(SportsNetwork.com) - The last time the Anaheim Ducks won 48 games in a season, they went on to win their first and only Stanley Cup championship.
The Ducks would love to repeat that history this postseason but first look to set a new franchise record for victories in a season as they host the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night.
Anaheim begins a three-game homestand tonight after a 2-0-1 road trip, with Saturday's 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks improving the Ducks to 48-18-8 on the season. That tied the franchise record for most wins in a season, set during the Ducks' championship season in 2006-07.
The win also moved the Ducks a point ahead of the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division and three back of the St. Louis Blues for the top seed in the Western Conference. Anaheim will use one of its two games in hand over idle San Jose tonight.
One night after an overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Ducks got 31 saves from Frederik Andersen and goals from five different skaters in the victory over the Canucks. Saku Koivu, Luca Sbisa, Matt Beleskey, Corey Perry and Mathieu Perreault all scored, while Koivu and Perry both had an assist.
"It was not an easy night to come in after last night and knowing how desperate a team Vancouver was," said Koivu.
Perreault extended his career-high point streak to eight straight games, with six goals and three assists over the run.
Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf had an assist and is second in the NHL with 81 points, but was held out of the final moments of the game after blocking a shot in the third period. Getzlaf isn't believed to be seriously hurt but his status for this game is unknown.
The Jets are 1-2-0 on a five-game road trip and are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Winnipeg is nine points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with seven games to play.
Phoenix owns that final playoff spot and Winnipeg concludes its road trip with a game versus the Coyotes on Tuesday.
Ondrej Pavelec got the start in net on Saturday for the Jets, but played only one period in his return from a lower-body injury. Pavelec, who had missed six games, was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots.
Al Montoya stopped 12 shots in relief, but the Jets could not overcome the early 3-0 deficit.
"It taught us a really good lesson in the first period, we just gave them so much ice to play on," said Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice.
Matt Halischuk and Blake Wheeler had third-period goals in defeat, which saw defenseman Zach Bogosian miss a third straight game with an upper-body injury.
The Jets did recall defensemen Ben Chiarot and Zach Redmond from the American Hockey League on Sunday along with goaltender Michael Hutchinson. The recalling of Hutchinson could mean that either Pavelec or Montoya is dealing with an injury.
The Jets have won five of their last six meetings with the Ducks and their 3-2 win on Jan. 21 was their third straight in Anaheim.
[SportsNetwork.com]
