The Anaheim Ducks have taken a slight step back, after going winless in week 3 of the 2026-27 season

With their loss 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday night, the Anaheim Ducks went 0-2 in week 3 of their 2026-27 season. The Ducks currently sit outside of the playoff picture, as they are 1 point back of the Dallas Stars for the first wildcard spot and 3 points back of the Seattle Kraken for third in the Pacific Division. The Ducks are currently tied with the Calgary Flames for the least number of games played in the Western Conference at 7 though, which leaves the Ducks with ample room to catch up to their competition. However, the Ducks are not only beset by injuries to key pieces of their lineup, as Mikael Granlund was recently added to that list, they have run into a troubling pattern of late.

Biggest concern

Hot starts, cold finishes

In both of their games this week, the Ducks started out hot against the Flames and the Bruins, as the Ducks had leads in both contests, after the first period. But the optimism was short lived in both cases and for different reasons. The Flames grinded out their first win of the season, by throwing every puck at the Anaheim net and outworking a depleted Ducks lineup. The game against the Bruins, on the other hand, was an epic collapse by the Ducks special teams, as the Bruins converted on 3 of their 4 powerplay opportunities.

Conversely, the Anaheim powerplay that had been their bread and butter through the first couple weeks of the season, went ice cold at the wrong time, going 0 for 5 against the Bruins and 1 for 10 on the week.

We liked the lineup decisions the Ducks coaching staff made this week, as Roger McQueen, Nikita Klepov, and Drew Helleson all drew back in for injured players. Cutter Gauthier even played as second line center in the game against the Bruins, as he also returned to the lineup after a brief absence, but Gauthier is obviously better suited to play on the wing instead. Two consecutive losses does not mean the Ducks season is over, especially after just 7 games, but with a lineup composed almost entirely of young players, there are definite growing pains as they adjust to everyday NHL competition.

Three stars of the week

Third star: Tim Washe

One constant through the first few weeks of the 2026-27 season, has been Washe as the fourth line center. Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville has liked Washe in the role, which stems from his line's effectiveness against the Edmonton Oilers in last season's playoffs, and the coaching staff is not shy from putting Washe's line out against steeper competition. Washe rewarded the coaching staff's trust, by scoring the opening goal in the game against the Bruins.

Second star: Leo Carlsson

The pickings are kind of slim this week, as the goals were tough to come by for the Ducks. But we'll give the nod to Carlsson here, as he finally notched his second goal of the season and was third in ice time for all Ducks skaters at 21:21.

First star: Beckett Sennecke

Sennecke trails Carlsson just by a single point for the scoring lead with 8 but leads all Ducks skaters in goals with 5 for the season. His goal against the Bruins in the dying seconds of the first period, was a thing of beauty, as Sennecke deftly redirected a Nikita Nesternko pass into the Boston net.

What's next?

The Ducks will be on the road for the upcoming week, which kicks off with back-to-back games against the New York Rangers and Islanders, beginning on Monday night. The Ducks will then travel to New Jersey to take on the Devils on Thursday night, followed by a game against the Flyers for a Saturday matinee affair, which will not have any fireworks whatsoever. Hopefully, the upcoming East Coast swing will allow the Ducks to hone in on the importance of closing out wins, and putting together a complete 60-minute performance, not just a first period flurry.

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