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 Game Preview
Jackson LaCombe remained out of the Ducks’ lineup due to illness. Olen Zellweger had an off night after replacing LaCombe on Saturday against the Sharks.
Urho Vaakanainen made his season debut in this one, playing on the left side for Radko Gudas. In this game, he was the Ducks’ least used defenseman, playing almost six minutes less (13:47) than the closest defenseman (Tristan Luneau – 19:33).
James Reimer made his Ducks debut in this game after coming 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 expectations.
Ilya Samsonov started 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, with a .953 SV% and one shutout.
“The first period I thought was great. That’s how we’re supposed to play,” Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said after the game. “In the second period, we kept turning the puck over. Over and over again, and when that happens, you end up defending most of the period, your legs are tired and you can’t really counterattack.”
Here are my notes from this game:
Defensive zone coverage: Vegas is deploying much more active and offensively involved defenders from their blue line, testing the integrity of the Ducks’ man-to-man defensive zone system.
The Ducks were up for the challenge, not allowing themselves to become susceptible to picking plays by keeping the defender off the puck under the weave and effectively limiting cycle chances.
Gauthier cutter: Despite failing to find enough space to get off many shots in his first two games of the season, Gauthier’s wall game (especially in the neutral zone after receiving an outlet pass) remains an underrated part of his game as he can connect and assist with zone entries.
Tristan Luneau: Luneau still needs to simplify and adapt to the speed and limited time he has in the NHL. He is too tight on his gaps against rushing attacks and has struggled to recover the forward far in search of a stretched pass.
Vatrano-Strôme-Terry: The Ducks 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 playing styles complement each other well early in the season.
“We played when they were there,” Troy Terry said. “We threw it out when it was necessary, and I thought we did thorough due diligence.”
Terry is the puck carrier Strome and Vatrano dream of as a teammate. Strome is an effective playmaker and creator below the offensive goal line, and Vatrano can detect rebounds from Terry’s shot attempts or soft ice for Strome’s passes.
Terry’s defensive activity and involvement also has the potential to alleviate some of the deficiencies in that department that Strome and Vatrano display when paired together.
The Ducks will have a two-day break before facing undefeated Utah Hockey Club (3-0-0) in their home opener Wednesday at Honda Center, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. PST.
