Following an unsuccessful road trip to the East Coast in which the Anaheim Ducks only managed to notch two of a possible eight standings points, they returned to Southern California to host the basement-dwelling Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Honda Center. 

The Ducks, below .500, entered the game three points out of a wild card spot, while the Canucks had only tallied five points in 13 games to start the season and were the last-place team in the entire NHL, having failed to register a point in their previous ten games. 

Game #12: Ducks vs. Canucks Gameday Preview (10/27/26)

Adjustments the Ducks Made to Snap their Five-Game Losing Streak, What They'll Need to Continue

The Ducks elected to ice a near-identical lineup to the one that snapped a five-game losing streak of their own on Saturday, with the only change being shifting defenseman Tristan Luneau onto a pair with Tyson Hinds and inserting Drew Helleson next to Travis Mitchell on the third pair. 

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

Gauthier-Carlsson-Caulfield

Malott-Granlund-Sennecke

Nesterenko-McQueen-Killorn

Greer-Washe-Colangelo

LaCombe-Warren

Hinds-Luneau

MItchell-Helleson

Lukas Dostal got his ninth start of the season for the Ducks and stopped 27 of 33 shots. He was opposed by Leevi Meriläinen in the Vancouver crease, who saved 18 of the 23 shots he faced in this game.

“That was a terrible loss,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “5-2 and we were in a pretty good spot. (We) should have sealed the win. I think we do some things that come back to haunt us after a night like tonight.”

At 5v5, the game flow was somewhat even, and the Ducks showed encouraging and discouraging signs at both ends of the ice. Lack of discipline forced the Ducks to kill seven penalties as opposed to only drawing two, and overall team defense was lacking at critical moments of a game in which the Ducks needed to notch two points. 

Cycle: One of the encouraging signs from the game was the Ducks’ ability to drive and manufacture chances deep in the offensive zone, a problem area for them over the past handful of seasons. In this game, they were sending their high F3 to the blueline, between the point defensemen, which allowed those blueliners to involve themselves more offensively by activating down the half-wall and to the tops of the circles. 

It also cleared up space in the middle of the slot, as the opposing low defending forward was caught in no-man’s land, naturally drawn toward the top of the zone. This allowed the Ducks low forwards an easier path to the net to set up tips and screens, as well as win races to ensuing loose pucks. 

Breakouts: Forwards grew careless as the game progressed during breakout sequences. Early in the game, they made efficient decisions to keep pucks moving up ice and remained low in the zone to provide better outlet angles. They recognized when their young defensemen were in trouble against a Canucks forecheck, and they retreated in support rather than flying the defensive zone. 

As the Ducks built a lead, the forwards drifted further up toward neutral ice, allowing opposing defensemen to jump outlets and pinch successfully. They were also careless in their attempts to clear the defensive blueline, often leading to battles and even turnovers. 

Team Defense: Much has been made over the lack of experience among the Ducks’ young defensemen this season. They’ve had their ups and downs when it comes to the details of defending at the NHL level in elevated roles. However, much as has been a theme for the majority of the early part of the season, their forwards aren’t aiding them in any meaningful way on the defensive side of the puck. 

In this game, only one goal (Vancouver’s second) can be pinned on the blueline. For the remainder, backchecking errors and man-advantage coverage hiccups, in which poor puck-watching habits were prevalent, were the primary faults. 

6v5: Vancouver scored two goals with Merilainen pulled late for an extra attacker. The Canucks were able to spread the Ducks’ wingers wide on the perimeter, which allowed them to outnumber the center and defensemen in front of Dostal 4 to 3. With multiple responsibilities, defensemen were unable to commit to tying up a net-front forward, and when they failed to block shots, Dostal was left with no field of vision in which to make a save. 

Wingers either need to restrain themselves from pressing too high in the defensive zone and collapse toward the hashmarks to aid their defensemen and goaltender, or those defensemen have to put forth a riskier, vigilant effort to block those outside shots while limiting the ability of the net-front attacker to get a tip on said shots. 

The Ducks will look to return to .500 on Thursday, when they’ll host the incoming Buffalo Sabres, who are hoping to remain above that .500 mark on the young season.

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