The season opener for the Ducks did not go as planned in Finland. Facing the Buffalo Sabres in front of a crowd of nearly 13,500, Anaheim could not overcome an early 2-0 deficit and eventually fell 4-1.
Thomas Vanek scored the first goal of the game for Buffalo and did so on a power play. Assists went to Luke Adam and Jason Pominville. The goal came at 4:02 into the first period. Ville Leino scored the second goal of the period, this time 8:30 into the game. Andrej Sekera and Brad Boyes had the assists. The first period was both a physical and sloppy one and each team committed three minor penalties.
The Ducks cut the lead in half just a few minutes into the second period. Nate Guenin was the one to light the lamp and received a crisp pass from Maxime Macenauer. Unfortunately, the Sabres came right back and scored just two minutes later, this time with Jason Pominville scoring the goal. Thomas Vanek added his second power play goal of the game midway through the second period to make the score 4-1.
Anaheim came away with a few solid scoring opportunities in the third period, but they were unable to get anything past Ryan Miller.
The team will now play the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The puck is scheduled to be dropped at 10 a.m. California time.