"Fresh off their second consecutive dramatic overtime victory, the Ducks were pleased during and after Saturday's practice at Anaheim Ice. But while the come-from-behind triumphs over Detroit and Dallas are something to savor, there was no time for revelry in the tight Western Conference playoff race. It doesn't get any easier for the Ducks on Sunday as they play host to the conference-leading Vancouver Canucks, who have an NHL-best 91 points after their 3-1 victory over the Kings on Saturday. The big tests simply keep coming. "It's like playoff hockey right now when you play against these teams," defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. "They're going to be tight games where there's little details that are going to make a difference between a win and a loss. We have to have those details in our game to take advantage of it." The Ducks often play to the level of their competition. Right now, the competition is helping them. "It's kind of a measuring stick for us to see where we're at against some of the top teams," defenseman Cam Fowler said. "I think we've proven to ourselves and to the rest of the league that when we play and play consistently, we can hang around with any team in the league. "Coming down the stretch here, all these games are important. You take a night off and you're going to get beaten." The Ducks realized that during their five-game losing streak that dropped them out of the West's top eight, making their margin for error slim." Read more: http://www.ocregister.com/sports/ducks-290917-play-game.html
