To conclude their opening three-game stretch against Stanley Cup contenders to begin their 2026-27 campaign, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night at Honda Center in a rematch of their first-round series of the 2026 playoffs. 

The Ducks were coming off back-to-back wins against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and the Florida Panthers in overtime on Sunday. 

Game #3: Ducks vs. Oilers Gameday Preview (10/07/26)

What's the Plan for Ducks Rookie Nikita Klepov?

Edmonton has had a high-event start to their season, entering with a 2-0-1 record and having already scored 18 goals through three games and allowed 13.

Nikita Klepov (15th overall in 2026) made his NHL debut for the Ducks in this game. He was slotted in on the third line alongside Ryan Poehling and Nikita Nesterenko. That remains the only lineup change for Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville through three games.

Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:

Greer-Carlsson-Gauthier

Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke

Nesterenko-Poehling-Klepov

Malott-Washe-Colangelo

LaCombe-Luneau

Mintyukov-Mitchell

Hinds-Warren

Lukas Dostal got the start in net for Anaheim and stopped 12 of 17 shots before he was pulled after two periods. Ville Husso played the third period for the Ducks in relief and stopped the only two shots he faced. In Edmonton’s crease stood Devon Levi, who saved 28 of 30.

This game started out all Anaheim and all penalties in the first period, as they took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Edmonton came screaming back in the second, scoring five unanswered. The third period consisted of the Oilers halting the pace of the game with high flips out of the defensive zone and a passive neutral zone forecheck to ice the game. 

Breakouts: Anaheim has perhaps the most unproven blueline in the NHL. While stylistically, they fit what the coaching staff is trying to accomplish on the ice, their inexperience shows up on occasion in areas that are only improved by repetition with said situations. 

Ducks’ defensemen have increased their success rate of boxing out, tying up sticks, and clearing rebounds; areas that have plagued them in the past. What’s costing them presently is first passes out of the zone and second touches up ice that need to lead to more exits than battles. 

Though defensemen aren’t directly turning pucks over to heavy F1 and F2 forechecks often, they are rimming more pucks than desired, which leads to broken exit sequences against aggressive-pinching defensemen. When pucks find their way into neutral ice, too often plays are broken and the ensuing transition defense leaves much to be desired, as their decision-making, communication, and sorting against a quick-up, transition offense led to multiple goals in this game. 

Power Play: Anaheim’s top unit is white hot to start this season and was the reason they got out to their early lead in this game. Their breakouts and entries have been increasingly creative and precise, utilizing, whether with trailers or leading the rush, the two puck-carrying forwards criss-crossing with speed through the neutral zone. 

Once set up, puck movement and player movement through the zone are crisp and decisive, with intricate knowledge of where teammates are and are going to be. They are manufacturing second-chance opportunities by winning pucks back along the perimeter and capitalizing on killers now out of position. 

Lukas Dostal: Dostal wasn’t at his best in this game, nor was he at his worst, and he certainly wasn’t the largest contributing factor to his team’s defeat in this game. Of the five goals he allowed, two were screened shots off the stick of one of the heaviest-shooting defensemen in NHL history (Evan Bouchard), a vintage Connor McDavid play setting up Kasperi Kapanen with masterful deception, a breakaway, and a McDavid shot from the top of the circle off the rush. 

The only goal he undoubtedly could and should have stopped was the final, as it was from distance, didn’t change direction, and snuck through his arm and body. The point shots will be quibbled over, but they were either heavily screened and/or changed direction on their way to the net. 

The Ducks will hit the road for a brief two-game Canadian road trip, starting with a matchup against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday at 5 pm PST. 

Takeaways from the Ducks 3-2 OT Win over the Panthers

Takeaways from the Ducks 4-3 Win over the Golden Knights

Who is Tristan Luneau, and Why did the Anaheim Ducks Sign Him to a Huge Extension?