Ducks Down The Blues

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks finished their quick back-to-back road trip in St. Louis against the Blues. Ville Husso was in net against Jordan Binnington. The Ducks announced Lukas Dostal was placed on the IR before the game and Vyacheslav Buteyets was recalled from San Diego.

Mason McTavish got the Ducks on the board just over six minutes into this one. He fired a shot along the left boards which seemed to fool Binnington and beat him low.

Pavel Mintyukov then scored from the right face-off circle on the rush to make it 2-0. Binnington was pulled from the game just halfway through the opening period.

Jordan Kyrou scored later on in the period to get St. Louis on the board and make it a 2-1 contest.

The score remained that way until Leo Carlsson scored in the third period. He redirected a point shot by Radko Gudas past Joel Hofer.

St. Louis pulled their goalie with just under four minutes to go and Chris Kreider scored to seal the victory. Anaheim went on to win 4-1.

Analysis:

The Ducks changed some things up prior to this contest. The lineup was a 11-7 configuration with Nikita Nesterenko and Ryan Strome being healthy scratches. It seems like the coaching staff was sending a message after the collapse to Chicago in the game before.

Anaheim did jump out to a quick lead again with two goals early in the first period. St. Louis got one back later in the period and that’s how the score stayed until the third period when Leo Carlsson scored. Chris Kreider then added a empty net goal for good measure.

The Ducks did play better overall in this one as they never let the Blues tie the game or rally at any point. Anaheim out shot St. Louis 26 to 22. The Ducks posted a CF% of 52.94% and FF% of 57.38% at even strength.

Neither team scored on the power play, but Anaheim again took too many penalties. They were shorthanded six times, but were able to kill off all the St. Louis power plays. The Ducks also turned over the puck 20 times. Discipline and puck handling continue to be areas of concern.

Petr Mrazek sustained a lower body injury in the game against Chicago. With Dostal also out for a few weeks, the goalie situation is very precarious at the moment. Husso and Buteyets will have to hold the line in net for the time being.

Team Notes/Stats:

Beckett Sennecke extended his point streak to eight games. He became the second-fastest player (26 Games) to record 20 NHL points behind Paul Kariya (24 games). He continues to pile up the points by creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Carlsson became the fifth-fastest Ducks player to record his first 25 career multipoint games.

The Ducks are 9-1-0 when scoring first this season.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host Utah on Wednesday at 7 PM.

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December 1st, 2025