Ducks Can’t Run With The Devils

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks welcomed back Lukas Dostal as he got the start against Jake Allen of the New Jersey Devils. Head Coach Joel Quenneville jumbled the forward lines except for the top line. Ian Moore drew in for Pavel Mintyukov.

Troy Terry got the Ducks on the board in the first period. Leo Carlsson sprung Terry behind the Devils defense and he wristed a shot high above Allen for the goal.

Stefan Noesen answered for New Jersey a few minutes later. Juho Lammikko was behind the Anaheim net and found Noesen in front for the score. The teams were tied at one after the first period.

The Devils took the lead early in the second period. There was a scramble in front of the Anaheim need and the loose puck came to Paul Cotter at the side of the net for an easy tap in goal.

New Jersey extended their lead to two goals when Cody Glass scored from the slot with just under three minutes to go in the second period.

In third period the Ducks pulled Dostal with just over four minutes to go. Connor Brown scored in the empty net to make it a 4-1 score, which was the final result.

Analysis:

The Ducks got off to a slow start as they didn’t get a shot on goal until almost 11 minutes into the first period. They did score first, but then the Devils answered back shortly after. New Jersey added a couple more goals in the second period and that’s all they needed to win. Starting the game at 9:30 AM Pacific Time isn’t ideal for the Ducks.

Anaheim had a difficult time generating offensive scoring chances. New Jersey did a solid job of clogging up the neutral and making life difficult for Anaheim to enter the offensive zone. The Ducks put up 53 shot attempts to 50 for the Devils during even strength play. The Ducks posted a CF% of 51.46% and FF% of 56% during even strength.

Special teams weren’t much of a factor in this one. The Ducks went 0-for-3 on the power play and the Devils went 0-for-2. New Jersey did have a 5-on-3 power play for 45 seconds, which Anaheim was able to kill off.

The forward lines were changed to start the game except the top line. The lines were then all mixed up in the third period to try to generate some offense. The Ducks did manage some quality scoring chances in the third period, but they couldn’t get one past Allen.

The defensive pairing of Radko Gudas and Drew Helleson had a rough game. They both were caught out a position a few times during this contest. Helleson hasn’t been playing well as of late and should sit out at least one game. As a team the Ducks continue to struggle with consistent play from the blue line. Anaheim also turned over the puck 21 times. Inconsistent defense, turnovers, special teams, and lack of discipline continue to be key issues for this team recently, Wash, rinse, repeat.

Team Notes/Stats:

The Ducks are now 10-2-0 when they score first this season.

Leo Carlsson earned his 40th point on Terry’s goal. He is the fastest player in Ducks history (32 GP) to get to 40 points to start a season since Teemu Selanne in 2006-07 (32 GP). Paul Kariya did twice in less games (1996-97 in 29 GP & 1998-99 in 30 GP) and Selanne did it in 31 games during the 1996-07 season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks play the New York Rangers on Monday at 4PM.

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December 13th, 2025