Florida @ Anaheim preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2019 ) Anaheim 4, Florida 5

The All-Star break came at the worst time for the Florida Panthers, who were on a roll with a six-game winning streak before hitting the 10-day layoff. The Panthers, who lost seven of nine (2-6-1) after the break before winning at San Jose on Monday, will resume their five-game road trip with a visit to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

Florida had ascended to third place in the Atlantic Division before its current tailspin and now must make up ground during its trek through the Pacific Division. "You've got to take care of your own business in our league," coach Joel Quenneville said after the Panthers improved to 12-6-2 against the Western Conference with the 5-3 victory in San Jose. "We needed these points in the worst way." While the top five teams in the Pacific are separated by two points, the Ducks are near the bottom of the division and sitting 13 points out of a playoff slot. Anaheim has lost two of three after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of a 6-4 setback at Calgary on Monday but looks to rebound in the opener of a six-game homestand against Florida.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, FS Florida

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (31-22-6): Aaron Ekblad set up two goals, the 204th and 205th points of his career, to move past Jay Bouwmeester for second by a defenseman on the franchise all-time list. "I'm just trying to be responsible defensively as much as I can," said Ekblad, who scored a pair of goals in a 5-4 win over the Ducks on Nov. 21. "The assists and stuff like that come when you're strong and reliable defensively." Evgenii Dadonov ended a nine-game goal drought with his team-high 24th and his team-best 10th in the first period.

ABOUT THE DUCKS (24-28-7): Adam Henrique scored three times in the two-game road trip to give him five tallies in the last six contests, boosting his team-high total to 21 and marking the fifth time he has reached 20 goals. John Gibson turned aside 37 of 38 shots in a 5-1 win over Vancouver on Sunday but he was unable to protect a four-goal lead in the loss at Florida in November to fall to 3-3-1 with a 3.47 goals-against average versus the Panthers. Captain Ryan Getzlaf has 15 points in 16 meetings against Florida.

OVERTIME

1. Panthers G Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed at least three goals in nine of his last 10 starts.

2. Anaheim ranks 28th on the power play, converting on 3 of 25 chances over the past 10 games.

3. Panthers F Mike Hoffman has 20 points in 20 games in 2020.

PREDICTION: Ducks 4, Panthers 3