LAS VEGAS – Coming into November, Anaheim Ducks coach Joel Quenneville called this murder’s row of a first week a real test for his club.

Quenneville reiterated that to the media at Saturday’s morning skate in Vegas, with Anaheim’s game against the perennial Pacific Division champion and Stanley Cup contender Golden Knights being their most important match-up of this early season stretch.

“I think that you’re going to get some important games and some tests along the way,” Quenneville said. “This is one where we can assume that this will be like an exam tonight.”

Despite a late stumble, it’s fair to say the Ducks are passing with flying colors.

A pair of Leo Carlsson goals gave Anaheim a two-goal lead after two periods, and after Vegas tied the game, 3-3, Carlsson fed a streaking Jacob Trouba in overtime, who finished off the game-winner for Anaheim’s sixth straight victory, 4-3.

In this run, the Ducks have beaten the two-time reigning champion Florida Panthers twice, the Eastern contending New Jersey Devils, the Western finalist Dallas Stars and now the Golden Knights, who have had the run of the Ducks since the expansion franchise’s inception.

Anaheim is 10-3-1 (21 points) for the first time since 2014-15, and the Ducks have the fourth-best record in the NHL this season as the first team in the West to 10 victories.

The Ducks have given up the first goal of the game in nine of their 14 games this season, but Anaheim is 5-3-1 in those contests.

“I like how we’re handling things right now,” Quenneville said postgame. “I think we’re playing game-to-game. We’re playing the game we’re in. It’s a long season. We’re a young team, and we expect to get better as we go along here.”

Anaheim continues with its first-quarter exams by finishing off a back-to-back at home against last season’s Presidents Trophy winners, the Winnipeg Jets, on Sunday. Winnipeg is coming off a 2-1 loss in San Jose on Friday and a 3-0 loss in Los Angeles last Tuesday.

The Ducks have beaten five of the top 10 teams in the NHL standings, with No. 9 Winnipeg next on the docket before travelling to No. 1 Colorado on Tuesday.

Final/OT: Ducks 4, Golden Knights 3

JACOB TROUBA?! What’re you doing up there?! Trouba’s fourth goal of the season gets the Ducks’ sixth straight win, and Anaheim is all alone on top of the Pacific Division.

Ducks host Winnipeg tomorrow night. @SportingTrib | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/vMfbK6NkGQ

— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) November 9, 2025

It’s not where you expect Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba to be, but it was the sturdy blueliner hitting the zone with speed and taking a pass from Leo Carlsson in stride to cut in behind the Vegas defense and finesse a backhand five hole for the overtime winner on Saturday.

It was Trouba’s fourth goal of the season and his third career overtime-winning goal. Trouba has scored all four goals in his last eight games, which matches his goal total from his previous 135 games dating back to March 2023.

With a plus-3 mark in Vegas, Trouba is now alone as the league leader in plus/minus with a plus-16 rating.

The veteran defenseman is also among the most solid analytical defensemen in the league this season with the Ducks earning a 52.6% shot attempt share at five-on-five and a 53.91% expected goal share at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. On Saturday with Trouba on the ice at five-on-five, Anaheim posted a 58.7% shot attempt share and a 69.67% expected goal share.

What else can be said about the 20-year-old Swedish superstar center that hasn’t been said over his now nine-game point streak?

Carlsson continues to ascend to the mantle of Ducks franchise player–if he hasn’t already grabbed it by the horns–scoring six goals and 11 assists over the streak, including two more goals and an assist on the overtime-winner Saturday.

Carlsson’s first goal that broke a 1-1 tie in the second period came on a dogged forecheck effort and his slick mitts on a backhand. His second was more opportunistic, slipping a shot five-hole that the Vegas goaltender would probably like back.

The recovery and feed to Jacob Trouba in overtime gave Carlsson 23 points on the season, third in the NHL behind just the 24 points from Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini.

In 21:13 of ice time, the Ducks posted a ridiculous 71% expected goal share with Carlsson on the ice.

The nine-game point streak matches Paul Kariya for longest by a Ducks player age 21 or younger. Kariya accomplished the feat twice in 1995-96.

Carlsson also hit 40 career goals in 145 career games. No player in franchise history has scored that many at age 20 or younger. Mason McTavish, now 22 years old, previously held the mark at 32 goals in 131 games.

Entering the game, the Ducks had 50 points from players 21 or younger through 13 games, which was the most since the 1992-93 Quebec Nordiques.

Petr Mrázek Bounces Back

It might seem odd to label a 3-0-0 goaltender having a bounce-back night in his third win, but that’s certainly the case for Anaheim’ back-up netminder Petr Mrázek’s Saturday night in Vegas.

Mrázek, who made his 400th career NHL start, had won his first two starts, but they were chaotic affairs with six goals allowed in a 7-6 overtime comeback win in San Jose and five goals allowed in a 7-5 win the Ducks pulled out of the fire in Boston.

After those two games, Mrázek was dead last in the entire NHL with a 5.5 goals against average and .831 save percentage. He was also ninth-worst in the NHL in goals saved above expected (GSAx) with minus-3.7. (Mrázek’s countryman Lukáš Dostál is fourth-best at 8.7 GSAx.)

However, Mrázek was locked in throughout a tight contest in Vegas.

Despite the Golden Knights pushing back to tie the game at 3-3, Mrázek made 19 saves in the third period and came up with three humongous saves in the overtime period to allow the Ducks to find the winner.

Mrázek ended up with a positive GSAx (0.78) for the first time this season.