The 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks began their season with a two-game road trip, taking on the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks, and are coming home with a 1-1-0 record.
They handily controlled 5v5 play for roughly half of their opening game against Seattle and almost for the entirety of their game against San Jose. The breakdowns came in the details and will prove concerning if they continue, but all things considered, the Ducks haven’t out-possessed opponents like they did in those first two games for several years.
Despite playing against the only two Pacific Division teams to finish below them in last year’s standings, in their opening two games at 5v5, the Ducks hold a 137-81 shot attempt advantage, a 60-47 shots-on-goal advantage, and a 6.46-3.47 expected goals advantage. All four forward lines are well above 50% in all those categories at 5v5 as well.
Takeaways from the Ducks 7-6 OT Win over the Sharks
Takeaways from the Ducks 3-1 Loss to the Kraken
Ryan Strome was slated to open the season, centering a veteran line with Frank Vatrano and Alex Killorn on his wings. Beckett Sennecke, who’s scored three points (2-1=3) in his first two career NHL games, was originally slotted on the fourth line with Ryan Poehling and Ross Johnston.
The Ducks’ front office and coaching staff had, and may still have, designs on deploying something similar to the “Leo Carlsson plan” with Sennecke to begin his career. For the first half of his rookie season, Carlsson was scheduled to dress for two games per week to both mirror an SHL schedule (what he had been used to) and to gain strength with high-intensity weight room sessions during his off days.
However, Strome sustained an upper-body injury in practice before the road trip, landing him on IR, with a “day-to-day” designation. Mikael Granlund filled in for Strome on the listed third line, and Sennecke took Granlund’s spot on the right wing of Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier.
“Those are two awesome players to play with, super-skilled,” Sennecke said when he was initially placed on a line with McTavish and Gauthier. “They both have great shots, (they’re) fast. I just have to try to get them the puck and get open.”
Though the sample size is minuscule (and, again, against Seattle and San Jose), the Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke line has been the Ducks’ most dangerous through their first two games and is analytically the second-best line in the NHL (min. 20 minutes). They are supportive through the defensive and neutral zones, deadly on the rush, disruptive on the forecheck, creative on the cycle, and consistently possess the puck for extended zone time.
“I don’t know *chuckles*. We gelled pretty well in practice once we started playing with each other. We’re always connected, it feels like,” Gauthier said of his line after Saturday’s OT win. “There’s guys all around the ice whenever we’re on an island, which is good. When we’re playing against good teams, you need support all over the ice to make plays, little give-and-gos. So far, it’s been good; we have to keep building on it.”
The success of Sennecke and his line begs the question of what happens to the lineup when Strome is healthy and ready to return. The top nine is crowded and rolling through two games. Is the coaching staff going to relegate Sennecke back to the fourth line? If not, who on the third line, which is also rolling, is destined to be relegated? Will it be Strome himself?
Head coach Joel Quenneville seemed to suggest the Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke would stay together for the time being, after their early success.
"They all have something different. They’re dangerous off the rush; their possession game has been good,” Quenneville said after Saturday’s game. “Mac-T’s got really good instincts with the puck and patience with it, and picks up pucks in tight areas. Beckett’s the same way. Cutter’s got that breakaway speed that’s dangerous.
“They all bring something different to the table; they all can shoot it. In a short amount of time, it’s probably something we never thought of in camp. Now they’re together, maybe we’ll be calling them the ‘kid line’ and see how it goes.”
It’s a good problem to have. Hockey is a sport where injuries can occur at any second, and Quenneville has blended the lines and pairs in both third periods he’s coached for the Ducks. So, opportunities will likely present themselves for players to earn more time up the lineup. Still, it isn’t ideal for a player to lose his position to injury. On the other hand, this is the time of year when chemistry is scarce, so it’s tough to part with what precious little has already formed.
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