Cutter Gauthier took over Sunday night, and the Anaheim Ducks rolled past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Honda Center.
Gauthier finished with three goals and an assist, while Mikael Granlund set the tone early and kept feeding the attack with three assists. Anaheim also got a goal from Tristan Luneau and a strong night from Laurent Brossoit, who turned aside 31 of 33 shots.
The Ducks struck first on the power play at 8:26 of the opening period when Granlund scored off assists from Gauthier and Jackson LaCombe. From there, Gauthier kept piling on. He doubled the lead on the power play at 6:28 of the second period, then added another at 9:11 of the frame to make it 3-0.
Luneau pushed it to 4-0 with a power-play goal at 5:12 of the third period, and by then Anaheim had firmly taken control. Pittsburgh did make things interesting late, getting power-play goals from Kris Letang at 8:05 and Rickard Rakell at 13:42 of the third, but Gauthier shut the door with an empty-netter at 19:26 to finish the scoring.
Jackson LaCombe picked up three assists for Anaheim, and Granlund’s night ended with one goal and three helpers. For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin collected two assists, while Arturs Silovs stopped 20 of 24 shots.
The Penguins actually outshot the Ducks 33-25, but Anaheim made its chances count, going 3 for 4 on the power play. Pittsburgh finished 2 for 6.
The win moved Anaheim to 10-7-1 and extended its streak to five straight, leaving the Ducks sixth in the Western Conference. Pittsburgh fell to 6-10-2 and sits 14th in the Eastern Conference.
Anaheim hosts the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Pittsburgh visits the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
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The night also included a promising performance in goal from Sergei Murashov, who stopped 26 of 28 shots and continued to give the Penguins something to think about beyond the top line. Afterward, Murashov also took a moment to publicly acknowledge Calgary Flames goalie Devin Cooley for speaking about mental health challenges, adding a thoughtful note to a game that already carried plenty of significance for Pittsburghs present and future. [Read more 🡒]
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The timing, though, leaves the situation a little murky. Pittsburgh already has an extra forward on the roster, and theres no guarantee McGroarty gets into the lineup, with Andrei Kuzmenko among the players who could be favored to dress instead. For a prospect trying to turn strong AHL play into a steadier NHL foothold, the recall matters even before the final decision on game night. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Pressure To Help Connor Bedard Is Starting To Show
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For the Penguins, the situation remains more complicated because of the mix of legacy players and a front office that has been cautious about making a move. Friedman noted that any meaningful deal would have to fit a very specific set of conditions, which is why names like Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell keep surfacing without anything close to a clean resolution. The result is a familiar Pittsburgh holding pattern, with plenty of speculation and not much certainty about which direction the roster could actually go. [Read more 🡒]