Category: Sports News

The Anaheim Ducks have started their 2025-26 campaign with a 2-2-0 record, with some encouraging and discouraging trends emerging to start their season, in which the stated goal is to make the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Ducks' most recent game ended in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, a perennial cup contender, well-oiled machine, and perhaps the early favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in June.

Quack of Dawn: Ducks Morning Report - 10/18/25

Takeaways from the Ducks 4-1 Loss to the Hurricanes

After a final faceoff in the Canes’ zone and when the buzzer signified the end of the second period of that game, tempers flared between centermen Mason McTavish and Logan Stankoven, igniting a skirmish between all five skaters on the ice. Canes’ goaltender Frederik Andersen involved himself, so Ducks’ netminder Lukas Dostal took the long skate to meet him.

“We had some momentum going there at the end of that period,” Joel Quenneville said after Thursday’s loss. “(We had a couple of breaks, a couple of great opportunities. The guys were sticking together there. A little bit of hockey there.”

No gloves hit the ice, but plenty of grappling gave life to the building and had many fans and media around the league commenting on the kerfuffle. Taking a step back and rewatching, one can’t help but notice the personnel on the ice for the Ducks during the altercation: Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, and Lukas Dostal. Nearly the entire young core of the Anaheim Ducks franchise was involved to some degree, mixing it up or defending themselves and teammates.

“It’s great, I mean, especially early in the season,” Mason McTavish said. “It shows the guys are super glued together here. We got a great group, everybody loves each other, which is awesome. I’m very grateful. We have an awesome locker room here. It’s something we can build on.”

While some may scoff at the most talented players on a roster engaging in post-whistle/buzzer altercations, and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, if the past 20 years of NHL playoff hockey have taught anything, it’s that those instances are common occurrences. The ability and willingness to engage in them is almost a prerequisite if a team has designs on lifting the Stanley Cup when it’s all said and done.

“I think we got a really, really tough team,” McTavish added after practice on Saturday. “WE got some big bodies on our team, and we’re not afraid to get in the mix. It’s just part of the game, and I don’t think anybody in here shies away from it, so it’s good to see.”

The Florida Panthers have reached the Stanley Cup Final in three straight seasons, winning the last two. They have become the poster team for post-whistle altercations and getting under opponent's skin. Radko Gudas was part of the first of the finalist teams before signing with the Anaheim Ducks the summer prior to the Panthers winning their first cup.

“I think it’s great,” Radko Gudas said. “I think everybody’s invested, everybody’s pulling the same rope, and that’s what you want. Young guys leading the charge, I think, is the best thing you can have in a team. You want the young guys to be better, and you see them driving those plays, and you want them to get their nose dirty and go in the dirty areas.

“It’s fun to have throughout the whole lineup, having guys invested in the one big goal. We’re trying to get better, and seeing those guys doing these things that’s not particularly in their job description, it’s fun to see them mixing it up and wanting to do it for themselves and for the team.”

As stated above, the Ducks have their eyes set on ending their rebuild and making the playoffs this season. They’ve loaded up the current roster and pipeline with one of the most talented collections of players. However, when the playoffs arrive, every team is loaded with firepower, the ice shrinks, and emotions run high. The Ducks’ young core’s willingness to engage on Thursday night could certainly be seen as an encouraging sign for when the games mean the most, and those instances are anything but rare.

Whether observing close or from afar, it’s clear that Ducks’ general manager Pat Verbeek had the Florida Panthers in mind when molding his club in Anaheim and is borrowing some pages from Bill Zito’s playbook. Skill, speed, and hockey IQ are all requirements, but physical willingness and tenacity are right up there as well.

“I think we’re a little younger than we were in Florida, but we also think we’re a lot more skilled, a lot faster, so those are things that we need to work in our advantage or make them our biggest advantage and slowly learn the other things that we’re going to need in the playoffs,” Gudas continued. "So there’s a lot of similarities in these two organizations. It’s a good start to have, for sure.”

The Ducks will hope to build on those playoff habits as they head on the road for an early-season five-game road trip, starting on Sunday afternoon, when they’ll take on a Chicago Blackhawks team that has been at a similar stage in their rebuild process.

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Jackson LaCombe's Elevated Composure Despite Payday

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche extended their winning streak to three with a 4-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at Ball Arena.

Chaotic Start, Composed Finish

The Avalanche continued to build their case as one of the NHL’s elite defensive teams, limiting the Bruins to just 14 shots on goal in a suffocating performance. Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman was valiant under relentless pressure, keeping the game within reach, but Colorado’s precision and poise ultimately proved too much to overcome.

The game began in chaotic fashion, with both clubs scoring on their first shots. John Beecher opened the scoring for Boston after redirecting a Charlie McAvoy shot that deflected off Josh Manson—who had courageously laid out to block the attempt. The unfortunate bounce rewarded the Bruins but only briefly.

Moments later, Nathan MacKinnon, who led the Avalanche with two goals on the night, struck back. After Artturi Lehkonen forced David Pastrňák into a turnover at center ice, Lehkonen delivered a perfect feed to MacKinnon streaking down the left wing, and the superstar buried a backhander past Swayman to even the score.

Manson redeemed himself soon after, blasting home a one-timer from Brent Burns for Colorado’s second goal—again on their second shot of the game. From that point forward, the Avalanche dictated the pace, showcasing their composure and structure despite the frenetic start.

Areas for Refinement

If there was one blemish on Colorado’s performance, it came in the faceoff circle. Midway through the second period, Boston held a 63% edge on draws—a statistic the Avalanche will want to improve against possession-heavy opponents.

The power play also remained a work in progress, finishing 0-for-5 on the night. Still, the Avalanche generated sustained pressure and quality looks, and head coach Jared Bednar remains optimistic about the direction of the special teams under new assistant coach Dave Hakstol.

“I think it’s a different view on the power plays (with Hakstol), some different messaging," Bednar told The Hockey News. “It’s not that the messaging wasn't good before, it's just trying to add and grow our PP units with a different view. He's helping out our young guys and our forwards and doing some video with those guys. It's a new voice, a new perspective, a guy's that's been around, (he's) an experienced good coach. I can't say better or worse, it's just different, and I think the guys are refreshed with some of the messaging that he's getting. That's why I have faith in the power play; I like what they're talking about. It's a matter of getting together and gelling a little bit."

Wedgewood Shines Again

Goaltender Scott Wedgewood was once again outstanding, stopping 13 of 14 shots in another composed, technically sound performance. His consistency has been a revelation early in the season, though Bednar hinted that a rest could be coming soon.

When asked when backup Trent Miner might see his first start, Bednar’s reply was characteristically concise:

“We’ll see.”

Overall, this team is very solid especially this early in the season. The Avalanche have nine goals against through six games. Last season, they gave up eight goals on opening night alone. This is a huge improvement, and of course, the offense is still producing at an extremely high rate.

Looking Ahead

The Avalanche (5-0-1) now embark on a brief road trip as they prepare to face the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, October 21. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. local time

When the Pittsburgh Penguins embarked on their three-game California road swing at the beginning of the week, they had begun the season 2-1 and hoped to continue carrying that momentum on the West Coast.

And - by and large - they were able to do so.

After going 1-1 in their first two games of the trip against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins ended their road swing Saturday on a winning note, as they beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-0. The win puts Pittsburgh at 4-2 on the season, while the Sharks have yet to find themselves in the win column with an 0-3-2 record.

After a first period where the Penguins had 18 shots on goal and dominated possession in the first half - and the Sharks nearly capitalized on some high-danger opportunities in the back half - the second period also saw the teams trade chances. The Penguins were the first to strike at 7:35 of the middle frame, when Kris Letang floated a shot toward the goal and toward ex-Penguin goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

On the puck's way in, Sidney Crosby flashed his hand-eye coordination and got the shaft of his stick on it for a deflection, which resulted in the game's first goal. The score remained 1-0 heading into the final frame.

Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. An iconic duo. pic.twitter.com/90u4aZXSVP

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 19, 2025

And in that final frame - again - there were a few odd-man breaks both ways. Finally, on one of them a tick more than seven minutes into the third, Evgeni Malkin made a nice play around the offensive blue line to get the puck to a red-hot Justin Brazeau, who cut around a defender and toward the middle of the ice for a two-on-one involving him and Anthony Mantha.

Brazeau slipped a beautiful backhand pass under the stick of Nick Leddy and over to a breaking Mantha at the right circle, and Mantha took possession of the puck and sniped one in the upper-left corner and past Nedeljkovic to put the Penguins ahead, 2-0.

Size and skill on full display 💪 pic.twitter.com/2a6H2zCdUa

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 19, 2025

To cap it off, Evgeni Malkin took a nice, long pass from Sidney Crosby and put the puck home in the empty net, which finalized the score at 3-0.

Here are some notes and observations from this game:

- San Jose has some legitimate young talent, especially at the forward position.

But, man, this team looks a far cry away from contending. 

As poorly as individual Penguins' players lapsed defensively at times during this game, there weren't too many systemic issues as far as team defense. San Jose, on the other end, has a long way to go defensively - team and individual - before they can think about competing with their young roster.

The Penguins may not end up being very good this year, but they'll probably be better than the Sharks.

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- The youngsters Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke were absolutely fantastic in this game.

Kindel had a shift in the first period when he got about four shots off at the net front. He was noticeable all night in every zone, and his smarts were evident throughout. There was one play I especially liked where the puck was dumped deeper in the offensive zone along the left wall and behind the net, and most players would have thought to chase it. 

Not Kindel. While a couple of Sharks chased it, he recognized the play, changed his route, came in from the right side of the net, got to it first, and immediately set up Tommy Novak - who just mishandled it - for a scoring chance in the slot off a nice feed. It was a remarkable show of intelligence from a young player.

And Brunicke was brilliant in the offensive zone. There was one play in the second period when he made a move to cut into the slot, and he fired a shot off the goal post. The release on the shot was a thing of beauty. He was also walking the offensive blue line and cycling around the offensive zone with ease and confidence.

He still needs some work on his reads jumping into plays, as he gets caught up-ice defensively sometimes and lets guys get behind him, a juniors habit that should get better with time. But his skating and his confidence with the puck on his stick is mesmerizing.

These guys should be here beyond their respective game nines.

- Brazeau continues to impress. I never realized his hands were this soft, but for a big man, there is a lot of finesse to his game.

Now that Mantha is heating up, too, that big second line is hard to play against for the opposition. Malkin has nine points in six games, too, and looks like his vintage self.

Penguins' Top Goaltending Prospect Off To Hot Start In AHLAfter an eye-opening training camp, a top <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' goaltending prospect is enjoying a hot start to his AHL season.

- This was another relatively quiet game from the top line. It's only a matter of time before they turn on the jets and get going, but I would like to see more from them. 

At some point, I'd also love to see Kindel get some time with Crosby. I think they'd be brilliant together. 

- Kris Letang's early-season play has been less than inspiring. It's still early, and there is plenty of time for him to turn things around, especially since his partner, Ryan Shea, has been brilliant. 

But Father Time surely isn't on his side, and it seems like his skating has lost a big step. Hopefully, he can right the ship, but he may need to adapt his game a bit in order to do so.

- The Penguins are back at home Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, and it's likely that Arturs Silovs will get the start against his old team.

Both Penguins' goaltenders have put together good showings in their most recent performance. Head coach Dan Muse has been directly rotating them, and I'd expect that to continue into the coming games. 

Should Silovs Be The Penguins' Starting Goaltender?Heading into the 2025-26 season, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' head coach said Dan Muse that he didn't have a concrete plan for the goaltending split between Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs.&nbsp;

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!   

Rise and shine, Vancouver Canucks fans — today’s game against the Washington Capitals is an early one. The Canucks are coming off back-to-back comeback wins against the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks, bringing their record up to 3–2–0 on the season. Washington, on the other hand, is coming off a 5–1 win that elevates them to a 4–1–0 record. 

This is Vancouver’s third game in the past four days, with the team facing a total of five opponents within the span of a week. Today officially marks the halfway point of the roadtrip, with the Canucks only having two more games to go before making a quick stop at home. While they managed to keep the pace going throughout overtime on Friday, the Canucks may not be able to maintain the same high-energy play throughout the rest of the roadtrip.  

An area the Canucks will want to focus on today is on the power play. While they found success early on during Friday’s game with a netfront goal from Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver was unable to convert on two golden chances late in the third period. This will be even more important to focus on today in particular, as Washington currently sits at 30th in the NHL in penalty killing with 63.6%. The Canucks will want to use the Capitals’ weakness against them to help escape Washington with a win. 

Players To Watch: 

Max Sasson 

With every game he plays this season, Sasson’s stock keeps on soaring. The forward has a goal in every NHL and AHL game he has played in this season and has been instrumental in breathing life into Vancouver’s familiar fourth-line of himself, Arshdeep Bains, and Linus Karlsson. This line has stood out for the Canucks since being iced on Thursday, bringing speed and heavy forecheck to the team when needed most. The center has been a great addition to Vancouver’s roster since being called-up at the start of the week, showcasing good shooting instincts and brilliant bursts of speed. Will he extend his goal streak today against the Capitals? 

Tom Wilson

A name who always sticks out on the Capitals’ roster is Wilson, though currently, it’s for different reasons. The tough forward leads his team in points to start the season with seven in five games played, nabbing a goal and an assist in Washington’s offensive effort against the Wild on Friday. Wilson has been paired up with Connor McMichael and the Capitals’ leading goal-scorer Aliaksei Protas throughout the start of the season, and it’s expected that this line will continue their dominance today as well. Expect to see him on both sides of the ice, as he has logged minutes on both the Capitals’ power play and penalty kill so far this year.   

Vancouver Canucks (3–2–0): 

Points: 

Conor Garland: 1–3–4

Quinn Hughes: 1–3–4

Brock Boeser: 3–0–3

Filip Chytil: 3–0–3

Kiefer Sherwood: 3–0–3 

Goaltenders: 

Thatcher Demko: 2–1–0

Kevin Lankinen: 1–1–0 

Washington Capitals (4–1–0): 

Points: 

Tom Wilson: 3–4–7

Aliaksei Protas: 4–2–6

Dylan Strome: 2–4–6

Alex Ovechkin: 1–3–4

Jakub Chychrun: 1–3–4

Goaltenders: 

Logan Thompson: 3–1–0

Charlie Lindgren: 1–0–0

Game Information: 

Start time: 9:30 am PT

Venue: Capital One Arena

Television: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 650 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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