Anaheim Ducks Home Opener History: The Past Five
April 30, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; General view of Honda Center before the Anaheim Ducks play against the Detroit Red Wings in game one of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Anaheim Ducks are back home in Orange County for their home opener against the Minnesota Wild. The Ducks, who began their 2014-15 season with a four-game road trip, come into the game sporting a 3-1-0 record. Minnesota arrives in Anaheim undefeated at 2-0-0.
After a blowout defeat in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, the Ducks took down the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers before making the trip back to Anaheim for the home opener tonight.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.
With back-to-back Pacific Division titles, the Ducks came into this season with lofty expectations. Those expectations only grew higher with the addition of Ryan Kesler, who has immediately made an impact with five points (two goals and three assists) in four games.
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For Ducks fans, it was nice to see their team bounce back quickly after the 6-4 loss to the Penguins last Thursday. Now fans will get a chance to see their team up close and personal for the first time at Honda Center this season.
How have the Ducks fared in home openers recently?
Click “next” to find out.
Josh Paulisin is one of the editors for Pucks of a Feather. You can follow him on Twitter. For more Anaheim Ducks coverage, follow Pucks of a Feather on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
2009-2010
Opponent: San Jose Sharks
Result: 4-1 Loss
October 19, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center
Patrick Marleau(12), center
Joe Pavelski(8, center) and center
Joe Thornton(19) celebrate after Pavelski scored a goal against the Calgary Flames during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks defeated the Flames 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In a rematch of the first round battle in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the two California teams, the Sharks stormed out of the gate with three unanswered goals before the first period horn sounded. Benn Feffiero got San Jose on the board first at the 7:30 mark. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton scored less than two minutes apart late in the period to give the Sharks a 3-0 advantage before the first intermission.
Devin Setoguchi added another to extend the lead to 4-0 in the second frame.
Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney potted a power play goal midway through the third period, but the game was too far out of reach at that point for Anaheim to mount any sort of comeback.
Evgeni Nabokov was superb for the Sharks, stopping 24 of the 25 shots that came his way. Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller allowed four goals on 37 shots.
Notes
Current Duck Dany Heatley finished the game with two assists for the Sharks.
Rosters (via AnaheimDucks.com)
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2010-2011
Opponent: Vancouver Canucks
Result: 4-3 Win
March 20, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing
Bobby Ryan(9) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
After a miserable home opener the previous season, the Ducks came back the following year with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Canucks. Anaheim came home with a three-game losing streak hanging over its head, but the Ducks fortune changed on this night.
The big boys came out to play for the Ducks as they got goals from Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. The game featured three ties and finished with two answered goals by the Ducks to put them ahead for good, 4-3, in the third period.
With the Ducks trailing 3-2 in the third, Perry and Ryan tallied back-to-back goals just over two minutes apart halfway through the period. Netminder Jonas Hiller did his job the rest of the way to shutdown the Canucks’ offense.
Notes
Getzlaf finished with a team-high four points (one goal and three assists).
Current Duck Ryan Kesler finished with no points. He registered three shots and was 67 percent in the face-off circle.
Rosters (via AnaheimDucks.com)
| VANCOUVER CANUCKS | ANAHEIM DUCKS |
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2011-2012
Opponent: San Jose Sharks
Result: 1-0 Win
December 31, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) shoots on goal against Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (1) during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks defeated the Sharks 1-0 to win back-to-back home openers dating back to the previous season. After two games over in Europe (one in Finland and the other in Sweden), the Ducks returned to the U.S. and Anaheim for their home opener against San Jose.
This one was uneventful to say the least. The Ducks would get the first and only goal of the contest thanks to Maxime Macenauer‘s tally midway through the first period. It was Macenauer’s first career NHL goal. Jonas Hiller stood tall throughout the game, stopping all 31 shots to preserve the shutout.
Notes
It would be Macenauer’s first and only goal of his NHL career thus far. He currently plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.
George Parros assisted on Macenauer’s goal. Parros finished the season with three assists and has a career total of 18 as of Oct. 16, 2014.
Rosters (via AnaheimDucks.com)
| SAN JOSE SHARKS | ANAHEIM DUCKS |
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2012-2013
Opponent: Vancouver Canucks
Result: 5-0 Loss
January 25, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing
Daniel Sedin(22) is congratulated by center
Henrik Sedin(33) after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The lockout-shortened season started with a bang for the Ducks as they ripped through the Canucks 7-3 in the season opener in Vancouver and then went on to defeat the Flames 5-4 in Calgary two nights later.
Coming back to Anaheim for the home opener, the Ducks met the Canucks once again. However, they suffered the reverse fate.
The Canucks took advantage of the Ducks’ sloppy play and cruised to a 5-0 victory. Anaheim was saddled with nine penalties in the contest, four of them in the first 20 minutes. The Canucks converted on three of those opportunities. Netminder Jonas Hiller struggled as he stopped only 29 of the 34 shots he faced.
It was an all around forgettable night for the Ducks.
Notes
The Ducks had 31 PIM compared to only 16 for the Canucks.
Rickard Rakell, who was 19-years-old at the time, was a healthy scratch after suiting up for the first two games of the season.
Rosters (via AnaheimDucks.com)
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2013-2014
Opponent: New York Rangers
Result: 6-0 Win
Oct 10, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks celebrate after a goal by Anaheim Ducks left wing
Dustin Penner(17) against the New York Rangers during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks began last season with a remarkable 20-0-2 start at home and it all started with a 6-0 thrashing of the New York Rangers in the home opener.
Anaheim dominated the first period, peppering New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist with 17 shots on goal. On the other end during that time, Hiller saw only three shots come his way. The Ducks were able to put three on the board in the first 20 minutes on goals by Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg and Daniel Winnik.
The pace of play would even out a bit in the second frame, but the Ducks put up another three-spot to push their lead to 6-0. Silfverberg found the back of the net for the second time. Saku Koivu and Dustin Penner would round out the scoring for Anaheim with goals of their own.
Goaltender Jonas Hiller made 34 saves to record the shutout.
Notes
The six goals for the Ducks is the most for a home opener in franchise history.
Defenseman Bryan Allen was named the game’s first star, finishing with one assist and a plus-5. Sami Vatanen, the second star, had one assist and a plus-5 as well.
Rosters (via AnaheimDucks.com)
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