TRENDING NFL Week 8 updates Gold Glove winners NFL Winners & Losers College Fantasy Waiver Wire Antonelli is youngest F1 champ Story by Story by Takeaways from the Ducks 6-3 Win over the Senators Patrick Present Mon, November 2, 2026 at 5:14 AM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To close out a three-game homestand, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Ottawa Senators on Sunday evening at Honda Center.
The Ducks were spiraling heading into this game, as in their two most-recent games, they saw multiple-goal leads evaporate in each game. They only accumulated one of a possible four standings points despite scoring 11 goals between the two games.
The Sens were on the second game of a back-to-back to close out their California trip, as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Saturday and lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 on Thursday.
Game #14: Ducks vs. Senators Gameday Preview (11/01/26)
The Ducks made a few roster moves between their last game on Thursday and this one on Sunday. They sent prospect Nikita Klepov back to the OHL to rejoin the Saginaw Spirit for the remainder of the season, recalled goaltender Laurent Brossoit, placed defenseman Nick Jensen on waivers before sending him to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, and activated defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (lower body) from IR.
Here's how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
In a surprising decision, Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville elected to start Brossoit in this game against the Sens. He stopped 20 of 23 shots. He was opposed by Jonas Johansson in the Ottawa crease, who saved 27 of 33.
"As a team, we can't be satisfied with our recent record and in the way we've lost some games here," Quenneville said after the game. "I thought tonight, the effort, the enthusiasm on the bench there, the response down 3-0, it wasn't a great setting on the bench, but I think everybody hung in there."
After a mistake-filled opening 20 minutes from the Ducks, where the Sens got out to a 3-0 lead, the remainder of the game felt completely in Anaheim's control. A switch was seemingly flipped during the first intermission; glaring defensive mistakes in coverage and against the rush were eliminated, and the Ducks capitalized on special teams.
Laurent Brossoit : The first two goals allowed by Brossoit were questionable, and if he wasn't able to straighten out his game quickly, the Ducks' eventual comeback may not have been possible. Both came off of shots from the faceoff dots and beat him on the far side. The first was ruled to have been tipped by Philip Tomasino in front, so there was likely nothing Brossoit could have done differently. The second was off the stick of a streaking Claude Giroux on the rush a short amount of time after, and was one Brossoit likely wants back.
He allowed one more goal on a breakaway, but after the first intermission, Brossoit was perfect. He made difficult saves appear easy, was smart on his angles, and achieved something to which Dostal has struggled through his career thus far: fought through layered screens multiple times and swallowed perimeter shots.
Brossoit will join the Ducks on their upcoming three-game Western Canada road trip.
Power Play : After a brief recess, the Ducks' power play has returned as their bread-and-butter method to produce instant offense. They scored four goals on five attempts, and their top unit continues to add wrinkles and dimensions to their in-zone schemes.
The four forwards (Sennecke, Granlund, Carlsson, Gauthier) are incredibly fluid, specifically the latter three, constantly interchanging positions with one another, running give-and-gos from the wall, and now they're identifying Gauthier roving from bumper to the bottom of the right circle, feeding him with seam passes.
Penalty Kill : The Ducks' penalty kill was overshadowed, but comparably impressive in this game. Travis Mitchell and Pavel Mintyukov erased net-front attackers, and the addition of Leo Carlsson to the PK brought elements of length and skill, allowing them to actually maintain possession for 10-15 seconds at a time despite the man-disadvantage.
Rush Defense (early) : Dating back to their most recent loss to the Buffalo Sabres, it seems teams have identified that the Ducks' weak-side defensemen on the rush shadow the weak-side attacking winger as they cut from the wall to the middle of the ice, exposing a streaking forward behind him, along the boards, as showcased by Giroux's aforementioned goal.
As the game progressed, Anaheim seemingly adjusted, and that lane to the far wall was no longer available for the puck-carrying defenseman due to a combination of recognition of backchecking numbers and slightly more conservative gap work.
Judd Caulfield : Caulfield was a small-area and net-front menace in this game. The tenacity displayed on his first goal and hand-eye on his second was more-than-vaguely reminiscent to the recent Ducks forward Chris Kreider. Caulfield is adapting to the pace Leo Carlsson plays at and is adjusting to how battles are won at the NHL level.
On 50/50 pucks, he tied up his defender early and only released when it was clear he would be first to it. He used his length and strength to protect, and he utilized his outs when they were identified.
Tristan Luneau : With LaCombe receiving the Tim Stutzle matchup and the Sens still icing a deep roster, Luneau was mostly matched up against Shane Pinto's line, and was arguably as impactful as LaCombe, especially when paired with Pavel Mintyukov following the first period.
Luneau continues to develop his angling prowess and eliminates time and space along the defensive blueline in an instant. His offensive blueline work is one of his most effective offensive elements, as he is constantly in motion, explosive, has his head up, and puts perfect weight on shots for tips and/or around screens.
Pavel Mintykov : Mintyukov had a difficult opening few minutes in his return to action. After he settled in, and especially after being paired with Luneau, he was his typical disruptive self in the neutral zone and pinching down the offensive wall. He encouragingly attempted to activate and involve himself low in the offensive zone on the cycle, and after Ottawa's first goal, he consistently boxed out and battled in front of Brossoit, not allowing second-chance opportunities.
Roger McQueen : McQueen is getting tangibly and intangibly better and more comfortable with each passing game. He's wasting fewer strides, providing smart and quick support in d-zone coverage, and is in good positions for breakout sequences. Offensively, he remains a plus forechecker, less pucks are bouncing off of his stick, he's diagnosing quicker and with more poise, and continues to experiment and identify what works in various situations.
The Ducks will open their Western Canada trip on Tuesday, when they'll travel to BC to take on the Vancouver Canucks .
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Source: Sports
