Ducks acquire Ryan Garbutt in trade with Chicago

The Anaheim Ducks announced that they acquired left wing Ryan Garbutt from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for left wing Jiri Sekac.

Garbutt, 30, is expected to give the Ducks a more physical presence on the ice.  He has scored 32-44=76 points with 242 penalty minutes (PIM) in 241 career NHL games with Dallas and Chicago. In 2013-14, Garbutt collected a career-high 17 goals and 32 points (17-15=32) along with a +10 rating in 75 games with the Stars.

The 6-0, 195-pound winger scored three goals against Anaheim in the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Garbutt recorded 2-4=6 points with 27 PIM in 43 games with Chicago this season. He was acquired from Dallas with Trevor Daley in exchange for Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns on July 10, 2015.

Sekac, 23 (6/10/92), collected 1-2=3 points with an even plus/minus rating and four PIM in 22 games with the Ducks this season. Acquired from Montreal in exchange for Devante Smith-Pelly on Feb. 24, 2015, Sekac has posted 10-16=26 points with 26 PIM in 91 career NHL games with the Ducks and Canadiens. The 6-1, 185-pound winger made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in 2015, going scoreless with two PIM in seven games with Anaheim.

In other NHL news . . .

DUCKS' GAME CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

The National Hockey League announced today’s game between the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals has been postponed due to the severe snowstorm impacting the Washington, D.C., area. A makeup date will be announced as soon as it can be confirmed.

KINGS FALL TO WILD

Darcy Kuemper stopped all 32 shots he faced, including 13 in the final period, to earn his seventh career shutout (second this season) and help the Wild end a five-game skid (0-5-0). Zach Parise provided what stood as the game-winning goal, his fifth of the season. He paces the team with 17 total goals in 2015-16 despite missing nine contests due to injury.

LIGHTNING RUN WINNING STREAK TO SEVEN

Nikita Kucherov scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period to power the Lightning to their seventh consecutive victory and halt the Blackhawks’ franchise-record winning streak at 12 games.

At 26-17-4 (56 points), the Lightning moved within one point of the idle Panthers (26-15-5, 57 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Florida holds one game in hand, but Tampa Bay owns the ROW tiebreaker (TBL: 24, FLA: 21).

The Lightning, who are one game shy of matching the longest winning streak in franchise history (Feb. 23 – March 6, 2004: 8-0-0), ranked sixth division and sat 12 points out of first place when their current seven-game run began on Jan. 8.

Kucherov, who paces the Lightning in goals (t-20) and points (40) in 2015-16, reached the 20-goal milestone for the second consecutive season. He also extended his overall point streak to seven games (6-4—10) and home point streak to 12 contests (9-9—18).

Ben Bishop made 17 saves to earn his fourth consecutive win. He ranks second in the NHL with a 1.94 goals-against average this season and also places eighth with a .928 save percentage.

FIVE FIRST-PERIOD GOALS POWER DEVILS PAST SENATORS

The Devils scored five goals in the first period – led by 1-3—4 from Travis Zajac – to knock off the Senators and pick up their third consecutive victory.

At 24-19-5 (53 points), the Devils tied the Bruins (24-17-5, 53 points) – in terms of points – for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston, however, holds two games in hand. The Devils also moved within one point of the idle Islanders (24-15-6, 54 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Elias says that the Devils tied a franchise record for goals in the first period, last achieved on March 11, 1997 vs. EDM (5x total).

Elias adds that Zajac became just the second player in Devils history to record four points in the first period of a game. The other: Patrik Elias, who posted 1-3—4 in the first period of a 4-1 win over the Stars on Dec. 20, 2000.

Zajac, who totaled 0-4—4 in his last 16 games and had not scored since Nov. 6 vs. CHI, also equaled a career high for points in one contest, last achieved March 31, 2014 vs. FLA (3-1—4).

THURSDAY’S RESULTS (Home Team in Caps)

Vancouver 4, BOSTON 2
NEW JERSEY 6, Ottawa 3
PITTSBURGH 4, Philadelphia 3
Calgary 4, COLUMBUS 2
Carolina 1, TORONTO 0 (OT)
TAMPA BAY 2, Chicago 1
Nashville 4, WINNIPEG 1
DALLAS 3, Edmonton 2
San Jose 3, ARIZONA 1
Minnesota 3, LOS ANGELES 0

FRIDAY’S ACTION (All Times Eastern)

Anaheim @ Washington, 5:00 p.m., FS-W, CSN-DC
Detroit @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, FS-D, MSG-B, BELL TV
NY Rangers @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG 2, FS-CR
NY Islanders @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., MSG+, TSN5, RDS
Chicago @ Florida, 7:30 p.m., CSN-CH, FS-F
St. Louis @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., FS-MW, ALT

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services