Preview: Plum Jerseys Return as Ducks Battle Bruins at Honda Center

The Ducks are set to play the Boston Bruins at Honda Center tonight for the second game of a weekend back-to-back on home ice.

Puck drop is at 5:30 p.m. and the game can be watched on Bally Sports SoCal. You can also stream it on the Ducks’ website or access it through NHL Gamecenter. To attend the game in person, get your tickets here.

Not only will the Ducks be sporting their new 30th Anniversary season jerseys, but they will also be offering in-game discounts and exclusive limited edition merchandise to members of The Mighty loyalty program. If you want more information, click here.

On the ice, the Ducks will be aiming for their second win of the season after a disappointing 2-1 loss against the Coyotes in Arizona yesterday. Despite directing 33 shots on net, they were only able to beat Coyotes’ goalie Karel Vejmelka once before the final buzzer.

Coach Greg Cronin commented on the game, saying, “I thought [the first period] was a good period of hockey and then we take two penalties late in the first and they generated some energy off that. I thought that changed the complexion of the period and that changed the complexion of the game.”

Frank Vatrano, who scored Anaheim’s lone goal on Saturday, expressed his frustration, stating, “We competed in every game this year. You don’t get the two points at the end of the day, which can be frustrating, and there are a few things we need to clean up, but I like our work ethic and I like that we’re sticking up for each other. We’ve just got to get on the other end of this thing.”

Vatrano’s power-play goal was the Ducks’ first of the year and brought them within one. However, their late attempt to equalize fell short, resulting in no overtime.

Reflecting on the game, Vatrano mentioned, “Before the game, we kind of highlighted some things we wanted to do on the power play, generate a lot of chances and we were lucky to get out there with some time left and capitalize. [But] we could have had a little more traffic in front of [Vejmelka’s] eyes, made it a little harder on him.”

Vatrano’s impressive start with four goals in four games is the most by a Duck since Corey Perry in 2013-14.

As the Ducks return home, a key focus will be reducing the number of penalties they receive. In Saturday’s loss, they had to kill five minor penalties, which led to an Arizona power-play goal and a 6-on-5 marker during a delayed penalty that ultimately made the difference.

Vatrano took responsibility for the penalties, saying, “I think we’re playing hard and sometimes the calls don’t go your way. It’s on me. I take it on myself that I took a couple of penalties [on Saturday]. As a team together, we just have to stay out of the box.”

Coach Cronin acknowledged the impact of penalties on the team, explaining, “Fatigue will set in and then guys are sitting on the bench, the rhythm of the game gets pickled. Guys don’t get on the ice and then the guys that are on the ice get tired. The effort was there, it’s been there every game [but] the execution gets sloppy.”

So far this season, the Ducks have been shorthanded 22 times but have only had 12 power-play opportunities.

When facing the Boston Bruins, the Ducks will encounter a team that’s off to a strong start with a 4-0-0 record. The Bruins’ latest victory was a 4-2 win over the Kings in Los Angeles, where Brad Marchand scored twice and David Pastrnak added his fifth goal of the season, contributing to a three-point night.

Pastrnak has previously posed a challenge for the Ducks, scoring 10 goals in 14 career matchups.