It was a promising start for one of Anaheim's premier prospects.
It was a promising start for one of Anaheim's premier prospects.
It wasn't quite a dream debut for Leo Carlsson and Tristan Luneau as the Anaheim Ducks dropped Thursday's matchup against the Dallas Stars 3-2.
Anaheim came out very strong, outshooting the Stars 12-7 in the first period and taking a 1-0 lead off a Troy Terry goal into the first intermission.
They couldn't sustain that control in the second though as they were outshot 8-1 and fell behind 2-0 after goals from Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski.
One minute into the third period, Carlsson registered his first career goal and point, burying a cross-ice feed from Terry on a two-on-one.
But, the game wasn't tied for long. A little over five minutes later, Miro Heiskanen threw the puck across the crease and got a fortunate bounce of Cam Fowler which directed the puck in past John Gibson.
The Ducks had a strong push late with the net empty but failed to beat Jake Oettinger for a third time.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday's game:
Leo Carlsson Looks Good in Game One:
All eyes were on 2023 second-overall pick, Carlsson in this game and he did not disappoint.
His line with Terry and Trevor Zegras was slightly outshot but out-chanced the Stars 6-5 and out-scored them 2-0.
His goal early in the third got the Ducks back into the game, as he snapped a puck by Oettinger after a nice feed from Terry.
He finished the night with 19:00 of time on ice, one goal and a plus-two rating. As an 18-year-old in his first NHL game, it's hard to expect much more from him.
One area he'll need to work on is in the faceoff circle, going 1-7 on Thursday.
Again, he's just 18 and almost no players at that age win a majority of their faceoffs in the NHL.
It was a promising start for one of Anaheim's premier prospects.
Young Defensemen Continue to Impress:
It was another impressive performance from Anaheim's young defense-core with Pavel Mintyukov and Jackson LaCombe standing out.
Mintyukov finished with an assist and plus one rating, while LaCombe ended the game with 20:54 seconds of ice time, the second-most amongst Ducks defenders. His 18:10 of even-strength ice time led the team.
These two were also trusted late in the game with the net empty and did not disappoint.
The Ducks were unable to score, but Mintyukov and LaCombe looked calm and in control in that high-pressure situation. Both had a few nice keep-ins and snapped the puck around with confidence.
Luneau was caved in a little bit alongside Cam Fowler but didn't look out of place given the difficult task thrust upon him.
When Jamie Drysdale returns the Ducks will truly have one of the best young defensive groups in the league.
Cronin Having an Immediate Impact:
Obviously, this is a better team on paper than last year's squad, but the difference in performance early in the season is about more than just the team on paper.
Greg Cronin's system and message are clearly resonating with players and has this team looking much better.
They aren't being constantly caved in and don't look anemic on offense anymore.
It's still going to be a tough season for the Ducks and will feature more losses than wins but the early signs look good under Cronin.