The Anaheim Ducks opened their 2025-26 season on the road, traveling to the Pacific Northwest on Thursday evening to take on the Seattle Kraken.
It was a night of debuts for several members of the Ducks organization: Chris Kreider, Ryan Poehling, and Mikael Granlund all played in their first games with their new club, top rookie/prospect Beckett Sennecke made his NHL debut and scored his first career goal, Joel Quenneville returned to an NHL bench for the first time in nearly four years to head coach, and both Jay Woodcroft and Ryan McGill joined him for the first time on his flanks.
Game #1: Ducks vs. Kraken Gameday Preview
Newly extended Lukas Dostal got the nod to open the season in net for Anaheim and stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced.
In the opposite net, for Seattle, stood Joey Daccord, who saved 35 of the 36 shots he saw off Ducks’ sticks.
Here are my notes from this game:
Beckett Sennecke-Sennecke’s debut was as strong as could have been hoped for. He had a couple of plays where he looked like a rookie: brief failure to recognize lack of time and space, trying to gain leverage on 6-foot-7, 255-pound Jamie Oleksiak.
For the majority of the game, however, he belonged. He was surprisingly effective on the forecheck, utilizing his length to disrupt retrievals, but he was at his best with the puck on his stick in transition. With possession, he’s uniquely comfortable with the puck away from his body and often in defenders’ feet, providing a quirky brand of manipulation.
Defensive Zone Coverage-The Ducks’ new zone-pressure d-zone coverage system was a breath of fresh air and performed to it’s design. The Ducks were able to kill cycles early with support while protecting the inner slot and manufacture clean breakouts.
The lapses that led to goals came in transition or defending regroups: not reading backchekers, miscalculations, slow to close on trailers. They’re mistakes often made early in a season, with a new team, in a new system, etc., but they’re mistakes nonetheless.
Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish-The Ducks’ top two centers did what’s asked of elite top six centers in the NHL: drive play, create, play 200-feet, etc. One wouldn’t have guessed McTavish missed half of training camp by judging his performance in this game. His motor was as high as ever, he was winning battles in small areas, and a new wrinkle he added was keeping his feet moving with possession from low in the offensive zone to high, drawing attention and opening up space for point men or his linemates underneath.
Carlsson was a puck-magnet. He timed his cuts well to present himself as a passing option while supporting outlets and he built plays well through the neutral zone. His line dominated possession, especially the shot attempts share (22 to 4), but when it came time to make a critical decision or create “something out of nothing,” there was still improvement to be made. The Kreider-Carlsson-Terry line settled for a lot of perimeter shots, especially off the rush, where they have the potential to be extraordinarily deadly.
The Ducks will next travel to face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday to wrap up this brief two-game opening trip before heading to home for their opener on Tuesday.
Report: Beckett Sennecke's Usage Will be Similar to 'The Leo Carlsson Plan'