Ducks Get Roasted By The Blues

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks returned home to host the St. Louis Blues in the first of back-to-back games at the Honda Center. Lukas Dostal was in net against Joel Hofer. Anaheim was again without Cutter Gauthier, Radko Gudas, and Pavel Mintyukov.

Mason McTavish took a point shot and Ryan Poehling deflected the shot past Hofer to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of this contest.

The Blues answered back with two goals. Robert Thomas scored from the slot to tie the game. Dylan Holloway scored five-hole from the right face-off circle.

The Ducks responded with a goal by Jeffrey Viel. Poehling found Viel streaking down the slot and he tapped a past Hofer’s stick side.

St. Louis took the lead in the final minutes of the third period. Jonatan Berggren scored on rush with a shot between the hash marks. The Blues led 3-2 after the first period.

Pius Suter made it 4-2 early in the second period. Dostal made the initial save, but Tyler Tucker got the rebound and found Suter at the side of the net for the tap in score.

Colton Parayko scored towards the end of the second period from the right circle. The Blues led 5-2 after two periods.

Holloway scored his second of the game in the opening minutes of the third period. Blues went on to win 6-2.

Analysis:

The Ducks looked good at the start of this contest when Poehling scored in the opening minutes. Then the Blues scored twice to take the lead. Viel responded to tie the game late in the first period. The Blues added on more goal to take a 3-2 lead after a wild opening period. St. Louis scored two more times in the second period and never looked back after that.

One key moment in this game came at the end of the first period. Leo Carlsson and Ian Moore both skated away from a puck in the neutral zone thinking the other player was going to get it. Instead the Blues picked up the puck and scored on the rush to make it 3-2.

Another key moment came late in the second period. Parayko checked Beckett Sennecke in the head and there was no call on the play. Parayko then scored shortly after the play to add insult to injury.

The special teams were a factor in this contest. The Blues went 2-for-4 with the man advantage. The Ducks went 0-for-3.

Overall the Ducks have been shaky defensively lately. Even if Gudas and Mintyukov aren’t 100%, maybe at least one of them needs to get back in the lineup sooner than later. Dostal also hasn’t had his best performances recently.

A team wants to build momentum going into the playoffs and this certainly isn’t it. The Ducks have lost four in a row and now find themselves in second place. The Oilers own the tie breaker with more regulation wins and now control their own fate for the division title.

Team Notes/Stats:

Jacob Trouba played in his 900th NHL game.

The Ducks have lost 12 of their last 13 against the Blues. Anaheim has lost seven straight to St. Louis at Honda Center.

The Ducks are 13-1-1 when scoring first at home this season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Calgary Flames tonight at 7PM.

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April 4th, 2026