Patrick Present · The Hockey News - Anaheim Ducks Sun, November 15, 2026 at 6:47 AM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drew Helleson from practice (11-11-26)
For the penultimate game of their four-game homestand, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Honda Center.
This game was the first leg of a weekend back-to-back, and the Ducks will host the Calgary Flames on Sunday. They are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, which snapped their five-game winning streak.
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This game was the finale of the Islanders' California road trip, and they halted a four-game winless streak on Thursday by defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-2.
Anaheim saw the return of Troy Terry to their lineup on Wednesday vs. Nashville. After some lineup adjustments, he found himself on the top line with Leo Carlsson and Judd Caulfield. Tyson Hinds found his way back into the lineup on a pair with Tristan Luneau.
Every forward line and d-pair was altered with the exception of the top d-pair and the second forward line. Here's how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks in this game for just the second time in their last seven games and stopped just 19 of 25 shots. He was opposed by Semyon Varlamov, who saved 26 of 28.
"Defensively, that's going to be a work in progress," Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. "It's part of the game. We got to make plays, better plays, in front of the net. We got to make sure our readings of situations off the rush, where we make mistakes in coverage, that can't happen. That's on me."
This was the second time in two games that the Ducks ran up against a defensively well-coached team who eliminated their primary means of chance generation and capitalized on substantial mistakes on the defensive side of the puck. The Islanders further built on what the Preds accomplished and eliminated opportunities before they materialized.
Lukas Dostal : Dostal has had a difficult season thus far, and this game was no different. He can, has been, and needs to be better than he was. However, even with an excellent performance from him, they would still have lost this game decisively.
Dostal made a handful of difficult saves, notably a low slot shot on a 2v1 against Matthew Barzal and a few screened point shots where he didn't allow dangerous rebounds. Four of the goals he allowed were ones he had little to no chance of saving: two cross-ice 2v1s, a point shot that tipped off of two consecutive Ducks defensive sticks, and one where he was entangled with a sliding Leo Carlsson.
The two Dostal stood greater chances of saving were a one-timer from the slot off the stick of Bo Horvat in the bumper on a power play and a broken rush that found its way to Simon Holmstrom's stick in the mid-slot with ample time and space. An above-average NHL goaltender likely stops one of those, and an elite goaltender might stop both.
Exits/Entries : The Islanders controlled the bluelines, and thus, controlled the hockey game. The majority of the Ducks' 5v5 offense is generated off the rush, and New York elected for a relatively passive offensive zone forecheck, focusing more on eliminating outlets across the Ducks' blueline and sealing their own. An adjustment from the Ducks skaters and coaching staff to either prioritize outs by means of high flips, dump-ins to establish a forecheck, and/or more efficient off-puck movement to create new lanes was needed to thwart the Islanders' defensive structure.
Rush Defense : Decision-making, whether with possession or not, in the neutral zone or above the tops of the offensive circles, continues to lead to odd-man opportunities against Anaheim. Beckett Sennecke was guilty of shoddy high F3 work on the Isles' fifth goal.
Backchecking and sorting communication on the weak side or trailing the play exposed the Ducks as well. Roger McQueen and/or Nikita Nesterenko were guilty of it on the Isles' third goal, and Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson pursued the same attacker on the sixth.
The "Big Three" : As mentioned, New York eliminated the Ducks' "Plan A" for offensive generation: the rush. Neither Sennecke, Carlsson, nor Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim's most talented and relied upon offensive drivers) were able to build speed through the middle third of the ice with possession or dish cleanly to a teammate filling a lane with speed. Each responded differently but were equally unsuccessful.
Sennecke attempted to individually create chances. That strategy had been successful to an extent in the past, as even many of the creative plays he attempts end up in dangerous chances by default. In this game, however, he lost several pucks high in the offensive zone, and he couldn't snake his way to the interior.
Gauthier attempted to become a forechecking presence, but New York's diligent breakouts rendered those pressures ineffective, and Carlsson attempted to collapse the opposing rush defensive structure so he could dish to a teammate on the wing, but each pass was slightly off, and the opportunities stalled.
The Ducks will have a chance for a quick reset and a different result, as they'll host the Calgary Flames on Sunday at 5 pm PST.
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Source: Sports
