Anaheim's problems look a lot like Ottawa's, just at home. Die by the Blade had the Ducks losing 6 of 7 heading into the Buffalo game, with Lukas Dostal and Ville Husso combining for a .862 save percentage in that stretch and the team posting a 41.8 expected-goals-for percentage at even strength. Then it got worse. Vancouver beat them 6-5 in overtime after Anaheim led 5-2 in the 3rd period. Buffalo beat them 7-6 behind a Tage Thompson hat trick after the Ducks opened with 2 power-play goals.
The good news for Anaheim is that the offense is producing. The Ducks scored 5 against Philadelphia, 5 against Vancouver and 6 against Buffalo, with Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Mikael Granlund and Beckett Sennecke as the core of the attack. They've also had a few days off since Thursday's loss, while Ottawa will have played the night before. Over the same stretch the Senators have scored 7 on the Rangers and 5 on the Kings, so both teams can score in bunches.
Anaheim's real problem is the blue line. Pavel Mintyukov went on injured reserve with a lower-body injury during the road trip, Ian Moore is 'a ways from skating' according to Joel Quenneville, and our Buffalo recap pinned that loss on the short-handed defense. Jackson LaCombe is carrying the top pair. Ryan Poehling (MCL sprain) and Troy Terry (hip, long-term IR) are also out, so the forward depth is thin too. Ottawa's injuries are mostly at forward and in goal, Anaheim's mostly on defense, and both lists hit the areas that have been costing each team games.
Puck drop is 5:00 PM PT. As of Friday, Ottawa is 8-5-1 and Anaheim is 5-7-1, and both have lost 2 straight. The Senators were the better team over the first 2 weeks, but most of that came with Ullmark in net. Without him and on tired legs, it's hard to say how much of that edge is left. The Ducks are rested and at home, and their goaltending has been just as shaky.