SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Ducks open their season on the road against the San Jose Sharks followed by a road matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights the following night.
Greg Cronin enters his second season as the Ducks’ head coach. In Cronin’s first season behind the bench, the team had a 27-50-5 record.
“I think we just have to build on what we had last year in terms of establishing how we were going to play (and) what our identity is,” Cronin said. “A lot of stuff happened that made it a bit of a shaky season in terms of just having simple fundamental stability.”
Offseason additions Robby Fabbri and Brian Dumoulin should help solidify the lineup, with both making their official Ducks debuts tonight.
Related: ‘I Think He’s Going to be Awesome for Our Young Guys’: How Seamlessly Brian Dumoulin is Fitting with the Ducks
“There’s a lot of build-up to (the season opener),” Fabbri said. The first one with the new team is always exciting as well. It’s been a lot of fun being here and getting to know all these guys. We’re all just itching to get this going.”
Fabbri will play on a line with Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras, creating an offensively dynamic trio. “Trying to get the puck in (Zegras’) hands as much as possible, what he can do with it is pretty special,” Fabbri said. “(McTavish) is heavy and I play a heavy game as well, so I think we’ve got a mixture of everything on that line.”
“Whether it’s practice or morning skate, Robby goes 100 miles an hour,” Cronin said. “You’ve got a 21-year-old (in McTavish) and a 23-year-old (in Zegras) that are finding their game. (Zegras’) game is going to have to pivot off his pace to his game. When you’ve got a speedster like Robby and you want to be able to make plays, particularly at the offensive blue line, you’ve got to match their speed. I think Robby is a really good role model for both of those guys.”
With John Gibson still recovering from an appendectomy, Lukáš Dostál will start the season opener. Cronin said he was unsure if Dostál would go again tomorrow night against the Golden Knights or if they’ll opt to give James Reimer his first start and appearance as a Duck.
The Ducks will not see 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini tonight as he was placed on injured reserve this morning with a lower-body injury. Celebrini scored his first career goal on Oct. 10 in his NHL debut.
Fast Facts:
-Trevor Zegras is one assist away from 100 NHL assists.
-Mason McTavish has the chance to become the first Ducks player with points in his first four career season openers. McTavish is also the active Ducks leader in career goalscoring against the Sharks with five goals in eight games.
-Lukáš Dostál is 0-1-0 in his career against the Sharks with a .833 SV% and 4.04 GAA.
Ducks Projected Lines
Cutter Gauthier – Leo Carlsson – Alex Killorn
Robby Fabbri – Mason McTavish – Trevor Zegras
Frank Vatrano – Ryan Strome – Troy Terry
Brock McGinn – Isac Lundeström – Brett Leason
Jackson LaCombe – Radko Gudas
Cam Fowler – Tristan Luneau
Pavel Mintyukov – Brian Dumoulin
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Sharks Projected Lines
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Tyler Toffoli
Klim Kostin – Will Smith – Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow – Alexander Wennberg – Luke Kunin
Carl Grundström – Nico Sturm – Ty Dellandrea
Jake Walman – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun – Matt Benning
Vitek Vaněček (confirmed)
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