In their first game following a successful Western Canada road trip, in which they notched six of a possible six points to bring their winning streak to four games, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Honda Center on Sunday evening.

The Ducks entered play just two points out of the second wild card spot, with a game in hand on the Utah Mammoth, which was somewhat surprising, given that prior to their win streak, they had only won one of their previous eight.

Game #18: Ducks vs. Penguins Gameday Preview (11/08/26)

Ducks Boast NHL's Top Power Play, Analyzing the Top Unit's Success

The Pens entered play on the second half of a back-to-back, as they snapped their own four-game winless streak against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. In the standings, they were just two points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Following a first period benching that lasted the remainder of the Ducks’ 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Friday, Sam Colangelo was replaced in the depth chart by Frank Vatrano. That represented the only line/pair change for head coach Joel Quenneville.

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

Killorn-Carlsson-Caulfield

Gauthier-Granlund-Sennecke

Myatovic-Washe-Vatrano

Malott-McQueen-Nesterenko

LaCombe-Helleson

Mitchell-Luneau

Mintyukov-Warren

For the fourth time in five games, Laurent Brossoit got the start for the Ducks, with Ville Husso serving as backup. Lukas Dostal was scratched and given the night off. Brossoit stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Arturs Silovs got the start for Pittsburgh and saved 20 of 24.

“Overall, some positive things: the power play, killed some penalties, that five-on-three early. They got some power plays at the end, but LB (Laurent Brossoit) was pretty good today,” Quenneville said after the game.

Over 15 minutes of this game was played on special teams, which is how Anaheim’s been generating the majority of their offense, and this game was no different, as they tallied three goals on four opportunities. Discipline at key moments (like at the end of a game or while already down a man) will be important to iron out, as power plays can only bail a team out so often.

Laurent Brossoit: The Ducks have been struggling to get timely, important saves from their expected No. 1 starter, Lukas Dostal, to this point in the season. Brossoit has now won all four games he’s started for the Ducks since he was recalled from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, and in this game, when the Pens were pressing to climb back into the game at various points, he was there to meet every challenge.

Notably, he was efficient with his puck tracking, found perimeter shots through and around traffic directly in front of him, and swallowed the vast majority of shots, getting freezes as opposed to fighting those shots off and putting potential rebounds back in play.

Cutter Gauthier: After his third hat trick in five games, Gauthier is now on pace to finish the season with 73 goals. That’s obviously unlikely to happen, but his ability to provide the Ducks with needed instant offense is undeniable, and next to Mikael Granlund, who can find him with deceptive passes from throughout the offensive zone and on the rush, they represent one of the more deadly setup/finishing duos in the NHL.

In this game, Gauthier attacked downhill, found soft ice, scored on a no-look power play goal, and each seemed more effortless than the last. His release is as deadly and heavy as anyone’s in NHL history, and he’s remarkably deceptive with it.

Top Four Defensemen: According to TOI, the Ducks’ top four defensemen, as it stands, are Jackson LaCombe, Drew Helleson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Tristan Luneau. All four were counted on to provide offense when the team needed to get out to a lead and defend a late lead while fending off a pressing Pens attack.

LaCombe played his third consecutive game of logging over 30:00 TOI. Over 11 of those minutes came on special teams, and at 5v5, he was tasked with taking on the challenge of matching up against Pittsburgh’s top line of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Rickard Rakell. He notched three assists, and provided a safety net as a reliable breakout option, provided smart pinches, and blocked several shots at key times in the game.

Helleson, LaCombe’s partner, played one of the better games of his career, as he was difficult to compete against in tight areas, boxed out the front of the net, and made simple, effective decisions with the puck. Tristan Luneau was creative and dynamic with the puck on his stick at the point. His activations and mobility at the blueline were a consistent threat that opened up several other opportunities for his teammates.

Pavel Mintyukov has seen a confidence boost since his three-point performance against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Notably, he’s less frantic during retrieval sequences, and rather than losing a battle or sending a weak rim up the wall, he’s skating pucks out of danger, changing the angles on outlets, and/or leading exit sequences.

For the second game of their four-game homestand, the Ducks will host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday at 7 pm PST.

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