• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sliding Ducks return home to face Blue Jackets

Nov 19, 2010 - 4:27 PM (Sports Network) - After a winless road trip, the Ducks have to be thankful to return to the Honda Center, where they have won five straight games. Extending that streak may be surprisingly difficult with the Blue Jackets coming to town.

Columbus seeks a second straight win overall and fourth victory in a row in Anaheim tonight.

The Blue Jackets are 4-2-0 in November and have won seven of their last 10 games overall. They began a three-game road trip on Wednesday in Los Angeles and posted a 5-3 win to hand the Kings their first home loss in nine games this season.

Jared Boll had the game-tying goal in the third period and Rick Nash added two tallies in the frame after missing Columbus' last game with a lower-body injury. Andrew Murray scored a goal and had an assist for the Blue Jackets, who are 5-1-0 on the road this season.

"It was a wild one," said Columbus head coach Scott Arniel. "We got off to a good start, got that first goal, and it gave us a little bit of a jump start. They're a team that pressures hard as we saw, they come at you ... but we got some timely goals."

Steve Mason made 33 saves and it is unknown if he or Mathieu Garon will start tonight with Columbus set to visit San Jose on Saturday. Garon is 4-1-0 with a 1.28 goals-against average and two shutouts in six games this year and 8-6-3 with a 2.90 GAA in his career versus the Ducks. Mason, meanwhile, is 6-5-0 with a 3.21 GAA on the season and 3-2-0 with a 2.61 GAA versus the Ducks.

Nash, who has five goals and three assists over a six-game point streak, scored twice when the Blue Jackets posted a 3-1 home win over the Ducks on Oct. 20, their second straight and fourth victory in their last five meetings with the club.

Columbus hasn't lost in Anaheim since Dec. 7, 2008 and has won six of its last nine at the Honda Center.

Nash has 13 goals and 27 points in 27 career games versus the Ducks.

Teemu Selanne, who scored Anaheim's lone goal in that earlier loss to Columbus, is second on the Ducks with eight goals and 21 points. The 40-year- old has 14 goals and 30 points in 29 career games against Columbus and netted his team's only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Curtis McElhinney made 25 saves in his first appearance since Nov. 10 as the Ducks went 0-1-2 on a three-game swing that came after six straight victories.

"We were a little frustrated that we didn't get the extra point from the standpoint that we were pretty good in the third period," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.

The Ducks are 7-1-1 on the Honda Center and haven't lost there since Oct. 29.

Jonas Hiller should get the start for Anaheim tonight and is 1-2-0 with a 2.34 GAA lifetime when facing Columbus.