The Anaheim Ducks traveled to Vegas from San Jose to take on the Golden Knights in their second game in as many days to open their 2024-25 season.
Game #2: Ducks vs. Golden Knights Gameday Preview
Jackson LaCombe remained out of the Ducks lineup due to an illness. Olen Zellweger was given the night off after filling in for LaCombe on Saturday against the Sharks.
Urho Vaakanainen made his season debut in this one, playing on the left side of Radko Gudas. In this game, he was the least utilized defenseman for the Ducks, playing nearly six minutes less (13:47) than the next closest blueliner (Tristan Luneau-19:33).
James Reimer made his Ducks debut in this game after he was claimed off the waiver wire six days ago. Reimer stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced in this one. He saved 1.45 goals above expected.
Ilya Samsonov got the start for the Golden Knights and continued his career dominance over the Ducks. He stopped 22 of 23 shots (2.22 GSAx) in this game and is now 3-0-0 against the Ducks in his career, sporting a .953 SV% and one shutout.
“The first period, I thought, was terrific. That’s the way we’re supposed to play,” Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said post-game. “The second period, we kept turning pucks over. Over and over and over again, and when that happens, you end up defending most of the period, you get tired legs, and you can’t really counterattack.”
Here are my notes from this game:
Defensive Zone Coverage: Vegas deploys much more active and offensively-involved defensemen from their blueline, testing the integrity of the Ducks’ man-to-man defensive zone system.
The Ducks were up for the task, not allowing themselves to become susceptible to pick plays by keeping the off-puck defender underneath the weave and effectively limiting cycle chances.
Cutter Gauthier: Though he hasn’t been able to find enough space to get many shots off in his first two games of the season, Gauthier’s wall play (especially in the neutral zone after receiving an outlet pass) remains an underrated part of his game as he can connect and aide zone entries.
Tristan Luneau: Luneau still needs to simplify and adjust to the speed and limited time he’s afforded in the NHL. He’s too tight on his gaps against rush attacks and had trouble picking up the far-cutting forward in search of a stretch pass.
Vatrano-Strome-Terry: The Ducks listed third line contributed 10 of the team’s 23 shots in this game and 19 total shot attempts. Perhaps traditionally unconventional in terms of line construction, their play styles are complimenting each other nicely in the season’s early days.
“We made plays when they were there,” Troy Terry said. “We dumped it in when it was needed, and I thought we forechecked hard.”
Terry is the puck-transporter Strome and Vatrano crave in a linemate. Strome is an effective play-builder and creator from below the offensive goal line, and Vatrano can sniff out rebounds from Terry’s shot attempts or soft ice for feeds from Strome.
Terry’s defensive activity and involvement also has the potential to mitigate some of the deficiencies in that department Strome and Vatrano display when paired together.
The Ducks will get a two-day break before taking on the undefeated Utah Hockey Club (3-0-0) in their home opener on Wednesday at Honda Center, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7 pm PST.
