Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Anaheim Ducks lost again. In yet another uninspiring and listless defeat, this time at the hands of the New Jersey Devils in a 4-1 shellacking on Thursday night, the Ducks have now lost 5 consecutive games and are firmly outside of the playoff picture with just 8 points in the standings. As of this moment, the Ducks are 3 points back of the Colorado Avalanche for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference and are 7 (!) points back of the Seattle Kraken for third place in the Pacific Division.
The Ducks had a similar losing streak towards the end of the 2025-26 season from March 28th to April 7th, that nearly sunk their playoff chances. However, the Ducks recovered in time to lurch themselves back into the playoff picture and surprisingly made some noise once the playoffs began. So instead of opining on the specifics of one loss to the Devils, let's take a look at the broader picture and see if any hope can be found in the midst of this season's slump, while comparing it to last year's.
The bad similarities
In those six games from March 28th to April 7th, 2026, the Ducks went 0-5-1, which culminated in a resounding thud of a loss to the Nashville Predators. And in those six games, the Ducks only scored 14 goals and surrendered 29. Flash forward to today and the numbers are not any better; 0-5 record, with only 9 goals scored and 20 goals against. Last season, Jackson LaCombe was the leading scorer for the Ducks during the slump, as he had 5 points, all assists. This season, LaCombe and Leo Carlsson are tied for the scoring slump lead with 3 points apiece.
The special teams have been just as abysmal too. Last season, the Ducks only converted on 8.3% of their powerplay opportunities. This season, the Ducks are even worse with the man advantage, as they are at a 6.3% conversion rate and have gone 0 for 14. The penalty kill for the Ducks was at 66.7% last season, while it's slightly worse at 64.7% this season.
But if there is one singular factor that's dragging the Ducks down this season though, it's the team defense, or lack thereof.
That’s that red venom.#NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazing pic.twitter.com/ftO8Yu1ht9
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 22, 2026
Three of New Jersey's goals came from within the blue paint, as the Ducks defenders were unable to clear out the space in front of Ville Husso.
But these flaws extend all the way back to last season, as well.
That's 500 career points and counting for Ryan Strome 🔥 pic.twitter.com/24SuaE3ZGM
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 5, 2026
Despite the Ducks purging the veterans from last season's blue line, in favor of younger and more cost-controlled options, the results have been much of the same. A defense that gives up high-quality scoring chances and/or makes mistakes at the most inopportune moments. And much like last season, when the Ducks are in a scoring slump, they cannot outshoot their defensive problems.
Why there's still hope
Lukas Dostal had an .833 save percentage and 4.54 goals against average, during last season's slump. Husso's numbers were just as bad too, with an .813 save percentage and 4.38 goals against. Conversely, both Anaheim netminders are playing slightly better with an .878 save percentage and 3.43 goals against for Dostal, with an .860 save percentage and 4.07 goals against for Husso. Not spectacular numbers by any stretch for either Anaheim goalie, but they are not compounding the disfunction as much as last season.
Carlsson is only at a 0.6 points per game pace during this season's slump, with Sennecke at 0.4 and Cutter Gauthier at a disheartening 0.25. However, all three skaters led the Ducks in scoring last season, and it's unlikely that all three will continue to meander far below expectations. For example, Gauthier's shooting percentage is at 6.7 this season, while he finished last season at 14.4. Things may be ugly for the Ducks best forwards right now, but they've had their chances of late; the finishing ability should swing back up soon.
And we're only 10 games into this season. Whereas the Ducks picked the absolute wrong time to have a slump last season, there's still plenty of runway left for the Ducks to get this season back on track. There's so much more new young blood injected into the lineup for the Ducks this season, bumps were bound to occur.
What's next?
The hits keep on coming unfortunately, as Pavel Mintyukov was placed on IR, per the Anaheim Ducks. With an upcoming matinee matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, that won't have any fireworks or bad blood whatsoever, missing a regular NHL defenseman like Mintyukov, combined with the recent losing the slump, the Ducks desperately need to end their East Coast road trip with a win.
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