Anaheim finished its preseason slate with a 4-3-0 record, including three wins in as many games on home ice. The Ducks will look to open the season with a win at Honda Center for the fourth consecutive season.
"We want to make it tough for teams to come here," veteran forward Derek Grant said. "For a long time, this was really hard rink for teams to play in. We want to make sure we get back to that."
The Ducks have posted a 10-1-1 record in home openers since 2013, outscoring opponents 28-14 in that span.
The night will include several home opener festivities, beginning at 3:30 p.m. with the Orange Carpet player arrivals. All fans in attendance are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:45 p.m. for the opening sequence, player introductions and this season's 21st Duck.
"It's nice to be around the fans again," Adam Henrique said. "It'll be great to do the Orange Carpet and see everyone coming out. There's always a lot of excitement around the first game and the home opener."
The Ducks announced the
club's season-opening roster
on Monday, which includes eight players who could make their club debut.
"We're excited. Getting through summer and training camp, it's a lot of time leading up to tonight," Henrique said. "We worked on a lot of things in our game through preseason, things that are new and things are old that we needed to clean up. It's a new group of guys in here and everybody is looking forward to it."
The Opening Night roster also features a lone player who could makes his NHL debut Wednesday, winger Pavol Regenda, who used a terrific preseason to break camp with the Ducks.
"I've been fighting for this all my life," Regenda said. "I'm going to enjoy every second of it and play the best I can."
Regenda led the Ducks in preseason scoring (4-3=7) and plus/minus (+7). He also ranked tied for seventh among NHL leaders in points. Derek Grant (2-4=6) and Troy Terry (1-4=5) co-led Anaheim in assists.
The Ducks and Kraken open a four-game season series tonight, split evenly between Honda Center and Climate Pledge Arena. In Seattle's inaugural 2021-22 season, Anaheim earned wins in two of the clubs' three meetings (2-1-0). Troy Terry led the Ducks in scoring vs. Seattle, tallying 3-2=5 points.
"They work hard," Henrique said. "They're a hard-working group and they've added a lot of players, so they're going to be a deeper team. It's a good challenge for us. We want to make sure we get off on the right foot."
Those offseason additions for Seattle include a pair of skilled wingers, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky. Bjorkstrand joined the Kraken in a trade from Columbus, where he spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career. Burakovsky, who was part of Colorado's Stanley Cup championship team last year, signed a five-year deal with Seattle in July.
