ANAHEIM, Calif. – A majority NHL-level line-up produced an NHL-level result, as the Anaheim Ducks swamped the visiting Utah Mammoth, 6-1, on Monday at Honda Center
“I liked our possession. I think that’s what we want to get to,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We want to spend more time in the offensive zone. We want to keep the puck, we want to spend, whether they’re getting chances, but I still think the quality tonight was we had more skill in the lineup pence, we had some more. kind of goals that you’d like have a little more patience, sustaining offense his own plays and guys”
Matthew Phillips, a 5-foot-8 NHL-AHL journeyman, scored two goals on the wing of Ducks free agent signing Mikael Granlund. Drew Helleson, who put up three points with a goal and two assists, and Jackson LaCombe, who racked up three assists, each got helpers on Phillips’ tallies.
Beckett Sennecke scored his first goal of the preseason and Ryan Strome and Ross Johnston earned deflection goals. Troy Terry notched two assists.
“I thought we had more pace and more possession and made some nice plays with the puck,” Quenneville said, “and some nice plays in the offensive zone, low to high, traffic and second opportunities and, you know, we got some fortunate bounces around the net as well.”
Anaheim has a scheduled day off tomorrow from camp, and the Ducks will host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The Kings NHL-experienced roster beat the Ducks younger roster on Sunday in Ontario.
Sennecke was one of just two players, along with defenseman Noah Warren, to play in back-to-back games Sunday in Ontario and Monday in Anaheim. He played on the top line both nights with Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Poehling in Ontario and with Leo Carlsson and Chris Kreider in Anaheim.
The Ducks top prospect is clearly getting major opportunities early in this preseason to prove whether should stay with the NHL club or get sent back down for a fourth season of junior hockey.
Sunday was a rough start with a minus-3 rating, including a bad defensive lunge on the first Kings goal and a backhand pass that was intercepted and sent into the empty net in the 3-1 loss to Los Angeles. However, Quenneville was still encouraged.
“There was a lot of positives in his game last night,” Quenneville said at the morning skate prior to Monday’s game. “I thought he had more possession of the puck. I thought he had more patience with it, but I think his game’s growing. Some days where he looks like, ‘Wow.’ There’s a wow factor in there, and I think the consistency of being a pro is the part that we’re going to be working on. I think if he grabs something every day around this time of year, he’s going to make himself a better player and take that next step.”
Sennecke got a chance to bounce back the next day, and he showcased some of that “wow factor” against Utah.
First period was bookended by tough moments. He got rocked with a big hit on his second shift and took a penalty in the final minutes.
Second period saw that incredible skill with some good power play movement, a nifty spinning backhand pass through the neutral zone and–shining through–a goal.
Carlsson tapped the puck forward against the flow of oncoming traffic, and Sennecke took off. He wasn’t able to cleanly beat the defensemen, but while the puck was checked off his stick, he stuck with it to whack in the Ducks’ third goal.
Sennecke said his focus coming into the game from Sunday was on his wall work and to not get hemmed in the zone from pinching defenseman.
Quenneville’s message to Sennecke in the preseason has been straightforward.
“You should keep it simple, and he said, just play the game, don’t think,” Sennecke said.
Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson have been longtime friends since ages 6-7 back home in Minnesota. They’ve spoken about their bond since Helleson’s call-up and LaCombe’s surge in play last season.
They’ve been paired up to open camp, and it paid dividends on Monday, where the two combined for seven points against Utah.
“Communication’s a huge thing out there,” Helleson said. It can simplify the game a little bit or a lot. I think him and I even sometimes we don’t talk. We can kind of read off each other and kind of know what each other’s going to do. That gives you just an extra step and a little half a second more to make a play, and I think that is a huge difference.”
When Quenneville learned of their bond, he thought it was only natural to put the left-handed LaCombe and right-handed Helleson on a balanced pairing, with the coach drawing inspiration from his Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks teams.
“It’s as close as a pair–I had (Brent) Seabrook and (Duncan Keith) there together for a long time,” Quenneville said. “It’s early to compare that pair, but at the same time, they were friends, and happened to be teammates for a while, and then, next thing you know, they had some success together.”
Seven-point nights shouldn’t be the expectation, and its even possible that the two are not a regular pairing when the regular season begins. However, early in the preseason, it’s working, and it doesn’t hurt to try.
“I don’t know if that’s gonna happen every night,” Helleson laughed. “It’s always fun when that works out. Jax is a hell of a player and lucky enough to be playing with him.”
Ducks on the board first, and its the veterans breaking through.
Helleson with a slick diagonal to Vatrano, who taps to Terry, who dances through the slot to find Helleson creeping up from the point, and the defenseman rips it.
1-0 Ducks, late P1.@SportingTrib | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/vsIntzsGxW
— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) September 23, 2025
Matthew Phillips’ Surprising Scores
When Ducks public address announcer belted out goalscore “MATTHEW PHILLIPS” twice on Monday, fans in the building would be excused for asking, “Who?”
Phillips is an AHL camp invite destined for the San Diego Gulls, who comes to the organization after bouncing between the Calgary, Washington and Pittsburgh systems. Phillips was a standout for AHL Colorado this season and pounced on the opportunity against Utah.
“I think it’s obviously a new environment for me,” Phillips said, “but I think the playing style and the messaging from the coaches is something that gels pretty well with my game, and it’s been great so far. Lucky to play with some unreal players tonight, so, so far so good.”
Phillips was on the left wing of a line featuring veterans Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn.
Despite his 5-foot-8, 161-pound frame, Phillips got inside for a rebound goal for the Ducks’ second tally, and he got out on a two-on-one break with Granlund, finishing a backhand feed for Anaheim’s sixth goal.
It’s a performance bound to make an impression on the Ducks’ and Gulls’ staffs as they push toward the season.
“I definitely want to show them my playing style,” Phillips said. “I’m an offensive guy, but I think there’s more to my game than just offense. And I think that Killer and Granlund I played with tonight are two guys that I can read off really well and just show my compete level. I think that’s kind of the foundation of my game and continue to try to prove that I can do it to this level.”
On a rare night off before their season-ending homestand, a few Los Angeles Angels crossed the 57 and Katella to take in a special treat. Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Caden Dana, Sebastián Rivero, Bryce Teodosio and Mitch Farris watched the game between the Ducks and Mammoth benches rotating through each period.
Neto was shown on the jumbotron in the second period and took that opportunity to chug the beer he snuck down to the box, much to the crowd’s enjoyment.
Then, as if imbued with the power of the Rally Monkey themselves, the Ducks immediately scored, as Matthew Phillips popped in a rebound, and a minute later, Sennecke scored his goal.
The Angels are currently 70-86 with six games to play, all at home.
Anaheim Ducks Line Combinations:
Cutter Gauthier (A)-Ryan Poehling-Beckett Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko-Jansen Harkins (A)-Sam Colangelo
Yegor Sidorov-Tim Washe-Justin Bailey
Nico Myatovic-Nathan Gaucher-Sasha Pastujov
Pavel Mintyukov (A)-Tristan Luneau
Stian Solberg-Noah Warren