After defeating the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Carolina Hurricanes travel to Southern California on their second stop of the North Carolina State Fair road trip. They will stop near Disneyland at the Honda Center, aka “The Pond”, to take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Hurricanes are 3-0-0 and look to make it four in a row.
Hurricanes vs. Ducks Preview
The Hurricanes look to continue their winning ways as they travel to The Pond to face the Ducks, who have won their last two games. Here is where you can watch or listen to the game:
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South (Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy)
Listen: 99.9 The Fan
Puck Drop: 10:00 p.m. Eastern
The Hurricanes put on a clinic Tuesday night after scoring three goals in the second period, and two in the third en route to the blowout win. 13 of the 18 skaters put up at least a point, with Logan Stankoven getting two assists to be the only multi-point player of the night. Despite his faceoff percentage being 35.7%, his line with Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov has been producing. While Svechnikov is still looking to get on the scoresheet, Blake and Stankoven are tied for fifth on the team in points (three) as both guys have a goal and two assists each.
Related: Hurricanes Dominate Sharks to Win Brandon Bussi’s NHL Debut
The top line pairing of Sebastian Aho (four points – all assists) and Seth Jarvis (four points – three goals and one assist) has been stellar so far for the Hurricanes as well to begin the 2025-26 season. Nikolaj Ehlers is still looking for his first point with the Hurricanes, but the chances are there; he just cannot get the puck luck. Overall, the top six have been producing along with the entire roster, really, to lead the league with five goals per game. Out of the 20 skaters who’ve dressed for the Hurricanes this season, 16 have tallied at least one point.
The defense has been solid for the Hurricanes as well, as all six guys finished a plus-1 or better on Tuesday night. Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin continue to lead the way in the plus/minus stat line as the team’s main third defensive pairing. Gostisbehere is a plus-7, while Nikishin is a plus-5. While Jaccob Slavin is still out due to a lower-body injury, those two, along with the rest of the defense, will look to continue being a shutdown unit on Thursday night (Oct. 16) against the Ducks.
Regarding the Ducks, they’ve won their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks. A guy to watch out for is former New York Ranger Chris Kreider, who has five points (four goals) in the first three games of the season for Anaheim. Leo Carlsson (five points), Beckett Sennecke (four points), Mason McTavish (four points), and Cutter Gauthier (three points) have also been lighting it up for the up-and-coming Ducks early in the season. The Ducks gave the Hurricanes a tough time last season, despite splitting the season series one game apiece. The hope is for Rod Brind’Amour’s side to change the narrative in 2025-26 and look to take both games.
Related: Seth Jarvis’ Early-Season Impact Will Be a Catalyst for Hurricanes’ Success
The concern for the Ducks is their goaltending. Despite being 1-1, Lukas Dostal has a 3.08 goals-against average (GAA) and a .893 save percentage (SV%). However, Petr Mrazek is 1-0, but carries a 6.02 GAA and a .739 SV%. If the Hurricanes can get to either goalie early and often, they could put this one away early.
Just like the Sharks game, they cannot overlook the Ducks and focus on the Los Angeles Kings game on Oct. 18. In today’s NHL, anyone can beat anyone. As long as the Hurricanes can shut down the top guys for the Ducks and get some goals early in the game, they could be looking at a 4-0-0 start to the season. Could Ehlers and/or Svehchnikov get on the scoresheet? Can Nikishin push his point streak to four games to start the 2025-26 season? It’ll be worth watching Thursday night at The Pond against the Ducks.
