Nick Bonino scored during a 5-on-3 power play for the Ducks’ lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks in the opener for both teams in the Young Stars Tournament in Penticton, British Columbia.

The Ducks didn’t lack for opportunities against San Jose goalie J.P. Anderson, an undrafted 18-year-old invitee from the Ontario Hockey League. But too often for their liking, Anderson made a great save, or watched the Ducks misfire.

Bonino broke up the shutout by scoring in a scramble in front of the net while the Ducks held their second two-man advantage of the period.

The Sharks scored two of their four goals on the power play. They mostlhy succeeded in creating traffic in front of Timo Pielmeier, a former San Jose prospect who was acquired along with Bonino for Kent Huskins and Travis Moen back in 2009.

The Ducks didn’t create nearly as much traffic in front of Anderson and relied on the breakaway for most of their chances.

The game was streamed live on the Ducks’ website in nearly high-definition quality, and the stream should be available again for tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames (4 p.m.) and Wednesday’s game against the host Vancouver Canucks (4 p.m.).

A few snap judgments in the plus/minus column:

Credit defensemen Cam Fowler and Jake Newton with some excellent first
passes to create those breakaways. Both should get a chance to test
their puck-moving skills in the Ducks’ main training camp starting next
weekend.

The Ducks seem to have a plethora of pass-first forwards. That’s not always a bad thing. The passes were mostly accurate; Bonino, Holland and OHL invitee Jason Akeson all had some beauties. But it seemed at times like they were waiting for a teammate to take charge by putting a hard, accurate shot on the net.

The kids were sticking up for themselves – and each other. Three fights broke out, all instigated by Ducks players, as a result of hard hits. Only one hit, what might easily have been called boarding, looked dirty on the small screen.