For a fourth straight time, the Edmonton Oilers play a team that defeated the Calgary Flames just 24 hours before, who won 4-3 in overtime in a game they never led. At one point in the second period, the Ducks were down 2-0 and were being outshot 20-3.

Then Beckett Sennecke scored his 16th, 17th, and 18th goals of the season for his first career hat-trick, along with Chris Kreider chiming in, and the Ducks continued their hot streak.

That marks the seventh consecutive Anaheim victory – including wins over Colorado and Dallas – and they sit just one point back of the Oilers for second in the Pacific.

Before this streak, though, the Ducks were in freefall, losing nine straight (0-8-1) before their current winning streak began on January 13. This, of course, came after winning seven straight in the early stages of the season from October 28 to November 9.

Youth has brought streakiness to Orange County.

“It’s been fun this last week, week and a half or so, playing hockey,” said Cutter Gauthier after a win over Seattle on Friday.

“[Coach Joel Quenneville] set the standard that we want to rely on our defense [sic] and play a solid, tight game and tight checking, and I think so far, we’ve done a great job of that.”

Bring on the big divisional game, the fifth straight contest at home for the Oilers.

They don’t know any better yet

Four of the Ducks’ top seven scorers have played fewer than 200 NHL regular-season games, and that doesn’t include Mason McTavish. The youth movement, paired with veteran coach Joel Quenneville, is looking to take a step out of a perennial rebuild that’s been going since the 2010s.

The gamble on acquiring disgruntled forward Cutter Gauthier has already paid off to the tune of 23 goals and 46 points, while Leo Carlsson has taken strides to being that number one center franchises salivate over.

There’s also the gambles they took in moving on from young players that weren’t working out. Anaheim parted with former top-10 pick, but oft-injured Jamie Drysdale in the Gauthier swap, not to mention dealing former NHL cover star Trevor Zegras in a move that’s worked for both franchise.

While not without bumps in the road, this recent streak has largely been done without Carlsson, McTavish or Troy Terry, to boot.

In a season that’s featured bizarre injuries, Carlsson added his name to that list as he needs to sit for multiple weeks to treat a rare Morel-Lavallee lesion in his left thigh. The injury, which is much more common for car collision victims than hockey players, also puts his Olympic participation with Team Sweden in doubt.

Earlier on the roadtrip, Mason McTavish returned home after an upper-body injury. After his contract holdout delayed his start from training camp, he’s scored 13 goals and 30 points this year.

Meanwhile, Terry has been fighting a shoulder issue since early January.

I’d say the Oilers can take advantage of these injuries, but the Ducks have been sustaining without them.

Dostwall

In trading away young players, and establishing his core of the future, general manager Pat Verbeek has furnished his roster with veterans to round out a young team.

He was eager to acquire former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba last season, then another Ranger outcast in Chris Kreider this summer, who has 17 goals on the season. Both adds came at very little acquisition cost – no roster players and no picks in the first two rounds.

This, after using free agency to get a hard-nosed blueliner in Radko Gudas in 2023-24, Alex Killorn (for perhaps way too much money), and most recently Mikael Granlund, has helped guide his young bucks to a playoff spot through 51 games played.

As time went along, Lukas Dostal stole the net from John Gibson, allowing Anaheim to trade the veteran and turn a new leaf in their crease. As Dostal goes, the Ducks go. He’d finished above a .900 save percentage for the last three seasons, but this year has been streakier, leaving him below that total.

However, Dostal started Sunday, which point toward Ville Husso against Edmonton. Husso has only played twice in January, earning a 18-save win on January 17 against Los Angeles.

Petr Mrazek, who boasts a paltry .858 save percentage, is on IR.

The fancy stuff

At 5-on-5, the Ducks have the eighth-worst goal differential at -12 before Sunday night’s game was played, according to Moneypuck. The Oilers are ninth worst. This is despite both teams being eighth and ninth best in expected goals for at 5-on-5.

Preventing goals at even strength has been each team’s Achilles heel.

A season ago, the Anaheim powerplay was horrendous, dead last in the NHL. This year they’ve ticked up a bit, hovering below 17 per cent on the season. The penalty kill is also average, around 81 per cent.

Long story short, they ride and the ebbs and flows. By getting away with a win in Calgary despite being outshot and trailing, is their luck running out?

Notes:

Cutter Gauthier is on a four-game point streak.
It might more impressive that Chris Kreider had a 15-game goalless drought, yet has 17 goals on the season. That’s the second most in the league amongst skaters on a new team this season.
Beckett Sennecke being selected third overall at the 2024 NHL Draft raised some eyebrows, as he was picked ahead of Cayden Lindstrom (who was a darling late riser of the draft) and Ivan Demidov.
He now leads all rookies in goals with 18 and is only two points behind Demidov for overall rookie point lead. The kid is crafty.
Jackson LaCombe has been on a mission to prove that last year’s 14 goal, 43-point season was no fluke. The Ducks didn’t think it was a fluke, either, signing him to an 8-year, $72 million extension before the season began.
Bill Guerin selected LaCombe last week for the Team USA Olympic roster to replace Seth Jones, many believing he snubbed Lane Hutson. LaCombe has points in back-to-back games and 33 total, while playing over 24 minutes a night.
LaCombe joins Carlsson (SWE), Dostal (CZE), Granlund (FIN), and Gudas (CZE) as Olympic selections for Anaheim.
Troy Terry is on pace to get near a career high again. In the meantime, he has seven points in his last five games.
There have been Broberg-esque unhappiness rumblings surrounding Pavel Mintyukov, former 10th overall in 2022. After a couple of healthy scratches, he’s playing consistently in the Ducks’ lineup, averaging 17:49 in ice-time per night.
With McTavish and Carlsson out of the lineup, Anaheim is thin down the middle, with Jansen Harkins and Tim Washe playing more minutes at center than ideal. Ryan Strome is playing games this year, but is largely ineffective, tying him to trade rumours.
I’ve always been a fan of Olen Zellweger, who spent years growing up in Bonnyville before higher levels of hockey called his name. The former Team Canada World Junior has 18 points, while playing 17:48.
Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that the Ducks are interested in Artemi Panarin, as the Rangers are looking for a Brock Nelson-type package in return. Wouldn’t that be an interesting marriage.
A quiet move paying early returns: getting Jeremy Veil from Boston for a fourth-round pick. Veil has primarily been a minor-leaguer, but in hopping into the Ducks lineup, he has three points in five games.
The Oilers had a lengthy win streak against their divisional rivals before last season. Edmonton went only 1-3 vs Anaheim, including a 6-2 loss on March 4, 2025 the last time the Ducks came to Rogers Place.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365

Gameday Previews

News

Featured

Recent articles from Michael Menzies

Pre-Scout: Huge divisional matchup sees Anaheim Ducks on a 7-game win streak

Sunday Scramble: Late game heroics help Oilers avoid tense result, the why & why not on Bouchard and Team Canada

Pre-Scout: Capitals face the Oilers after snapping losing skid, battling inconsistency