A game against the champs and an icon returned home in week three

Week three of the 2025-26 season was an awfully short one for the Anaheim Ducks, yet the team still won both games. The Ducks currently rank third in the Pacific Division and seventh in the Western Conference, with at least one game in hand on the teams ahead of them in the standings.

The Ducks won their first game of the week, by defeating the defending Stanley Cup champs in the final game of a long road trip.

In John Gibson's return to Anaheim, the Ducks defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 5-2 on Halloween night. In a game that featured a couple reviews and was mired by penalties, the Ducks proved that they could compete against another rebuilding team off to a strong start.

Biggest Concern

Even though injuries have been a theme to begin the season, Chris Kreider finally returned to lineup and had an immediate impact by scoring a goal against the Red Wings. Though one player has been surprisingly absent from the score sheet: Frank Vatrano.

Will the real Frank Vatrano please stand up

Vatrano has had a putrid start to the season with only one point (an assist) in ten games. +/- isn't the most idealistic stat, but Vatrano has a team worst of -8. Beckett Sennecke is tied for second worse +/- on the team, but Sennecke at least has five points (3 G, 2 A). Vatrano has taken the fourth most shots on the team with 22 but has nothing to show for that shot volume. Comparatively, the injured Mikael Granlund has 19 shots, but has eight points (2 G, 6 A).

Vatrano's average time on ice has cratered to 12:42 this season, compared to last season when he averaged 17:33 in ice time. What has become apparent since the beginning of this season, is the new coaching staff has given the young skaters more ice time. Particularly, Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier, can do all the shooting that Vatrano normally does, but at a more effective pace and contribute more to creating offensive chances for their line mates. At a 4.5 million cap hit for this season and the next two years, plus only having a seven team no trade clause, Vatrano needs to figure out his scoring touch soon.

The three stars of the week

Third Star: Leo Carlsson

Carlsson had a good offensive week, with two goals and four assists, including this beautiful play with Troy Terry.

Second star: Troy Terry

The coaching staff seems to have finally resigned to moving Terry back up to the top line to play alongside Carlsson. Terry proved that was correct decision all along, as he had a great week posting four points (2 G, 2 A), including a short-handed goal to open the scoring against the Red Wings.

First Star: Lukas Dostal

Dostal won both games this week for the Ducks, with a .937 save percentage and a 1.93 GAA. His play was spectacular against the Panthers, helping the Ducks secure the extra point in the standings with a win in the shootout.

Dostal has quietly had another strong start to season, with 7.2 goals saved above expected.

What's next?

The Ducks resume their homestand with games against the Devils on Sunday and the Panthers (again) on Tuesday. The Ducks then head out for a mini road trip, with games against the Stars and Golden Knights. This next stretch of games will be a great litmus test for the Ducks, as they can see how they measure up against some of the better teams in league.