The Anaheim Ducks returned from their two-game road trip to play their home opener, when they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at Honda Center.
The Ducks entered play 1-1-0, coming off a wild 7-6 OT tilt against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Pens opened their California trip, coming off a disappointing 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
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The Ducks made slight adjustments to their forward lines for this game, swapping Troy Terry and Alex Killorn on their respective lines. Killorn lined up beside Leo Carlsson and opposite Chris Kreider, while Terry filled in next to Mikael Granlund and opposite Frank Vatrano.
Lukas Dostal got the start in the Anaheim net and saved 22 of the 25 shots he faced in this game. Every goal he allowed came off a tip of some sort, so one would be incredibly hard-pressed to blame him for any of the Pens’ three tonight.
Tristan Jarry opposed Dostal in the Pittsburgh net, who stopped 18 of 22 shots.
Here are my notes from this game:
Power Play-The Ducks earned a whopping six power plays in this game, so viewers were treated to an extended example of how the new power play, under assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, looks and what it’s trying to accomplish.
"He's our anchor," Troy Terry said of Kreider's presence on the power play. "I think that's a good word for him. He can score. He gets all those pucks back around the net. We talk more as a unit now, and he's initiating a lot of that."
With Kreider planted in front, screening goaltenders and recovering pucks at will in the corners, the other four Anaheim players run intricate switches and weaves throughout the top of the umbrella and through the heart of the structure. The clear goal of the design is to attack downhill to open little lanes in the low slot or backdoor; essentially, manufacture the highest of high-danger chances possible.
Net Front Defense-In this game, the Ducks spent the most time in their own zone to date in the young 2025-26 season. Pittsburgh’s first two goals were due to failures to box out a net-front forward who got tips on perimeter shots in front of Dostal. That aspect cleaned up as the game went along, but seams still opened at a less-than-ideal rate. A lot of that can be attributed to the savvy of players like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but that area will hopefully be cleaned up in short order.
Rush Defense-With the style the Ducks are aiming to play, it can lead to track meets up and down the ice at times. In those instances in this game, the Ducks’ first forward back was extremely aggressive when pressuring the puck carrier. Sometimes it disrupted attacks, but other times, it left the trailer open in a soft area of the ice, leading to a quality scoring chance.
It’s the responsibility of that first forward back to properly assess, astutely deciding whether it’s best to pressure the puck or take away the passing lane to the trailing forward.
Olen Zellweger-Zellweger is playing as aggressively as ever in the offensive zone, consistently creating dangerous chances. As aggressive as he is, his anticipation and refusal to hesitate continues to keep offensive possessions alive. With the puck on his stick, he’s displaying his hockey IQ and looking to break down the defensive structure in front of him, an aspect that up to this point had been muted.
The Ducks will be back at it with their toughest task yet on Thursday, as they host the Carolina Hurricanes.
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