Utah vs. Anaheim Ducks Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 16th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Following a disappointing home record in the previous NHL season, the Anaheim Ducks will kick off their 2024-25 home opener on Wednesday night against the Utah Hockey Club.

Anaheim, famously known as the Happiest Place on Earth due to its Disneyland attraction, was not a happy place for visiting NHL teams last season. The Ducks struggled with a record of 12-26-3 at the Honda Center, with only the San Jose Sharks (11-25-5) having fewer home wins and the lowest overall points in the league with 47.

The Ducks began this season with back-to-back road games against the Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights. They were able to secure a 2-0 victory against the Sharks on Saturday, thanks to Lukas Dostal's 30 saves, but fell short with a 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Sunday.

Anaheim's only goal of the game came from Troy Terry on a breakaway in the first period, tying the score at 1-1. However, the Golden Knights were able to secure the win with a power-play goal from Tomas Hertl and a clinching goal from Pavel Dorofeyev in the third period.

Terry praised his team's effort, stating that they played hard and put themselves in a position to win. However, he also acknowledged that the difference between the two teams was the Golden Knights' ability to score on the power play, something that the Ducks need to work on in order to become a Stanley Cup contender.

In their previous game against the Sharks, Dostal showed his skills once again, stopping all 31 shots and leading Czechia to a 2-0 victory over Switzerland in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation gold medal game in Prague. With veteran John Gibson out for three to six weeks due to an emergency appendectomy surgery, Dostal is expected to take on the majority of starts for the Ducks at the beginning of the season.

The Utah Hockey Club, which relocated to Salt Lake City from Arizona last spring, will be wrapping up a four-game road trip with their game against the Ducks. They started off strong with back-to-back overtime wins against the New York Islanders (5-4) and the New York Rangers (6-5), but suffered their first loss of the season on Monday against the New Jersey Devils (3-0).

Despite scoring 16 goals in their first three games, the Utah team was unable to find the back of the net against the Devils, who shut them out on 20 shots. Utah also struggled on the power play, going 0-for-4 and picking up seven penalties throughout the game.

Coach Andre Tourigny acknowledged that the team needs to work on their stick penalties and improve their body positioning in order to be successful. Right wing Dylan Guenther, who leads the league with five goals, also recognized the need for improvement and not becoming complacent after their previous wins.

PREDICTION

Utah

4

3

Anaheim Ducks