The Ducks will open the 2023-24 regular season and the club's 30th Anniversary campaign tonight in Las Vegas, taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
PUCK DROP: 7 P.M. | TV: BALLY SPORTS SOCAL | DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER
Anaheim faces a tall task on opening weekend with a back-to-back against the Golden Knights and Hurricanes, each among the NHL's top-five teams last season.
"We've got to play fast," head coach Greg Cronin said. "You stop thinking and just play fast. We've got to defend really hard.
"It's a great opportunity for us. You've got the top team in the league last year and a team finishing in the top-five. It's a really good measuring stick for our group. We are missing some guys too, so we can get into the bones of who we are as a group and we can get some good player evaluations. Then, we'll take it from there."
The game will also mark Cronin's NHL head coaching debut after he joined Anaheim this summer, but the coach isn't quite stopping to smell the roses yet.
"It's a long year," Cronin said. "It's a long year, so we'll just keep focusing on the process and if you stay true to that process, I think you'll see measurable gains throughout."
As Anaheim finalized its 23-man roster this week, the club added a new face to its forward group via the waiver wire, claiming winger Ross Johnston from the New York Islanders.
Johnston played under Cronin and Ducks assistant coach Brent Thompson during his time with the Isles, and offers the Ducks a big, physical protector who Cronin believes has more skill to unlock in his game.
"He's a big, intimidating and a heavyweight fighter, but he actually has sneaky good hands," Cronin said. "He understands the game. He is so reliable. He's not just going out there to fight. His minutes will depend on the game and special teams stuff, but if you watch him, he makes plays and he's a big body.
"I've always said, back in the late 90's and early 2000's, those guys wouldn't play much. But in today's game, it's about speed and tenacity. To have those guys play eight or nine minutes takes some of the pressure off those top-six guys."
Johnston will make his Ducks debut in a place that has been unkind to his new team over the years though, as Anaheim owns just a 2-9-3 all-time record in the Sin City, including losses in each of the last five matchups.
"It will be about us being hard to play against and playing fast so we can get pucks back," Cronin said of flipping the script. "We've got to get some offensive zone time. You can really anchor your team's offense to that."
Vegas has already played two games to being their 2023-24 campaign with a pair of 4-1 wins over the division rival Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks.
The Knights return much of their team that won the Stanley Cup a year ago, including eight of the club's top 10 scorers. It's a been a scoring by committee approach for Vegas so far though, as 16 Golden Knights have found the scoresheet through two games but none have more than two points.
The Ducks and Golden Knights will play a four-game season series this year as Anaheim opens and closes its regular season in Vegas. The Golden Knights will visit Honda Center on Nov. 5 and Dec. 27.
