SEATTLE — Two men who could prove pivotal to the Ducks’ future made their debuts on Thursday night, but the team dropped its season opener to the Seattle Kraken, 3-1.
Beckett Sennecke scored in his first NHL game and Lukas Dostal made 28 saves, but the Ducks couldn’t generate enough offense in their first game under new coach Joel Quenneville.
Mason Marchment scored in his Seattle debut, Joey Daccord made 35 saves, and the Kraken won a season opener for the first time in franchise history.
Vince Dunn and Jared McCann also scored for the Kraken, who had gone 0-3-1 in their previous four openers, including a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ducks in 2022.
Daccord, who last Friday became the first player in Arizona State hockey history to have his number retired, made 16 of his saves in the first period on 17 shots.
Marchment, acquired from Dallas in an offseason trade, gave the Kraken a 2-1 lead at 3:50 of the second period.
Brandon Montour, after missing all six preseason games recovering from ankle surgery, poke-checked the puck away from Troy Terry just inside the blue line and then outmuscled the Ducks forward while skating down the right wing to create a 2-on-1 rush. Montour skated into the corner before feeding a pass out front to Marchment, who scooped the puck over Dostal’s blocker.
Seattle extended its lead to 3-1 at 4:25 of the third period. Jordan Eberle carried the puck over the blue line at the right point and sent a cross-ice pass into the left corner for Matty Beniers. The center backhanded a pass to a wide-open McCann out front, and McCann lifted a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
The Kraken opened the scoring just 2:21 into the game. Jaden Schwartz quickly carried the puck horizontally into the offensive zone before pulling up at the top of the right faceoff circle and sending a pass back to Adam Larsson at the blue line. Larsson fed Dunn at the top of the left faceoff circle for a shot that beat Dostal high to the near post.
The Ducks tied it at 4:11 after Dunn turned over the puck when he tried to backhand it up the ice from behind his own net. Mason McTavish intercepted the clearance attempt just above the goal line on the left wing and backhanded a pass across the top of the crease to Sennecke. The 19-year-old rookie tucked the puck behind Daccord before the goalie could get from post to post.
Sennecke, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, scored 36 goals in major juniors last season.
The score was tied after the first period despite the Ducks holding a 17-5 edge in shots on goal.
The Ducks had a goal disallowed with 2:50 left in the first when it was ruled that Olen Zellweger poked the puck out of Daccord’s glove after Daccord had clear possession.
McCann’s goal that made it 3-1 at 4:25 of the third, was his fourth in five season openers.
Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup champion who ranks second in NHL history with 969 coaching victories, was behind the bench for the first time in nearly four years after being banned by the league for his role in the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual-abuse scandal.
Seattle’s Lane Lambert won his head coaching debut after taking the helm on May 29.
UP NEXT
The Ducks visit San Jose on Saturday at 7 p.m.