The Ducks will make their unofficial first introductions to the NHL's newest team tonight at Honda Center, hosting the Utah Hockey Club in Anaheim's penultimate preseason game.
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Tonight's game is available on Victory+ and KCOP Channel 13 (FOX Plus). All local games starting this season will be available to stream on Victory+, a free direct-to-consumer streaming service created for Ducks fans by A Parent Media Co Inc while FOX 11 Plus will air 65 Ducks game on over-the-air television. As a result, locally broadcast Ducks games will be available to 100% of the Los Angeles regional market, entirely free to all fans. For more information on how to watch the Ducks this season, click here.
Anaheim plays its final home preseason game looking to bounce back from consecutive losses to Los Angeles, a 3-2 defeat in Ontario on Sunday and a 4-0 shutout two nights ago at Honda Center.
"We’ve got to get some synergy with our lines," head coach Greg Cronin said. "You probably noticed that we moved some guys around from center to wing. We've got to get our D involved [in the play].
"It’s been a long training camp. We play Wednesday and Friday, then we don’t play again for a week. I’m not really worried about our group. I’m just focused on cleaning up the details and getting guys comfortable in their roles that we can go into San Jose and feel that we have an identity that we’re going to play with."
Cronin said Anaheim will continue to add more veterans into the lineup over the next two games, as several players compete for the limited spots on the opening night roster.
But alongside tonight's NHL-heavy projected lineup is the summer's third overall pick in the NHL Draft, Beckett Sennecke, who will make his preseason debut on a line with Mason McTavish and Robby Fabbri.
Sennecke was limited at the start of training camp with a foot injury, but returned to practice in full earlier this week at Great Park Ice. Signed to a three-year entry-level contract in July, Sennecke scored 27-41=68 points with 67 penalty minutes (PIM) and a +33 rating in 63 games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last season.
Also among the Anaheim regulars expected to make their first appearance of the preseason are captain Radko Gudas and veteran defenseman Cam Fowler.
On the other side, Utah visits Orange County after a 3-1 win last night in San Jose, looking to build on a strong 4-1-0 start to the preseason.
Utah begins its first season in the NHL this fall after receiving the entire hockey operations department, including management, coaches and players, from the now inactive Arizona Coyotes franchise.
Utah will return to Anaheim in two weeks as the unfriendly foe in the Ducks home opener on Oct. 16 at Honda Center.
