The 2023-2024 season is officially underway, and the Ducks kicked things off with a 4-1 loss at the hands of the reigning Stanley Cup champions Vegas Golden Knights last night.
Coming off a season where the Ducks finished dead-last in the NHL and had a franchise-worst winning percentage, the Ducks did not play as badly as the score showed. Giving the Golden Knights six power plays was the main kicker in the loss and gave the Knights two power-play goals.
Discipline was a major issue for the Ducks last year, and it looked no different last night. You cannot give a team like Vegas six chances on the power play and expect to win.
At even strength, the Ducks played a decent game, with the expected goals battle being 2.42-2.20 in favor of Vegas as opposed to 4.36-2.88 in all situations, according to MoneyPuck. Again, compared to last year, the even-strength battle is far improved.
The Ducks surrendered 38 shots in total but just 28 in even-strength play. If the Ducks can improve their discipline, they will take a huge load of responsibility off their goaltenders, and they might see some better consistency from them this year.
John Gibson was not terrible last night. In fact, he had a positive Goals Saved Above Expected according to MoneyPuck at 0.38 xGSAE. Gibson stopped 25 of 26 shots at even-strength and nine of 11 on the penalty kill. He let in a soft goal by giving up on the rush and giving Chandler Stephenson an empty net to deposit the second goal for the night. Other than that, Gibson was solid and made the saves he needed to make.
At even strength, the Ducks did a decent job of keeping the puck on the outside in the defensive zone, which, again, is a great improvement from last season. Assuming this is new head coach Greg Cronin’s influence with his systems, a redefined blue line, and not just a one-game wonder, the Ducks can build off this game and be far more competitive this year.
Tonight, the Ducks’ blue line had three returners from last season: Cam Fowler, Jamie Drysdale, and Jackson LaCombe. Drysdale only played in eight games last year due to a torn labrum, and LaCombe only played in two games last year at the end of the season. New additions Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin made their Ducks debut last night, and 2022 10th overall pick Pavel Mintyukov made his NHL debut.
The biggest positives from the game were LaCombe and Mintyukov. Neither of them ended up on the scoresheet, but both of their games were noticeable. LaCombe was excellent on the rush and in the offensive zone, creating dangerous scoring chances that will eventually result in points. Mintyukov used his 6’2, 192 lb frame and played a physical brand of hockey while also being responsible with the puck and doing the little things right.
Another bright spot for the Ducks was their lone goal coming from Mason McTavish. McTavish had a great second effort to dive and poke-check the puck away from William Karlsson, who was trying to transition in the neutral zone, and then went right back on the rush and scored on a rebound. McTavish finished his first full NHL season last year with 17 goals and 43 points and mentioned before the season started that he was prioritizing shooting instead of thinking pass first.
The Ducks go right back to action tonight in their home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes. Lukáš Dostál is expected to get his first start of the season as he looks to prove that he is worthy of being a starting NHL goaltender.
