ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was a “take care of business night” for the Anaheim Ducks, as the home team’s NHL-experienced roster handled the San Jose Sharks AHL-level roster, 3-2, on Monday at Honda Center.
Cutter Gauthier, Radko Gudas and Frank Vatrano broke through with second-period goals for a 3-0 lead, before the Sharks got one back on a power play strike.
Ville Husso got his second start of the preseason and stopped 22 of 24 shots.
Anaheim goes up to San Jose on Wednesday and closes the preseason at Los Angeles on Saturday.
“I thought today, we had the puck a lot,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We did make some nice plays. Not a lot of finish, but some good possession, good zone time and some good action, as far as cycling and replacing the different areas. It was positive.”
Here are some Ducks news and notes from Monday’s exhibition affair:
A surprise contender for the final slot in the Anaheim Ducks defensive corps, Tyson Hinds made a strong argument in his favor on Monday.
Hinds has the physical bonafides at 6-foot-3, 199 pounds, but the 2021 third-round pick flashed a bit of skill against the Sharks.
Midway through the second period, Hinds got out to the races down the right flank, pulled up and fired a rifle pass through the slot to a hard-charging Frank Vatrano, who placed the puck in the empty cage for a 3-0 Ducks advantage.
“We like what we’re seeing,” Queneville said. “I think that he did some good things. I think he’s steady on the back end. He’s got some size to him. He’s got play recognition to a different level that we saw there. His goal the other night was pretty special as well. I think he’s helped himself in a lot of people’s eyes and minds. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
Anaheim’s top six defensemen seem set with Jackson LaCombe, Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, Drew Helleson, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.
Hinds is in competition for that last spot with Tristan Luneau, Ian Moore and Stian Solberg.
“I’m just trying to prove my game, prove that I have a spot on the team,” Hinds said of his camp and preseason. “Just prove that I can play in the NHL and that’s what I want to do, and that’s the goal.”
After a breakout AHL campaign, Luneau looks NHL ready, and Moore got a handful of NHL games last season after graduating from Harvard. Solberg, a 2024 first-round pick, has been solid, but will need more time.
If Hinds gets the spot, he will have certainly earned it with his showing in training camp and the preseason, but ultimately, it may be a minutes play.
Simply put, Luneau, Moore and Solberg have higher ceilings in the Ducks organization. All three would be better served not sitting in Anaheim’s press box, but instead, playing top minutes, which they would in AHL San Diego.
That’s no slight on Hinds, but if he can prove to be a reliable extra hand, he may carve out a slot with the Ducks.
“I think from day one of camp, everybody’s trying to crack a spot and prove himself that they can play at that level,” Hinds said. “Everybody’s doing their best, but we get out there, it’s a team sport, a team game, and I feel like we just need to concentrate on that part of the game and try not to do too much. Just keep the game simple and if the plays come to you.”
As the regular-season roster starts to take shape, so too do the line combinations. Anaheim’s top line has been pieced together over the course of training camp, and now, a trio has formed.
Last Monday against Utah, Chris Kreider was on Leo Carlsson’s left wing. On Wednesday against LA, Kreider shifted off the line and Troy Terry patrolled Carlsson’s right wing. In the practices since and on Monday against San Jose, the three combined: Kreider-Carlsson-Terry.
Carlsson and Terry are obviously familiar with each other and played together plenty in Carlsson’s rookie season two years ago.
“It’s good,” Carlsson said of the line this morning. “I think we have a great chemistry. Kreider, so strong on the puck, great in front of the net. That’s going to help us out there, me and Troy. Perfect combination.”
Terry echoed Carlsson’s praise of Kreider for their line calling the former Ranger “just a force out there.”
For Terry and Carlsson, they’re both players that are usually best with the puck on their stick–Carlsson streaking through the middle of the ice, and Terry with the puck on a string weaving through defenders. There’s only one puck, so when together, adjustments need to be made.
“I can tell when I play with him, sometimes he tries to, I don’t know, force it to me,” Terry said, “and I just keep reminding him, I’m like, I want you to have the puck. So, just not really change how we play or anything, but just try to support each other. And for me, if I can get my feet moving and play a little differently and really just try to stretch up the ice with him, I think we should be able to play give-and-go hockey up the ice and hopefully enter zones under control.”
Of course, this is just preseason, and with Mason McTavish back in the fold, that will change up the balance of the lines. Coach Joel Quenneville said things are always flexible in that department, particularly this early in the proceedings.
“I think right now we’re trying it, and we’ll see how it goes,” Quenneville said, “but we still have, MacT comes back, and then you got what’s going to be the best fit for him, too. We still got time, and I want in the course of a game, we seem to find a lot of different combinations being used.”
“You’re gonna see this throughout camp and we’re gonna see it out through really parts of the season. And even when you get settled with lines, you still see a lot of different looks on the ice as well. So it’s a want to make sure that you play the same way, no matter who you’re playing with, and I think that’s how we become a better team.”
Near-Perfect Penalty Kill
The Ducks opened the preseason with a flawless 21-for-21 mark killing penalties, taking that streak into the second period on Monday.
Shakir Mukhamadullin’s point blast to cut the Ducks lead to 3-1 snapped that streak, but it’s an impressive mark nonetheless for a revamped unit under new assistant coach Ryan McGill.
“Some of the habits and some of the way we want to move together has been efficient,” Quenneville said at the morning skate. “We’ve been fortunate. Our goaltending’s been very strong. That’s been probably the most noticeable aspect to it, but I think whether it’s entries, whether it’s recognizing pressure points, they’re getting better at it. In lanes, stick preparation, sticks being effective is a big part of how we want to play as well. It’s not just 5-on-4.”
Anaheim was 4-for-5 with the man-down unit on Monday, but the other caveat to any preseason success is who they’re doing it against.
“I think everybody doesn’t have their five guys in the power play that their five top offensive guys,” Quenneville said, “so you’re probably seeing teams looking at different guys that don’t have that high end skill level that makes power play so effective. So I think that’s part of it.”
“It’s still early… but I can imagine power play efficiency throughout the league this year, it’s probably going to be at the same pace it’s been the last four or five years, which have been pretty good. So, we’re still gonna need it. We’re gonna count on our PK a lot this year.”
Anaheim announced that goaltender Lukáš Dostál was out day-to-day with a lower-body injury following the morning skate on Monday. Dostál did not participate in the skate.
“This is definitely short, short term,” Quenneville said postgame.
The 25-year-old Czech started the first half of Wednesday’s game against Los Angeles and stopped 17 of 18 shots before a planned goalie switch. Dostál practiced on Thursday and Friday, as well, and wasn’t part of the game group Saturday in Bakersfield.
Dostál signed a five-year, $32.5 million restricted free agent deal with the Ducks this summer.
Anaheim Ducks Line Combinations:
Chris Kreider-Leo Carlsson-Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier-Mikael Granlund-Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano-Ryan Strome-Alex Killorn
Nikita Nesterenko-Tim Washe-Sam Colangelo
Jackson LaCombe-Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger-Jacob Trouba