(Sports Network) - Even a return to the Honda Center couldn't prevent the Anaheim Ducks from posting their longest losing streak of the season. A visit from the Edmonton Oilers, though, could prevent that slide from going any further. The Ducks try to post their sixth straight win over the visiting Oilers this evening.
After recording a sixth consecutive victory with a home win over Dallas on Nov. 12, Anaheim lost three straight on the road; all three by just one goal and two past regulation. The Ducks then dropped their fourth straight one-goal game on Friday, a 4-3 setback to the Blue Jackets on the Honda Center that ended their five-game home winning streak.
Bobby Ryan, Saku Koivu and Corey Perry each lit the lamp for Anaheim, which fell to 7-2-1 at home this season. Teemu Selanne had an assist, his 22nd point of the season, but left the game with a sore groin and is day-to-day. The forward did not practice on Saturday and is questionable for this game. Jonas Hiller stopped 25 shots in defeat, which came despite a season-high 50 shots on net.
"We got the start we wanted and we just couldn't get another one past [Columbus goalie Steve Mason]," Getzlaf said. "Our focus has to be to play a full 60 minutes. We had a little lapse in the second period there and it ended up costing us." Anaheim hasn't lost five straight since March 3-12 and is riding a five-game win streak over Edmonton that includes a 20-9 scoring edge in last year's four-game series. The Ducks have lost six of their last 10 at home to the Oilers though.
Hiller is 5-1-0 with a 2.29 goals-against average in his career versus the Oilers, who come into this game on their second six-game losing streak (0-4-2) of the season. Edmonton, which hasn't dropped seven in a row since a 13-game slide from Dec. 31-Jan. 30 of last season, scored the first three goals in their meeting with Phoenix on Friday, but ended up losing a 4-3 decision in a shootout.
Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Dustin Penner tallied for the Oilers and Devan Dubnyk made 39 saves while allowing the game-tying goal with just 35 seconds left in regulation. "It's definitely disappointing," Horcoff said. "We worked pretty hard tonight and we did a lot of things well and just came up short." Dubnyk figures to get the bulk of the starts while Nikolai Khabibulin is out with a groin injury and has never before faced the Ducks.
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