ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored his 25th goal and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 Tuesday night to win their final game before the Olympic break.
Jacob Trouba, Alex Killorn and Ross Johnston also scored as the resurgent Ducks built a 4-0 advantage before fending off a late Seattle surge. They have won nine of their 11 games after a nine-game losing streak (0-8-1).
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Anaheim moved to within one point of the Pacific Division lead and edged out the Kraken by two points for third place. Seattle, which had won four in a row and five of six, has a game in hand against the Ducks.
Lukas Dostal was 4 1/2 minutes away from Anaheim’s first shutout in 137 games when Jordan Eberle redirected Jared McCann’s slap shot in front for his team-high 20th goal.
A Dostal giveaway led to another Kraken goal when a pinball puck hit Shane Wright to make it 4-2 with 2:31 left.
Dostal was forced to make several extra saves and Chandler Stephenson fired a shot off the post for Seattle before time expired. Dostal finished with 26 saves.
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Jansen Harkins and defenseman Jackson LaCombe each had two assists for Anaheim, which improved to 17-8-1 at home. These are Harkins’ first two assists this season to go along with his three goals in 31 games.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots for the Kraken.
Gauthier opened the scoring at 4:01 of the second period on a snap shot from the top of the right circle just as a Ducks power play expired. Trouba made it 2-0 when the defenseman fired a powerful slap shot from the right point with 32.8 seconds left in the period.
Killorn scored from a sharp angle 24 seconds into the third, and Johnston made it 4-0 at 13:54.
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Anaheim’s streak without a shutout is the longest active drought for an NHL team. The last time the Ducks shut out an opponent, Dostal made 26 saves in a 2-0 win at San Jose for their only shutout last season, on October 12, 2024.
Following
Kraken: Play in Los Angeles on Wednesday night to conclude a three-game trip before the Olympic break.
Ducks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on February 25 in their first game after the break.
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