Ducks and schmucks from Anaheim's first loss of the 2026-27 season

The Anaheim Ducks had their two-game winning streak come to an abrupt end on Wednesday night, as they lost to the Edmonton Oilers by a final score of 5-2. In a rematch from the first round of last season's playoffs, the Ducks looked like they were going to skate away with another victory, after a strong first period. But Connor McDavid and company came storming back to silence the home crowd. Here are the Ducks and the schmucks from Anaheim's first loss of the 2026-27 season.

Duck

Beckett Sennecke

Sennecke continued his strong start to the season, by scoring both Anaheim goals. In the first period, Mikael Granlund fed Sennecke a pass from behind the Edmonton net and Sennecke banked in his own rebound.

With under five minutes to go and still in the first period, Sennecke redirected a Leo Carlsson pass that slipped five-hole on the Oilers' goaltender, Devon Levi.

Senncke had as many shots (6) on goal, in the first period, as the entirety of the Edmonton Oilers lineup. In 24:58 of ice time, Sennecke accounted for 26.63% of Anaheim's expected goals in all situations and had a Corsi for percentage of 79.6. Unfortunately, Sennecke's goals were the only offensive highlights for the Ducks.

Schmuck

Five on five play

For the second game in a row, all of Anaheim's offense came as the result of the power play. After converting twice against the Oilers, Anaheim's powerplay is clicking at a 38.5 success rate, which is sixth in the NHL. While having a great powerplay is an advantage, especially in close games, the majority of hockey is played at five on five. Acknowledging that while we are only three games into the 2026-27 season, the early even strength results have not been flattering for the Ducks; only 40% of their goals have come at five on five, with a Corsi percentage of 47.86 at even strength, and a -2-goal differential. You could say the Ducks got unlucky against the Oilers, as Levi had 1.2 goals saved above expected and the Ducks probably deserved a better fate. Multiple Ducks skaters had quality chances against the Edmonton netminder, especially Granlund, who had a 73.2 expected goals percentage, but the results speak for themselves.

Duck

Nikita Klepov

The rookie finally made his Anaheim debut, after we have been clamoring for weeks for the young prospect to get a shot in the Ducks lineup. And according to the team, Klepov became the youngest player in Ducks history.

Klepov was slotted onto the third line, in the place of Sam Colangelo, with Ryan Poehling and Nikita Nesterenko. But in 10:03 of ice time, Klepov did not register a shot on goal against the Oilers. Hopefully the dour night from almost the entire team, does not hinder Klepov's chances of staying in the Ducks lineup though.

Schmuck

Lukas Dostal

Dostal looked incredibly sharp in the first period and made some key saves against the Oilers to keep them off the scoreboard. In the second period, however, the wheels fell off, as the Oilers scored 5 goals on just 10 shots ending Dostal's night in the Anaheim net.

While Dostal cannot take the blame for the majority of the goals scored by the Oilers, as the defensive lapses from the young team playing in front of him certainly did not help, the numbers were still ugly; a .706 save percentage and -2.85 goals saved above expected. One bad game does not mean Dostal is washed by any means, but after an up and down performance last season, he will be under pressure to prove that he is still a top tier netminder.

What's next?

The Ducks will be on the road for back-to-back games against the Winnipeg Jets and the Calgary Flames, so Ville Husso will assuredly get his first start in net for Anaheim. While the Jets will not be a pushover by any means, as they are currently in first place in the Central Division, the Ducks could potentially use a get right performance against the floundering Flames, who are in last place in the Western Conference and have yet to win a game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow