Coming off one of their worst losses in recent memory on Friday, when they lost to the Dallas Stars by a score of 8-3, the Anaheim Ducks had the opportunity to quickly erase the sting from their loss, as they hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

The two teams had met just four days prior in Columbus, when the Jackets took that tilt by a score of 4-3 in overtime.

Game #36: Ducks vs. Blue Jackets Gameday Preview (12/20/25)

Takeaways from the Ducks 8-3 Loss to the Dallas Stars

The Blue Jackets were less than 24 hours removed from acquiring Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken for a second and a fourth-round pick. He was inserted on the team’s top line with Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson.

Olen Zellweger returned to the lineup for the Ducks, as Drew Helleson served as the blueline’s healthy scratch for the third time in four games. Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:

Kreider-Carlsson-Terry

Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke

Vatrano-Granlund-Strome

Johnston-Poehling-Killorn

LaCombe-Trouba

Mintyukov-Gudas

Zellweger-Moore

Lukas Dostal got the start for Anaheim and stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced in this game. Opposing Dostal in the Columbus crease, Elvis Merzlikins got the start and saved 24 of 28.

Game Notes

This game was an encapsulation of the 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks experience. They took chances all game long, were rewarded for some of them, and got burned on others. Dostal stood tall when called upon for a high-danger save in a critical moment in the game, and they were able to manufacture just enough offense to cover up a flawed defensive effort.

Special teams remain an issue, as they only killed one of two penalties they took and went 0-3 with their own man-advantage. At 5v5, they lost the shot attempt battle 63-52, but won the shots on goal battle 26-23 and held 53.58% of the expected goals share.

“It was a great response,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “I thought the start was the response that we were hoping for, and it played out well. It put us in a real good spot.

“They chipped away and got a big tying goal, and we didn’t change the way we were approaching it. We hung around, Minty scored a gigantic goal for us, but it was an important win for us in a lot of ways. We needed a response from last night’s game, and we got it.”

Cycle: The Ducks have needed to develop more of an offensive “B game” when teams focus attention and effort on shutting down their rush attack. They were highly successful in that regard throughout this game, especially from the bottom six forwards.

Three of their four goals were direct causes of cohesive and energetic forechecks that led to extended cycle sequences, from which they were able to find seams and soft ice and won net battles in the offensive zone.

Power Play: There seemed to be a heavier emphasis on running a two-man cycle from the flank and goal line, which is designed to open easier lanes to move pucks to the point and weak side of the ice. Entries and establishing possession remain issues when it comes to Anaheim’s man-advantage efforts, but the blueprint is encouraging.

When pucks do find their way to the weak side, that flank has an obligation to scan beforehand and make quick, sharp decisions before the opposing kill can adjust; another area in need of improvement as the team looks to get the power play on the tracks.

Olen Zellweger: Zellweger re-entered the lineup after serving as his first healthy scratch the night before. He came into this game looking to make an immediate and sustained impact. Defensively, he singlehandedly killed rushes and turned them quickly up ice for counters. He did well to pounce on loose pucks and was effective on retrievals.

He made a few questionable decisions with the puck on his stick, trying to conjure dangerous looks, and made some poor reads when it came to pinching in the neutral zone, but he did well to recover with his supreme skating.

Beckett Sennecke: Sennecke is a threat to score any time he touches the puck in the neutral and offensive zones. He’s got the skill to break down the best defenders in the sport and find teammates from tough spots on the ice.

In this game, however, he struggled to connect with supporting centers on breakouts, trying to make ambitious slip passes to hit them with speed, which often led to high-danger turnovers. Given how impactful he is at the other end of the ice, concern isn’t warranted, as those are rookie mistakes being made by a rookie with less than half a season in the NHL under his belt.

Ryan Poehling: Poehling was not only making the subtle defensive plays that typically go unnoticed, but he was an offensive factor in every facet. He’s been driving unexpected offense from the fourth line of late, creating chances off the rush, forecheck, and cycle, while exploring the extent of his abilities on this roster and in this system.

The Ducks will look to build off this effort on Monday, as they’ll host the Seattle Kraken in their last game before the holiday break.

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