Ducks (24-44-4) vs. Kraken (29-29-13) | 7:00 p.m.

One: Morrison Impresses

About a half-hour after the Kraken’s convincing 4-1 win over Anaheim in the first of two straight games with the Ducks, rookie Logan Morrison was standing in a foyer just outside the home squad locker room. He was talking with his family about the scoring chances and shots on goal (three) that Morrison racked up in his NHL debut. Morrison and fellow call-up Ryan Winterton don’t really play together much for American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley but could have fooled most of us on hand at Climate Pledge Arena, watching on ROOT Sports or tuned in KJR 93.9 FM. The two prospects, along with season-long rookie Tye Kartye, worked lots of strong shifts at both ends of the ice.

While Morrison fired those three shots, he made a couple of moves to set up both Andre Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand on prime scoring chances that required Grade-A saves from Ducks goalie John Gibson. Either or both shots had the potential to reward Morrison with his first point. Matty Beniers praised Morrison’s penchant for “being in all the right places” in the first-gamer’s defensive assignments. All quite impressive for the undrafted centerman.

Two: Mutual Admiration Society for New Linemates

As teammates, Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen are easy friends with each other. As newly minted linemates, their on-ice chemistry seems to be growing with each shift. Thursday promises even more. Both had praise for each other when asked about their respective three-point nights (a goal and two assists apiece).

Tolvanen on Beniers: “It's unbelievable. You know, every time [Beniers] touches the puck, you have to get open. It's not a coincidence he won the Calder [rookie of the year trophy] last year. He's having a tougher year in year two point-wise, but every time it's on the ice, he can create so much offense. It’s really fun to play with him.”

Beniers on Tolvanen: “He's obviously an unbelievable player. Has a great shot. Just does all the little things right and he's a lot of fun to play with because he does all those little things right, defensively, takes care of the puck. Then offensively, we get to play more offense because he's good defensively ... he's just a really smart player. He does a really good job of reading the play and reading off me and Ollie [Oliver Bjorkstrad played with duo Tuesday] and being in good spots.”

Three: Know the Foe: Ducks’ Low Goal Output

Anaheim has just one win in the last 10, plus an overtime loss, for three standings points total in that stretch. The Ducks have been shut three times in the skein and have tallied just nine goals in the nine losses. Expect Lukas Dostal to get the start in goal. He was in goal for the only win in the last 10, a 4-0 shutout over Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The 23-year-old Czechia-born goalie has posted a respectable .901 save percentage on the season.