TAMPA BAY, Flor. – The Anaheim Ducks may have come up short on Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but Anaheim showed flashes of fight that have so far characterized their hot start to the season.

Anaheim’s young team has found the experience they’ve needed to come into their own and what they’ve shown so far has been the capacity to score high and come up big when they need it most, even if the scoreboard is stacked against them. They showed that trait off most prominently in their thrilling 7-6 win over the San Jose Sharks in the second game of the season, but Saturday night showed even more flashes of Anaheim’s ability to put together scoring in a deficit. 

The Ducks quickly fell behind the Lightning by the second period, going into the third trailing 3-1. Despite this, Anaheim chained together two goals in just over a minute to square up the game 3-3, showing a tenacity that continues to keep them in the fight.

“You could feel it in the intermission before the third, we knew we weren’t out of it,” Troy Terry said after the game in a televised interview. 

Youth has been Anaheim’s trademark this season. Leo Carlsson has asserted himself as the franchise player, Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier are coming into their own quickly while Pavel Mintyukov is close behind. With youth comes energy and with energy comes an overwhelming force; Anaheim has scored five goals or more in three of their first eight games and that relentless pursuit of the net has become the team’s identity. 

“We’re a fast hockey team. It’s the first word that comes to mind. I think you could see that tonight,” Terry said. “I think we put pressure on them with our speed. So, I think just keep building on that identity, playing fast. Whether that’s fore checking or using our speed on rushes or even just defending, using our legs.”

That energy is what will carry the Ducks through this season as they fight to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. A renewed roster of talented youth adapting under head coach Joel Quenneville may not have gone all the way in the loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday, but they are establishing a culture of high-octane success that will make any team that wants to get the better of them work hard to do it, if they can do it at all.Â