(Sports Network) - Set to wrap up the eastern part of their seven-game road trip, the Anaheim Ducks shoot for a fifth straight victory over the Buffalo Sabres this evening at HSBC Arena in the only meeting between the clubs this season.The Ducks have split the first four games on this season-long swing, picking up a victory in Washington before losses at the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. Anaheim evened its mark on the trip with a 3-0 victory in Boston last night.
Jonas Hiller made 45 saves for his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career. Rookie Brandon McMillan picked up his first career multipoint game with a goal and an assist, while Lubomir Visnovsky and Corey Perry also scored."We had two games before this where we were behind the eight-ball early," said Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle. "We wanted to come out with a good start and we accomplished that tonight."
Anaheim is now 7-9-3 on the road and heads back out west to finish this swing in Los Angeles and Phoenix. The Ducks then return home on New Year's Eve for the first time since Dec. 12.The Ducks have won four straight over the Sabres after going winless in the previous 10 meetings between the clubs. They snapped a five-game series road winless streak when the teams last met in Buffalo on Feb. 24, 2009 and recorded a 5-4 home victory in the only meeting last year in Anaheim.Hiller made 41 saves and has won both of his career meetings against the Sabres, while backup Curtis McElhinney has never faced them.
Buffalo will look to pick up its first win over Anaheim since Dec. 8, 2005 and rebound from Saturday's 3-1 loss in Tampa, the Sabres' third loss in four games. Jason Pominville had the lone goal and Ryan Miller made 34 saves.Forward Tim Connolly suffered a broken nose in the contest and though he did return to the game, he isn't expected to play tonight.
The Sabres have won four of their last five at home and will play their next two games in western New York. Miller did not start last year's meeting with the Ducks, but did come on in relief and take the loss. He is 0-2-0 with a 2.77 GAA lifetime against Anaheim. Today, the Ducks recalled forward Josh Green from Syracuse, after Nick Bonino suffered a minor foot injury.
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