The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Seattle Kraken.
After a stellar performance in Denver on Wednesday from goaltender Lukáš Dostál, the Ducks are looking to extend their winning streak to six games in Friday's matchup against the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken are coming off a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Both Ducks-Kraken matchups this season thus far have gone the way of the Kraken, both by a score of 3-1.
“Last time, the second half of the game against them, I thought we'd dictated the offense in the game and they just hung in there and hung in there,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “Got some opportunities and took advantage of it. The way we’ve played in the last little while here, that's the mindset that we have to have if we want to win. So let's bring the same type of an attitude here, today, and change that mental approach where we feel like maybe not outscoring them. There's two sides of the puck.”
“We have a lot more predictability,” Olen Zellweger said, regarding what’s worked well during their current winning streak. “I think everyone's playing really hard, really fast. Before, we were maybe a little too risky, a little too chaotic. We’re still creating lots of offense, but it's off of shutting the other team down, playing stingy defensively. That’s what the coaches are preaching. Everyone's kind of preaching that. That’s important. We don't want to lose our offensive touch, we’ve just got to know that playing hard and simple, effective (and) predictable for each other, we're gonna get plenty of offense.”
Dec 22, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) controls the puck during the second period against the Seattle Kraken at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images“We’re playing smart,” Ian Moore said. “We're playing together, filling in for each other. I think we're making good decisions with the puck, not trying to cheat for offense. We're trying to play a full 60 minutes and take our chances when they come, but don't try and cheat for them. Just knowing that we can use our speed, our togetherness and hockey sense to our advantage, and just kind of try and wear the team down over the course of the game.”
Mason McTavish was a late scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury. Quenneville said that McTavish has returned to Southern California and is doing better. They remain hopeful that he can return for the remainder of the road trip.
Jansen Harkins filled in for McTavish on Wednesday and will remain in the lineup for Friday’s game, re-assuming the role of Anaheim’s top line center between Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome.
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider - Jansen Harkins - Ryan Strome
Alex Killorn - Mikael Granlund - Beckett Sennecke
Jeffrey Viel - Ryan Poehling - Cutter Gauthier
Ross Johnston - Tim Washe - Ian Moore
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger - Radko Gudas
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Kraken Projected Lines
Jared McCann - Matty Beniers - Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz - Shane Wright - Kaapo Kakko
Berkly Catton - Chandler Stephenson - Eeli Tolvanen
Ryan Winterton - Frédérick Gaudreau - Jacob Melanson
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour
Ryan Lindgren - Ryker Evans
Philipp Grubauer (confirmed)