(SportsNetwork.com) - Following one missed opportunity, the Anaheim Ducks will try again to secure the top seed in the Western Conference as they close out the regular season on Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Ducks had a chance to lock up home-ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs on Wednesday, but lost 4-0 to the Dallas Stars. The St. Louis Blues then picked up a win the following day to pull even with the Ducks with 107 points.
Anaheim does own the current tiebreaker over St. Louis with one more non- shootout win. The Blues are in action early on Saturday when they host the Minnesota Wild.
The Ducks lost the final two contests of a three-game homestand and played a second game in a row on Wednesday without captain Ryan Getzlaf. He was being rested ahead of the postseason, but could return to action tonight.
Without Getzlaf, the Ducks were held to just 19 shots by the Stars and allowed three second-period goals.
"It didn't seem like we had any energy or life," said Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, whose club hadn't played since last Friday. "I wish I had an answer to why we were that bad after five days of rest."
Frederik Andersen gave up all four scores on 32 shots for the Ducks.
"It wasn't very good. Everybody in here knows it," said Anaheim forward Corey Perry. "That's not the way we want to finish out the season at home. We have one more game to get ready. It has to be our best game, and it has to be what we're going to do in the playoffs."
Andersen is the likely starter tonight for the Ducks, as well as in the playoffs, and is 2-0-2 with a 1.20 goals against average and .955 save percentage in four career meetings with the Coyotes.
Arizona is ready to close out the season and try to rebuild for 2015-16. The Coyotes lost for the fifth time in six games when they were blanked 5-0 by the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Mike Smith gave up four goals on 24 shots while Louis Domingue allowed one goal on eight shots in relief for the Coyotes, who went just 13-25-3 on the road this season and are 11-24-5 at home.
Head coach Dave Tippett called his decision to lift Smith from the game a "mercy pull."
"I saw poor execution and some penalties we couldn't kill and that's the game," said Tippett. "What are you going to do, that's where we are."
Where Arizona is at is last in the Western Conference with 56 points, ahead of only the East's Buffalo Sabres and their 54 points. The Sabres have already locked up 30th place in the standings, giving them the best odds at winning the top pick in the upcoming draft.
Coyotes captain Shane Doan did not play on Thursday, two days after suffering a lower-body injury in a matchup with the Calgary Flames. He is questionable for this tilt.
Smith is 9-7-2 versus the Ducks with a 2.78 GAA and .905 save percentage in 20 games (18 starts).
The Ducks have won seven of their last nine overall against the Coyotes and three of the previous four meetings in Arizona.
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