Cutter Gauthier has turned the first stretch of November into his own personal showcase, and the Anaheim Ducks have ridden right along with him.
The 22-year-old forward put together a three-goal, one-assist night in Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, then added the kind of late insurance that made the performance historic. His empty-netter in the final minute gave him his third hat trick in the first 10 days of the month, making him the first player in NHL history to do that.
It was also part of a bigger run for Anaheim, which became the first team since the 1988-90 LA Kings to score at least five goals in eight straight games.
Gauthier’s month opened with a bang. He scored three times in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 1, then followed that with another hat trick two days later in a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
In both of those games, two of his goals came on the power play, a perfect fit for a Ducks team that has been lethal with the man advantage all season. Anaheim is converting at a league-best 38.5 percent on the power play.
Against Pittsburgh, though, Gauthier didn’t need special teams to make his mark. Two of his goals came at five-on-five before he finished the job with the empty-netter.
His production has been impossible to miss through 17 games. Gauthier has 15 goals, which ranks third in the NHL, along with seven assists for 22 points.
That puts him 17th in league scoring. In 176 career games with the Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers, he has 76 goals and 60 assists for 136 points.
The Ducks, meanwhile, are sitting third in the Pacific Division with 21 points through their first 18 games of the 84-game season. They’ll be back at home Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators.
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Cutter Gauthier Is Making The Ducks Rebuild Look Way Ahead Of Schedule
Cutter Gauthier keeps turning Anaheims early-season surge into something bigger than a hot streak. His latest outburst helped the Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and stretch their winning streak to five games, while also reinforcing just how quickly the rebuild around him is coming into focus. With Gauthier and Leo Carlsson both signed to major contracts, the organization has already committed to its young core, and so far that bet looks a lot more promising than anyone outside the room might have expected this soon.
Gauthiers production has given the Ducks a legitimate top-end scorer to build around, and Carlssons strong start has only added to the sense that this team is arriving ahead of schedule. The challenge now is less about proving the talent exists and more about seeing how long Anaheim can keep this pace going once the schedule tightens and opponents start adjusting. For a franchise that has spent recent seasons searching for a clearer direction, the early returns are giving the Ducks something they have not had in a while: a reason to think the future is already showing up in the present. [Read more 🡒]
Cutter Gauthier Just Gave Ducks Fans A Real Reason To Believe
Cutter Gauthier gave Honda Center plenty to cheer about as the Ducks rolled past the Penguins 5-2, with Mikael Granlund, Jackson LaCombe, Tristan Luneau and Laurent Brossoit also helping shape a night that felt more like a statement than a fluke. Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh, but Anaheim controlled enough of the game to move to 10-7-1 and keep building around a young core that suddenly looks a lot more dangerous.
Gauthiers breakout performance was the headline, but the bigger takeaway for Ducks fans is what it suggests about where this group might be headed if the offense keeps finding this kind of balance. The win added another layer to a promising start, and it leaves Anaheim with a stretch of momentum that has the room feeling very different from the one that opened the season. [Read more 🡒]