ANAHEIM, Calif - The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim enter a stretch of four games versus Eastern Conference teams, beginning on Friday, January 13th against Washington.

Following a visit by the Capitals to the Arrowhead Pond, the Ducks take to the road for the next two contests. An afternoon game on Monday in Boston will precede a trip to Ottawa and the next game against Ottawa on Thursday night, January 19th. Anaheim will return home to take on the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, January 21st to end the stretch of Eastern Conference opposition.

The Mighty Ducks are 3-2-1 against the East teams entering this segment of inter-conference play.

From December 12th thru December 14th, the Ducks recorded wins over Eastern Conference foes, Atlanta, Montreal and Tampa Bay. They lost to Carolina, Buffalo and Toronto.

Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle says the Washington Capitals bring a hard working team into Anaheim on Friday night.

“Their motto right now is to develop a work ethic and they have been able to do that,” said Carlyle, whose team is coming off a 6-2 win over Los Angeles on Monday night.

“They have worked extremely hard,” added Carlyle. “They are a much more physical team than people give them credit for. You better be prepared to go to work. They have a veteran goaltender that’s among the elite goaltenders in the league the last 10 years. That’s a formidable amount of defense just with Olaf Kolzig himself.”

“They have an effective power play of late,” says Carlyle. “They are not a one or two man show. They have some youth in their lineup. Brendan Witt would be considered a stalwart on defense. Eminger and Morrison were high picks in the draft and are prospects.

Up front, Dainus Zubrus is a player to control. He has size and he’s having a decent year. Jeff Halpern is more of a checking type center. Brian Willsie is a sneaky type of player and has decent hands. They work extremely hard.”

Anaheim is 11-6-1-0 lifetime against Washington and 6-2-1-0 in games played at the Pond. The Ducks have won ten of the last fourteen meetings between the clubs, including six of the last seven games at home.