The league-leading Anaheim Ducks lost the first two of a five game road-trip but have since recouped and are coming off back-to-back wins, the most recent a 3-2 victory at Nassau against the Islanders last night. They're staying in the area to close out the road trip against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center tonight. The hosts have struggled big time of late, and I don't think they'll be able to stop the Ducks from completing the sweep of the season series with yet another win.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Situational/Motivational - The Ducks clinched a playoff berth with last night's win, but coach Bruce Boudreau did not appear to be overly excited about the news. "Oh, we clinched? I'm serious, I haven't mentioned anything to the players. We just want to keep going and progressing. If we do that, all the other stuff just falls into place." If we're to believe Boudreau he'll not let his players slack off but rather keep them on high alert steaming into the playoffs. New Jersey meanwhile is 13 points off the final wild card in the West and has understandably shown little fighting spirit lately losing four consecutive games.

2. New Jersey's Offensive Woes - The Devils have averaged one goal per game over their current four game skid and their 2.17 goals per game on the season ranks among the worst marks in the NHL. The Ducks thrive against low-scoring teams and have won eight of their last 10 when their opponent scored two goals or less in its previous game.

3. X-Factor - The Devils are averaging a lowly 24.31 shots on goal per game and mustered only 15 when the teams met at Anaheim earlier in the season.

Selection: This is a play on the Anaheim Ducks (8*)