There’s No Need to Analyze, Confidence Is the Difference

The Ducks are a fast but not particularly big or physical team. The Philadelphia Flyers are big, slow and not prone to making flashy plays.

So, which team has the edge in tonight’s game?

The Ducks believe they do.

Certainly, they have played some of their best hockey in more than a month on this East Coast trip. Their power play is six for 17 (35.3%) in the last three games, well above their 12.4% success rate this season.

“It’s not Xs and O’s,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said of the Ducks’ sudden power-play surge. “It’s them. They are feeling confident moving and shooting the puck. They are feeding off each other. It’s come at a real positive time for us.”

Hartsburg has made one noteworthy change to the power-play unit, however.

Oleg Tverdovsky has joined Fredrik Olausson on the blue line, leaving left wing Paul Kariya to move from the point to his more natural position closer to the net.

Tverdovsky, who didn’t play on the first power-play unit for most of the season, has responded with one goal and nine assists during a career-best six-game point streak.

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Wingers Marty McInnis, who has a groin strain, and Jeff Nielsen (knee injury) did not play in Tuesday’s 2-2 tie with the Buffalo Sabres. Their availability for tonight’s game will not be known until after the morning skate.

TONIGHT

at Philadelphia, 4:30 PST

Fox Sports Net 2

* Site--First Union Center.

* Radio--KDIS (710).

* Records--Ducks 22-24-7-1, Flyers 26-15-9-1.

* Record vs. Flyers--0-0-1.

* Update--This is the final game for the Ducks before the All-Star break. Kariya and Teemu Selanne head to Toronto after tonight’s game for the All-Star game Sunday. They will face off against each other. Kariya will start for the North Americans and Selanne for the World team. The Ducks are 2-0-1 in their last three games. The Flyers are in a 1-4-3 slide, in part because of the Valeri Zelepukin-Daymond Langkow-Sandy McCarthy line’s lack of offensive punch. Defenseman Luke Richardson is serving the final game of a suspension and will not play.