less than two minutes remaining in the third.
Former Duck Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who spent 8 1/2 seasons in Anaheim from 2000-10 and won a Stanley Cup in 2007, made 25 saves to win his third straight start.
“All year weve been stressing (defense), and were getting better as a team,” defenseman Shane OBrien said. “Giggys been great in net for us and were playing hard in front of him. Theres no secret to winning in this league. Youve got to play good solid defense, and were doing that right now.”
Its unclear if hell start Sunday, though Giguere has beaten Anaheim in his only two starts since being traded to Toronto two years ago, including an 18-save, 4-2 victory in the teams first meeting Dec. 31.
That contest snapped the Ducks six-game winning streak over the Avalanche, though Anaheim is 15-3-0 in the series since February 2007.
Teemu Selanne has 10 goals and nine assists in his last 12 games against Colorado.