The Anaheim Ducks have been one of the big surprises of the 2025-26 NHL season, roaring out of the gates to a 9-3-1 start and scoring more goals than any other team in the process. The Ducks earned their fifth straight victory on Thursday night, beating the Dallas Stars 7-5 in a shooting gallery at American Airlines Center.
They’re just the sixth team in the last 40 years to score at least seven goals four times in a campaign’s first 13 games, reported NHL.com’s Taylor Baird.
“Anaheim became the sixth team in the past 40 years to score seven or more goals in a game at least four times through their first 13 games of a season, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins (six times in 1995-96; four times in both 2019-20 and 1992-1993), Edmonton Oilers (four times in 1987-88) and Toronto Maple Leafs (four times in 1987-88),” Baird wrote.
It’s a terrific opening for Joel Quenneville’s club, which is eyeing an end to the rebuild and a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs come April. And he’s looking like the right head coach to take them back to the dance for the first time since 2017-18.
“It was a crazy game. We talked about their power play and how lethal it was, and we saw firsthand that it really is lethal,” the bench boss said, per Baird. “We still took some careless penalties and our start again, those two things were not great. But certainly some production across the board, timely goals, getting the power play going and a couple of nice plays as we went along in the game.
“Second period, we had the puck a lot and did some good things with it, some dangerous shifts that didn’t produce, but at the same time, we had good offensive-zone time and good momentum going into that third.”
### Ducks Keep on Finding Ways to Win
Leo Carlsson has been leading the charge on the ice in his breakout sophomore campaign, amassing a team-leading 20 points through his first 13 games, which includes the game-winning goal on Thursday. Cutter Gauthier has scored 11 goals and 18 points as he also looks to shatter career highs across the board.
Veteran forward Chris Kreider hasn’t missed a beat in California, scoring nine goals in his first nine games in Anaheim. He tallied twice in Texas.
“I think it’s a resilient group,” Kreider said of the Ducks, who beat the defending champion Florida Panthers 7-3 on Tuesday. “Obviously, a bit of jarring, some chances. I think we liked what we were able to do 5-on-5.
“I think they’re the best power play in the League for a reason. They’re good. Obviously that short-handed goal was big for us, staying with it, not getting frustrated. Their goaltender made some big saves. Don’t want to go to the penalty box too much against them.”
Carlsson potted the game-winning goal on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the period, giving Anaheim a 6-4 lead. Roope Hintz cut the lead to one with under four minutes to play, but Mason McTavish iced it into the empty net on a nifty passing play with linemates Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke.
The good times keep on rolling for the Ducks, who are now first place in the Pacific Division, with a two-point lead on the Vegas Golden Knights. Anaheim will look to cushion the lead against Vegas and win six straight games for the first time since early 2023-24 on the strip Saturday night.
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