DETROIT – After defeating one tough Central Division foe, the Anaheim Ducks will look to repeat the feat against another on Friday when they visit the Detroit Red Wings.
Viktor Fasth improved to 6-0-0 in his first NHL season after turning aside 28 shots - in addition to two of three in the shootout - as Anaheim recorded a 3-2 triumph over Chicago on Tuesday. The Ducks will need to quickly turn their attention to the Red Wings, who took three of the four meetings last season.
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Detroit will look to wrap up a four-game homestand in style. After winning the first two contests, the Red Wings wrested a point before dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to struggling St. Louis on Wednesday. Pavel Datsyuk scored for the third straight game and Jimmy Howard finished with 21 saves in his 200th career start.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NHLN, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN (Detroit)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (9-2-1): With Jonas Hiller nursing a lower-body injury, Fasth has been stellar and boasts a stingy 1.74 goals-against average. A two-time Honken Trophy winner (the Swedish Elite League's version of the Vezina), Fasth has caught the eye of Detroit coach Mike Babcock.
"He looked excellent the other night," Babcock said. "What I liked about him is that in traffic, he found the puck every time. He didn't seem to be in a panic to find it. He was relaxed, and there and square. He looked like a goaltender to me."
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (7-4-2): Captain Henrik Zetterberg was kept off the scoresheet for just the third time this season in Wednesday's contest. The veteran Swede, who collected two goals and an assist versus Anaheim in 2011-12, has 36 points in 32 career contests against the Ducks.
Howard is 7-2-1 with three shutouts in his career versus Anaheim. Drew Miller, who played with the Ducks from 2007-09, netted his first goal of the season for the Red Wings on Wednesday.
Anaheim will wrap its six-game road trip Saturday in Nashville.
The teams will finish their three-game season series with a home-and-home set on March 22 and 24.
The Ducks have killed off just 69.6 percent of their short-handed situations.