Anaheim and Detroit originally planned to open their two-game season series on Thursday before the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Ducks. Both teams returned to game action last night, as the Red Wings were shutout 4-0 in Los Angeles and the Ducks fell 4-1 to the Rangers at Honda Center.
As Anaheim continues to turn to its depth amidst the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, rookie forward Jacob Perreault made his NHL debut, becoming the fourth Ducks prospect to debut this season (joining Mason McTavish, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Bryce Kindopp). Perreault skated 11:05 in ice time, paired on a line with Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano.
"I was dreaming of this since I was a little kid, Perreault said. "It was nice to play a game, get my toes wet and gain some experience from this. It's not fun to lose games though], so it's just about going to the next one and going all-out to get the next win."
The next-man-up theme for the Ducks also carries on in net and with Anthony Stolarz coming off a 36-save performance, it could be time for another NHL debut on Sunday at Honda Center, with Lukas Dostal potentially in line for his first career start.
"The kid has been A-plus, outstanding," head coach Dallas Eakins said of Dostal. "He was a real driver of the San Diego game [Friday
, with special recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Angels' 2002 World Series championship, including Angels and Ducks gameday presentations, co-branded merchandise and a ceremonial puck drop by the iconic Rally Monkey.
With Detroit back in town and Zegras officially back in Anaheim's lineup, the contest will feature some of the NHL's most highly-touted rookies and potentially offer a preview of the upcoming Calder Trophy race.
Zegras' affect on Anaheim's turnaround is well-known in Southern California, but Detroit's talented youngsters, defenseman Moritz Seider and winger Lucas Raymond, have also enjoyed excellent inaugural seasons and re-excited a Red Wings fanbase eager to return to the playoffs for the first time since in six seasons.
Raymond leads NHL rookies in scoring (10-19=29) and power-play goals, and co-leads in assists. The Gothenburg, Sweden native would be the youngest player to lead Detroit in scoring since the team's current General Manager, Steve Yzerman, in 1983-84.
Seider is the only NHL rookie to average more than 21 minutes per game (22:24), pacing first-year blueliners in points (3-19=22) and assists.
Detroit's roster also includes a familiar face to Ducks fans, Carter Rowney, a staple of Anaheim's fourth line for the better part of three seasons (2018-21). Rowney played 152 games with Anaheim, notching 15-30=45 points and 28 penalty minutes.
Detroit and Anaheim will conclude their two-game season series on Jan. 31 in Michigan.
