Game #19: Ducks vs. Predators Gameday Preview (11/11/26)

After enduring a stretch of eight games in which they won just one of, the Ducks have steadied the ship with five consecutive wins. These victories have been heavily supported by a white-hot power play, which has converted 13 of 23 opportunities in those five games. The team has also scored 5+ goals in eight consecutive games, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 1988-89 season.

"A lot of depth offense," Beckett Sennecke said. "The power play's clicking. We know we can score a ton of goals. We've just got to get better at defending."

Sennecke, who played in his 100th NHL game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, is currently on a four-game point streak. He is tied for second on the team in points (22) alongside Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier. After a slow start to the season, Gauthier has scored 13 goals in the last six games, with eight of those coming on the power play.

"I think it's just the way we move around," Sennecke said. "We're not just stationary on the perimeter. We're penetrating the inside and there's so many different moving parts. We go through so many sets that we know where each other are going to be."

"I give Jay a lot of credit," Quenneville said of assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, who orchestrates the power play and works with the forwards. "He prepares the units in a great way, gives them as much information (as) you could possibly want. There's a lot of freedom when they are out there because they're special players that can see and make plays. You put it all together and there's things to look for. At the same time, there's instinct to seeing plays, seeing shots, seeing passing lanes, retrieving pucks or breakout formations. There's a lot going into it, and Jay does a really good job of preparing them to get going."

In the midst of their five-game winning streak, Anaheim will also receive reinforcements in the form of winger Troy Terry. Terry missed the first 18 games of the season while recovering from hip surgery that he underwent this past offseason. Nico Myatovic was reassigned to AHL San Diego to open up a roster spot for Terry’s activation from injured reserve.

"I'm just excited to be back with the guys," Terry said. "It's been fun watching them. They've been scoring goals, that's for sure. It's been hard watching, just excited to mostly be back with the guys again and going through it all."

"It's been a while for him and we haven't seen him around the rink too much," Sennecke said. "He's been rehabbing, so it's nice to see his face back here."

"He brings a lot to our team," Quenneville said. "Experience, he's a dependable winger, scorer, helps your power play, can penalty kill, use in all situations. We'll see how he plays tonight. He's got an opportunity as he goes along here and in a short amount of time, whether he ends up with Leo (Carlsson)--that's an option down the road--but he'll play with Wash (Tim Washe) tonight and (we'll) get him going."

Wednesday's opponent, the Nashville Predators, have a five-game winning streak of their own. They're coming off a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and are the second consecutive opponent that Anaheim is facing on the second game of a back-to-back (SEGABABA). Leading scorer Filip Forsberg now has points in seven of his last eight games after potting two goals in Tuesday's win. Justus Annunen is expected to get the start after Jusse Saros grabbed his first shutout of the season and his first since Jan. 3, 2025. Annunen had a 43-save shutout against the Ducks last season.

"They play a real good, strong team game," Quenneville said. "Very disciplined, relentless. Disciplined in the defensive part of their game. Checking well, they've got good sticks, they've got balance, they work hard together. The special teams are good. I think they had a good push at the end of last year, and I think they're continuing with that strong finish into their season start here."

"Their D are super active in the o-zone," Sennecke said. "They're jumping up in the rush, so I think it's making sure that we have good back pressure and we're keeping our heads on a swivel in the d-zone."

Ducks Projected Lines

Alex Killorn - Leo Carlsson - Judd Caulfield
Cutter Gauthier - Mikael Granlund - Beckett Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko - Tim Washe - Troy Terry
Jeff Malott - Roger McQueen - San Colangelo

Jackson Lacombe - Drew Helleson
Pavel Mintyukov - Noah Warren
Travis Mitchell - Tristan Luneau

Laurent Brossoit (confirmed)

Predators Projected Lines

Steven Stamkos - Ryan O'Reilly - Mavrik Bourque
Filip Forsberg - Shane Wright - Nils Höglander
Ross Colton - Jack Drury - Adam Edström
Reid Schaefer - Alex Kerfoot - Vitali Pinchuk

Roman Josi - Adam Wilsby
Jayden Struble - Daemon Hunt
Brady Skjei - Nick Perbix

Justus Annunen (confirmed)