The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a three-game homestand by hosting the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday, with hopes of extending their three-game winning streak to four. This was the second time the two teams faced each other in a week; the last result was a 3-2 shootout win by Anaheim.
Florida was coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday, arriving in Anaheim on two full days’ rest and hoping to kick off their west coast road trip on a high note.
The Anaheim coaching staff went with the same lineup that earned them their last win against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
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Lukas Dostal got the start in net for the Ducks and saved 18 of the 21 shots he faced. Dostal stood in the opposite crease as Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped just 25 of 32.
The Ducks lost Leo Carlsson at the start of the third period when he received an interference major and game misconduct when his shoulder made contact with Evan Rodrigues’ head while the Ducks were on the power play. Nikita Nesterenko filled in admirably in his place for the remainder of the game.
Here are my notes:
The Ducks came out of the gate a bit out of sync, struggling to build plays from their own end against one of the NHL’s top forechecking teams. The game opened up soon after, but favored the Panthers early.
The Ducks made some adjustments, behind some opportunistic goals from Cutter Gauthier, and dialed in a bit of their freewheeling, ultimately dictating pace with a relentless forecheck, clever rush sequences, and elongated time on the cycle.
They rode the emotions of extracurricular skirmishes and capitalized on the open ice created from non-5v5 play.
Cutter Gauthier-This game was all about Gauthier. In less than 15 minutes of TOI, three of his six shots on goal found the back of the net, and he added a primary assist to boot. Two of his goals came on the power play off of right-flank one-timers, a spot he’d played in for his entire pre-NHL career, and he’s now translating those efforts to the NHL, finding and manipulating those open lanes to make himself a passing option, and burying pucks with confidence at will.
“It’s a pretty special night,” Gauthier said after the game. “(They’re) the defending Cup champ, so the most important thing was that we got the job done. So it was super fun.”
Gauthier became the first NHL player 21 or younger to score 10 goals in the first 12 games of a season since Auston Matthews in 2018-19 and now co-leads the NHL in goals. He was drafted to be a goal scorer, acquired by Anaheim to be a goal scorer, and is now scratching the surface of that potential, scoring in a variety of ways, utilizing several of his above-average attributes, and rounding out his “B” game in the process.
Breakouts and Regroups-This was the area where the Ducks struggled most early. It seemed as if they were anticipating the Panthers to deploy an ultra-aggressive forecheck and were taken aback when Florida’s focus was more on eliminating outlets rather than pressuring the puck.
The Ducks adjusted by having forwards support lower and shortening the distance for outlets, leading to cleaner exits and possession through neutral ice.
Rush Defense-Florida exploited the Ducks’ weak side defender in the neutral zone, who was either too stationary or displayed a poor gap, by sending the weak side forward cutting to the middle of the ice on counterattacks for stretch passes, leading to breakaways or semi-breakaways.
This was another area the Ducks cleaned up nicely as the game went on, taking away that option and forcing the puck carrier to make safer reads, after which the Ducks’ backcheck or strong defenders sealed on the wall and killed the rush.
Nikita Nesterenko-Nesterenko notched a goal and an assist in this game and is becoming noticeably more comfortable with and without the puck as each game goes on, now 41 games into his NHL career. He’s evolved into a plus forechecker and is taking his time, making NHL reads, and keeping his feet moving with the puck on his stick to optimize rush and cycle chances. He can play all 12 forward positions, and may very well at this rate if head coach Joel Quenneville continues to have lineup spots in need of filling.
“You get more comfortable with every game,” Nesterenko said after the game. “The more puck touches you get, you assess different situations throughout the game. If you’re not throwing it away as much, you’re trying to possess it, that’s the name of the game.”
The Ducks will hit the road for two games against perennial cup contenders: the Dallas Stars on Thursday and the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, looking to extend their now-four-game winning streak.
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