Ducks battled but fell 4-3. A key injury and high-danger lapses proved costly against the Lightning's offensive firepower.
The Anaheim Ducks continued their five-game October road trip on Saturday afternoon with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Ducks were coming off a high-scoring 7-5 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday and looking to earn their first three-game winning streak of the young season.
Conversely, Tampa was in search of getting their season on the rails after registering just one win in their first seven games to open their 2025-26 season.
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The Ducks lost captain Radko Gudas to a lower-body injury early in their win over Boston. Though he’s listed as “day-to-day,” he missed this game along with Chris Kreider. Kreider’s now missed three consecutive games with an illness.
The listed forward lines for the Ducks were untouched, and rookie Ian Moore drew into Gudas’ spot next to Pavel Mintyukov on the Ducks’ third pair.
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks and saved 29 of the 33 shots he faced. He was opposed by Lightning backup Jonas Johansson, who stopped 37 of 40.
Late in the first period, newly acquired Mikael Granlund, who notched five points on Thursday, sustained a non-contact lower-body injury while on an innocuous backcheck. He was forced to miss the remainder of the game. No designation on his status was made after the game.
Here are my notes from his game:
Rarely would one call a 4-3 game a goaltending duel, but that’s exactly what this game ended up being. Dostal made several difficult, high-danger saves look easy, especially ones from in tight that came following a pass to the slot. Johansson put on a rebound control masterclass, swallowing up high perimeter shots and deterring low ones to the corners. Dostal was credited with 1.33 goals saved above expected (GSAx), while Johansson was credited with -.26. Both netminders eclipsed those totals according to the eye test.
Defensive Zone Coverage-In the modern NHL, more often than not, opposing attacking teams will have three forwards high when cycling. Elite offensive talents, like Tampa has on their top line (Guentzel-Point-Kucherov), if left unchecked, will aim to have those weak-side high forwards find seams, and puck carriers hit them with precision passes while streaking downhill from the corners.
The Ducks’ centers and wingers will need to read off each other more effectively. If the center is pressuring the puck, the weak winger needs to cover the middle hash marks, and if the center is passive, he needs to be aware of seams to the weak side.
Plaguing the Ducks early in the season has been their inability to box out the net front. Situations like pucks switching sides at the top of the zone, and streaking backdoor attackers have left bodies unaccounted for, leading to easy tap-ins or difficulty picking up rebounds. As good as Jacob Trouba’s been in the first 10% of the season, he’s been an occasional culprit.
Beckett Sennecke-Sennecke’s been an interesting case study through the first eight games of his career. It was expected that he’d make some defensive mistakes and struggle with puck management as he adjusts to the speed, angles, etc. of NHL hockey. While he could stand to improve with his assignments, monitoring the point and eliminating lanes, he’s been much more refined in his own end than expected.
The area he could stand to improve the most is on the offensive half-wall. He’s attempting to build and create, but is getting separated from pucks too easily in that area of the ice. However, he’s beginning to understand how opposing attacks develop in the NHL and is becoming increasingly more involved offensively and disruptive defensively: trademarks of his brand of hockey.
His tenacity and details are unexpected assets, and if becoming more dangerous at the offensive wall is his biggest area of weakness, it bodes well for a 19-year-old rookie who’s still in the single digits in terms of NHL games played.
Olen Zellweger and Cutter Gauthier-Speaking of players adapting to the NHL game, Gauthier and Zellweger are becoming more positively impactful players in their positions game-to-game. Zellweger’s play-killing has become a strength, as he’s greatly improved his fundamentals and rendered himself a consistently disruptive force on the Ducks’ backend. That ability has sparked rush opportunities from deep in the defensive zone on more than one occasion, with his willingness to jump into plays and involve himself on the rush.
It’s obvious to state that Gauthier is most dangerous with the puck on his stick. He’s finding ways, especially in this game, to keep possession through the neutral zone, evading prodding sticks while maintaining speed. He recorded a game-high seven shots in this one, is averaging 4.75 shots per game this season, and is averaging 6.88 shot attempts per game: all good signs for a player still approaching 100 career games.
The Ducks will wrap up their road trip with a matchup against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday, as they hope to escape the trip without further injury.