Florida @ Anaheim preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2018 ) Anaheim 3, Florida 2

After knocking off one of the top teams in the Pacific to open their four-game road trip, the surging Florida Panthers were not about to be denied by the division's worst club. The Panthers have a chance to match their longest winning streak of the season when they make a short trip to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Sunday.

Florida, which began Saturday nine points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, kept alive its faint postseason hopes by rallying for a pair of goals in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the third period to edge Los Angeles 4-3 for its fourth straight win. "We're not dead yet," Panthers coach Bob Boughner told reporters. "We can make things interesting. We've just got to keep winning." The Ducks managed to salvage a split of a back-to-back set on the road, rebounding from a 6-1 trouncing in Arizona with a 5-3 victory at Colorado on Friday. "We spent half the season battling against ourselves, basically," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf told reporters. "Now we're taking a lot more pride in the way we want to play and the way we want to build for next season."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Florida, FS West (Anaheim)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (32-27-12): Not only did Jonathan Huberdeau deliver the game-winning goal with just under two minutes to play on Saturday, he recorded an assist to tie Viktor Kozlov's franchise single-season record of 53. Speaking of assists, captain Aleksander Barkov set up three goals to establish a career high of 80 points, becoming the third player in team history to reach that mark. Rookie goaltender Sam Montembeault suffered a 4-3 loss in his NHL debut but has responded by giving up eight goals during a four-start winning streak.

ABOUT THE DUCKS (29-35-9): Corey Perry, who turned 34 on Saturday, got off to a slow start to a season that didn't get underway until Feb. 2 due to a knee injury, but he sparked the comeback win in Colorado with his first two-goal performance of 2018-19. "Starting your season in February is not easy," the former 50-goal scorer told reporters. "Guys have been skating for four months, playing games every other day, and I've been trying to play catch-up." Getzlaf collected three points versus the Avalanche and has surpassed 30 assists for the 13th consecutive season.

OVERTIME

1. Huberdeau has registered five goals and six assists over his last five games.

2. Ducks C Ryan Kesler has missed five straight contests with a hip injury that is threatening the rest of his season.

3. Barkov has collected two goals and 11 assists during his five-game point streak.

PREDICTION: Ducks 3, Panthers 2