For the first time in the 2025-26 regular season, the Anaheim Ducks were on home ice, welcoming the Pittsburgh Penguins to town. The Ducks (2-1-0) entered the game coming off a 7-6 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks. The Penguins (2-2-0) looked for a bounce-back win after falling to the New York Rangers 6-1. Anaheim ultimately came away with a 4-3 win thanks to a three-point night for Chris Kreider.
Lukas Dostal made some key saves in his 23-save win between the pipes. Despite allowing four goals and taking the loss, Tristan Jarry was solid for the Penguins.
Game Recap
The opening 20 minutes were full of entertainment and chaos with a few goals sprinkled in. The Penguins had a picture-perfect start, opening the scoring on their first shot just 1:03 into the period thanks to Justin Brazeau’s fourth of the season. A few minutes later, the Ducks had a great opportunity to tie the game with Matt Dumba in the box for holding, but the puck wasn’t favorably bouncing for them.
Rickard Rakell extended the Penguins’ lead at 7:01, with Ryan Shea recording his second assist of the period. The Ducks’ Kreider capitalized on their second power play of the period to bring the game to within one. With time winding down, Cutter Gauthier tied the game at two with his third of the season. With 20 seconds left, the Penguins nearly regained their lead, but the crossbar bailed the Ducks out. Pittsburgh held a 15-7 shot advantage through one period of play.