After a brief two-game road trip and before another three-game road trip, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night at Honda Center. The Ducks entered play on a six-game winning streak and having won eight of their prior nine games, including the night before in Las Vegas, where they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in OT.
The Jets dropped back-to-back games to the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks to kick off the California leg of their six-game road trip.
Game #15: Ducks vs. Jets Gameday Preview (11/09/25)
Takeaways from the Ducks 4-3 OT Win over the Golden Knights
Before the game, the Ducks activated forward Ryan Strome off IR, but he did not make it into the lineup for this game. The Ducks went with the same lineup that earned them their last four victories.
The Jets inserted Cole Perfetti into their lineup for this game for his season debut.
Lukas Dostal returned to the Ducks†net for the start of this game for the 12th time in the Ducks†first 15 games of the season. He stopped 23 of 24 shots.
In the Winnipeg crease, Eric Comrie got the start and saved 17 of 21.
This was the Ducks†best 60-minute, 200-foot effort of the season. Theyâ€d made a habit of starting games slowly and ramping up after getting settled. No such thing happened in this game. In every situation (5v5, power play, penalty kill), the Ducks were aggressive and dictated the flow of play.
They were cohesive in the defensive zone, which sparked rush opportunities, where they were ever-dangerous and effective, before winning pucks back and going to work on the cycle. The stars kept shining, and the unsungs made every little decision right to keep pucks and bodies away from Dostal.
“There’s still some small stuff we need to get better at, which says a lot about our team,” Leo Carlsson said after the game. “That we can get better, which is nice as well.”
Defensive Zone Coverage: The Ducks†coverage had one notable, if slight, hiccup that wound up in the back of their net. On occasion, theyâ€re susceptible to sorting issues after pressure has been established. If thereâ€s an activated defenseman or reactivated high F3, the center and/or weak-side defenseman has been a split second late to recognize and eliminate a seam.
Other than that, and in every zone, they played more defensively flawless hockey than they had at any point this season. They were killing plays early, recovering when pucks didnâ€t make it to safety, and forechecking in waves to continue attacking at every turn. A subtle, yet impactful benefit of switching to a zone coverage system comes when loose pucks find their way to corners and the boards. Defensemen now have a better probability of winning loose pucks due to not having to shadow an attacker throughout the entire zone. In man-to-man, every puck is a 50/50 by default.
61-23-45: Cutter Gauthier has established himself as an elite NHL goalscorer in his second year in the league. So, of course, he subverts expectations and has taken his playmaking abilities to an unexpected level. Heâ€s drawing the attention of defenders, both at 5v5 and on the man-advantage, before manipulating the on-puck assignment and finding his linemates in dangerous ice. Beckett Sennecke could have had a few more than the two he potted in this one, thanks to Gauthier alone.
“I thought he had the puck a lot,” head coach Joel Quenneville said of Gauthier after the game. “Even when it wasn’t his, he found a way to get it back. I think he’s having a more effective stick and he’s a threat to shoot from anywhere.
“His release is pretty good. Sometimes, it’s drawing a lot of attention, that shot. Then all of a sudden, things are opening up, and he’s god good play recognition and can make seam passes. He had a couple of nice plays.”
Speaking of Sennecke, with the puck on his stick, heâ€s clearly becoming more comfortable in open ice and along the walls, as heâ€s now dictating and driving offense for his line for extended stretches. Heâ€s scanning and anticipating on the defensive side of the puck, and his stick is breaking up plays and igniting odd-man opportunities.
McTavish is filling in the vacancies in Gauthierâ€s and Senneckeâ€s games, specifically, small-area play, where McTavishâ€s skill, size, and motor are on full display.
20-91-19: The Ducks†top six was everything theyâ€d have been expected to be in this game. Chris Kreider continues his dominance below the bottom of the circles, and Troy Terry has developed a rapport with Leo Carlsson in transition. Terryâ€s manipulation of defenders just inside the offensive blueline has become an area Carlsson has recognized as one where attention will be off him, and he can find space where Terry can feed him for potent downhill looks.
Ryan Poehling/Penalty Kill: The Ducks’ PK had a good showing after a shaky stretch against the Dallas Stars and Golden Knights. The PK goes into an all-out pressure when pucks are on the boards, and are looking to pounce on any that are fumbled that they can turn up ice the other way. When attackers had clear possession, they were smart to recover and protect the middle, so as not to expose seams and keep pucks on the perimeter.
Poehling, in particular, and with his speed, was a one-man play killer in the middle of the ice in the defensive zone. He got sticks on pucks on the forecheck and broke up passing attempts in every zone. Heâ€s one of the aforementioned unsungs of this game.
The Ducks, the NHLâ€s second-best team, will continue their gauntlet schedule of Cup contenders on Tuesday, when theyâ€ll travel to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche, the NHLâ€s best team.
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