Anaheim Ducks Breaking News: Live Updates, Trade Buzz & Must-See Highlights

Anaheim, CA – After a brutal nine-game slide, the Anaheim Ducks have flipped the script and suddenly look like a club ready to chase a Western Conference wild-card berth. Friday night’s 3-2 shootout comeback in Los Angeles showcased everything that’s fueling the surge: clutch rookie production, hot goaltending and a front office that refuses to stand pat. Beckett Sennecke, the 19-year-old winger Anaheim drafted 11th overall in 2024, logged two assists and buried the lone shootout tally, lifting the Ducks to their second straight win and evening the season series with the rival Kings. Sennecke now has eight points in his last six games, a timely breakout with leading scorer Leo Carlsson shelved three-to-five weeks following a procedure on his left thigh. Between the pipes, Lukas Dostal turned aside 26 shots, improving to 4-1-0 with a .933 save percentage since New Year’s Day. The Czech netminder’s consistency has masked defensive lapses and allowed Anaheim (23-21-3) to creep within three points of the final playoff spot. General manager Pat Verbeek is doing his part as well. On Thursday he shipped a 2026 fourth-round pick to Boston for rugged winger Jeffrey Viel, adding size (6-1, 214 lbs) and snarl to a lineup that already leads the NHL in fighting majors. Viel’s 183 career penalty minutes in just 64 NHL games suggest he’ll protect burgeoning stars like Sennecke, Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras when he debuts this weekend. Key takeaways from the Ducks’ January turnaround: 1. Secondary scoring awakening • Ryan Strome and depth call-up Tim Washe each lit the lamp in the Kings victory, ending personal droughts of 11 and six games respectively. • Anaheim now boasts seven players with double-digit goals, a mark they didn’t reach until March last season. 2. Special-teams course correction • The power play has clicked at 27.8 percent over the last five contests after ranking 29th league-wide in early January. Assistant coach Newell Brown has emphasized quicker entries and net-front traffic. 3. Road warrior mentality • Friday improved the Ducks to 5-2-1 in their last eight away dates, crucial with nine of the next 13 games coming outside Honda Center. Challenges remain. Carlsson’s absence removes a point-per-game catalyst, and veteran blue-liner Cam Fowler is still week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Yet Verbeek hinted more moves could be coming ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, noting the club’s “accelerated timeline” in a brief media scrum Friday. Up next, Anaheim hosts the back half of the home-and-home against Los Angeles tonight at Honda Center. A victory would push the Ducks above .500 for the first time since December 3 and, perhaps more importantly, plant a flag that this young core is done waiting for tomorrow. With momentum, a maturing prospect pool and fresh muscle in Jeffrey Viel, the Anaheim Ducks have announced themselves as legitimate playoff hunters. Southern California hockey just got a lot more interesting.