DALLAS — Leo Carlsson‘s short-handed goal midway through the third period proved to be the winner as the Ducks rallied to beat the Dallas Stars 7-5 on Thursday night.
Carlsson scored on a slap shot 10:38 into the third period to give the Ducks a 6-4 lead. Troy Terry had an assist on the goal.
Wyatt Johnston had two goals, Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Dallas, which lost for the third time in four games. Miro Heiskanen had four assists and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves.
Dallas had its seven-game points streak halted.
Up next for the Ducks: at the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Frank Vatrano and Chris Kreider also scored for the Ducks.
Jack Hughes scored New Jersey’s lone goal in the third period, and Devils goalie Jake Allen had 26 saves.
The Ducks have won three straight and five of their last six to move into a first-place tie with Las Vegas and Edmonton in the Pacific Division, an encouraging start for a team trying to snap a seven-season playoff drought. Their 15 points is the most through 11 games since 2014-2015.
The Ducks took advantage of their second straight game against a road-weary Eastern Conference club, outscoring the Detroit Red Wings and Devils by a combined 9-3.
Anaheim scored three goals within the game’s first 22 minutes and dominated the first two periods before New Jersey came to life in the third.
Moments after Allen stuffed Sennecke at the doorstep, Hughes took a pass from Dawson Mercer on a two-on-one break and one-timed a shot past a sprawling Dostal.
But Dostal and the Ducks held off a furious Devils rally in the final minutes, and Kreider scored on an empty netter with 1:54 left to seal the win.
Anaheim scored on its first shot of the game. Sennecke took a pass from Gauthier as he crossed the blue line, shielded New Jersey defenseman Dennis Cholowski with his body as he charged the net and slipped a lunging shot under Allen’s right armpit.
The Ducks made it 3-0 just 1:54 into the second period when Gauthier scored from an almost impossible angle, snapping a left-handed wrist shot from just inside the right goal line under Allen’s left pad for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. the Florida Panthers at Honda Center on Tuesday night.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Troy Terry and Mason McTavish scored in a shootout, and the Ducks beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, and Cutter Gauthier also scored to help the Ducks end a five-game trip with a victory in coach Joel Quenneville’s first game against his former team.
Quenneville, who coached the Panthers from 2019-21, returned to Sunrise for the first time since resigning as Florida’s coach after details of a sexual-assault scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks squad were revealed in October 2021.
Quenneville was banned from the NHL for nearly three years for his handling of the situation before taking over the Ducks in May. He won three titles in 10 years with the Blackhawks and last coached for Florida on Oct. 27, 2021.
Carlsson buried a short-handed goal midway through the second period to extend his point streak to four games. He assisted on Gauthier’s power-play goal a couple of minutes later to give Carlsson a team-leading 11 points this season.
Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots for the Ducks.
Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart scored for the Panthers. Reinhart had the tying goal — his fifth of the season — with three about minutes left in regulation after the Panthers had trailed 2-0 midway through the third.
Daniil Tarasov made 15 saves.
The Panthers, whose depth has already been tested this season because of a rash of injuries, were without forwards Jonah Gadjovich (upper body) and Brad Marchand (personal reasons).
TAMPA, Fla. — Jake Guentzel and Anthony Cirelli each scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ducks 4-3 on Saturday to break a four-game skid.
Nikita Kucherov had an assist for his 1,000th career point as Tampa Bay got its first home win of the season. Victor Hedman registered his 800th career point and Brandon Hagel picked up career point No. 300.
Jonas Johansson finished with 37 saves for Tampa Bay, which ended an 0-2-2 stretch with just its second win of the season (2-4-2)
Troy Terry, Jacob Trouba and Ryan Poehling scored for Anaheim, which lost in regulation for the first time in four games. Lukas Dostal finished with 29 saves.
Cirelli scored the tiebreaking goal on the power play with his second of the night with 3:15 left in the third period with a quick shot from the low slot.
Guentzel and Cirelli scored 2:01 apart in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Guentzel directed Brayden Point’s pass in off his skate with 7:41 left on a play Kucherov got his 1,000th point.
Cirelli made it a two-goal lead as he pounced on a rebound with 5:40 remaining. Hedman and Hagel each hit their milestones on the goal.
Poehling and Terry scored 59 seconds apart to tie it 3-3 at 8:10 of the third.
Guentzel opened the scoring for the Lightning 9:10 into the first period as a rebound found his stick in the low slot.
Anaheim tied it at 4:42 of the second after an offensive zone faceoff win landed on the stick of Trouba for a slap shot off the inside of the near post and in.
CHICAGO — Ryan Donato scored from the edge of the crease at 2:58 of overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Ducks 2-1 on Sunday night in Ducks coach Joel Quenneville’s first game at United Center since being banned in a sexual-assault scandal.
The ban stemmed from the scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks squad that surfaced in October 2021. Quenneville was forced to resign as Florida’s coach, then banned from the NHL for nearly three years before taking over the Ducks in May. He won three titles in 10 years with the Blackhawks.
Donato had his third goal in three games. Connor Bedard set up it from behind the net to cap a 3-on-1 rush. Frank Nazar also scored to help Chicago improve to 3-0-1 in its last four.
Spencer Knight made 38 saves and was beaten only on Mason McTavish’s power-play goal from a sharp angle with 35.8 seconds left in the third period.
McTavish scored on a rising shot from low in the right circle for his first goal of the season on Anaheim’s 36th shot and fifth manpower advantage. Wyatt Kaiser had been sent off for delay of game with 1:47 left after lifting the puck over the glass.
Knight outdueled Lukas Dostal, who stopped 28 shots in the Ducks’ second straight loss.
Seth Jarvis scored his 100th and 101st NHL goals and added an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes remained the NHL’s only unbeaten team with a 4-1 victory over the Ducks on Thursday night.
Alexander Nikishin scored his first NHL goal and Shayne Gostisbehere matched his career high with three assists for the Hurricanes, who improved to 4-0-0 with their second win to start a six-game trip.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves against his former team for Carolina. Jarvis scored the Canes’ first two goals, giving him five in four games during his sizzling start.
The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference finals last summer, and they appear loaded for another memorable season after outscoring their opponents 19-8 so far. Jarvis, Nikishin, Gostisbehere, Aho and Jackson Blake have all scored in each of Carolina’s first four games.
Leo Carlsson scored and Lukas Dostal stopped 27 shots for the Ducks in their first home defeat under new coach Joel Quenneville.
Carolina went ahead late in the first when Jarvis scored on a rebound after Gostisbehere intercepted Mikael Granlund’s poor pass. Jarvis added a power-play goal in the second, but Carlsson scored for the Ducks 70 seconds later.
Nikishin scored in the slot early in the third period. The promising 24-year-old Russian defenseman joined Carolina for four playoff games last summer, and he spent the summer learning English with a tutor before making the Canes’ opening-night lineup and racking up three assists in his first three regular-season games.
Aho scored his first goal of the season with 4:12 to play.
Chris Kreider scored his second power-play goal in his home debut with 1:27 to play, and the Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night for its 10th consecutive victory in home openers.
Cutter Gauthier and Drew Helleson also scored and Lukas Dostal made 23 saves for the Ducks, who matched Boston and Toronto for the NHL’s longest active victory streak in home openers.
Kreider, who also had an assist, is off to an outstanding start with four goals in three games for the Ducks after the Rangers traded their longtime left winger last June to create cap space.
Kreider scored the Ducks’ first goal off a slick pass from Leo Carlsson in the first period, and he won it for the Ducks just seven seconds after Parker Wotherspoon went to the penalty box for shooting the puck over the glass.
Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell and Anthony Mantha scored and Tristan Jarry stopped 17 shots as Pittsburgh opened a three-game California trip.
Sidney Crosby had two assists to pass Steve Yzerman, one of his boyhood idols, for the ninth-most in NHL history.
The Ducks had the largest crowd in franchise history for the home debut of coach Joel Quenneville, who got loud cheers when introduced. The second-winningest coach in NHL history opened his Ducks tenure with a loss and a win on the road last week.
Brazeau extended his impressive start to his Penguins tenure just 63 seconds after the opening faceoff, redirecting Ryan Shea’s point shot for his fourth goal in four games. Evgeni Malkin also got his sixth assist of the season.
Rakell redirected another shot by Shea for his first career goal against the Ducks, who drafted him in 2011. He spent parts of 10 NHL seasons in Anaheim.
Gauthier tied it late in the first with a one-timer set up by Pavel Mintyukov.
SAN JOSÉ — Leo Carlsson scored 46 seconds into overtime and the Ducks overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit for a 7-6 win over the San José Sharks on Saturday night.
After San José missed an empty-netter late in the third period, Kreider knocked in his second goal with 49.5 seconds remaining to force overtime.
The Sharks won the face off in the extra period, but Macklin Celebrini missed a high shot and the Ducks recovered to set up Carlsson’s winner from the left circle.
Tyler Toffoli, Ryan Reaves, Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, Adam Gaudette and Jeff Skinner all had goals for San José. Yaroslav Askarov had 36 saves.
The Sharks led 2-0 midway through the first period on goals by Toffoli and Reaves. Both shots came in front of the Ducks’ net, with Reaves racing in from the left untouched before flipping the puck past Ducks goalie Petr Mrazek (17 saves).
The Ducks responded with Gauthier scoring 40 seconds after Reaves’ score before Sennecke tied it on power-play goal, his second in as many games.
After the two teams traded goals early in the second period, Klingberg scored in a five-on-three situation to give San José the lead.
Gauthier’s first goal of the night came on Alexander Wennberg’s pass from behind the net before Kreider’s first goal of the season with 31 seconds left in the second period trimmed the Sharks’ lead to 5-4.
Skinner scored after maneuvering around three defenders in front of the Ducks goal to put the Sharks ahead 6-4.
Up next for the Ducks: Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their home opener at Honda Center.
Defenseman Jackson LaCombe signed an eight-year, $72-million contract extension with the Ducks on Thursday, keeping the rising young star with the club through the 2033-34 season.
LaCombe’s deal is the richest ever given out by the team, although other contracts had larger average annual values.
“We are excited to sign Jackson to a long-term contract and lock up a core player for our future,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “Getting this deal done early was a priority for us. Jackson has all of the tools to be an anchor on our back end for many years to come.”
After just two full NHL seasons, the 24-year-old LaCombe has emerged as an elite two-way defenseman who is under consideration for the U.S. Olympic team roster.
LaCombe went straight to the NHL from the University of Minnesota in 2023, and he has recorded 16 goals and 44 assists over 148 games. He quickly emerged as the Ducks’ most dependable defenseman, leading the roster in ice time last season and filling a major role on their power play.
He even stepped into a leadership role after longtime Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler was traded to St. Louis last December. LaCombe’s 14 goals last season were the most by a Ducks blueliner since Lubomir Visnovsky had 18 in the 2010-11 season.
“I am grateful to the organization for their belief in me,” LaCombe said. “It was an easy decision for me to commit my future to the Ducks and Orange County. We are building something special here, and I am excited to do everything I can to help this team win.”
LaCombe also stood out at the world championships in Stockholm last May, recording two goals and three assists for the gold medal-winning U.S. team.
The Ducks chose the Minnesota native with the 39th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He became a star for the Golden Gophers after being drafted, growing into a top prospect who then adjusted quickly to the NHL game.
LaCombe is the first player to re-sign in the Ducks’ large class of restricted free agents coming up next summer. LaCombe was slated to be an RFA alongside center Leo Carlsson, left wing Cutter Gauthier and defensemen Owen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov.
Verbeek locked up LaCombe five days after re-signing holdout center Mason McTavish to a six-year, $42 million deal.
Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal signed a five-year contract on Thursday to remain with the team.
Dostal made the announcement on a social media post by the team. The agreement means the 25-year-old avoided an arbitration hearing.
Dostal had a 23-23-7 record with a 3.10 goals-against average and .903 save percentage for the Ducks last season.
“Lukas has proven he is a No. 1 goaltender and we are so pleased to get this deal done,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “He is just entering the prime of his career with his best hockey ahead of him.”
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dostal is excited about the future with a young team that includes forwards Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish; defensemen Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov and Jackson LaCombe, and Beckett Sennecke, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft.
“That was one of the reasons that I was willing to sign a long-term deal — because it’s always about trusting the process,” he said. “And I really trust the process that’s going on in Anaheim right now.”
The Ducks traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, ending the exciting forward’s inconsistent half-decade in Orange County.
The Ducks get forward Ryan Poehling and the 45th overall pick in the upcoming draft that initially belonged to Columbus, along with a fourth-round pick next season.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he dealt away the Ducks’ charismatic former leading scorer in part because Zegras no longer fit the Ducks’ roster as they attempt to end their seven-year playoff drought.
“You start imagining lines and how you want certain players to complement each other,” Verbeek said. “We started looking at that scenario, so ultimately we made the decision to move Trevor because of that.”
Zegras is a natural center who wants to be a playmaker in the middle, but rising stars Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish have earned those spots on Anaheim’s top two lines, which has forced Zegras to play left wing or to center a depth line. The Ducks also recently acquired longtime Rangers forward Chris Kreider, who works out with Zegras in the summer, to play left wing on one of their top two lines.
“I think he’ll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia to play center,” Verbeek said. “He’s more creative in the middle of the ice and (not) having to play from the wing. We’re fortunate that there’s Leo and there’s Mason, (but) Trevor has to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn’t suit his best attributes.”
Verbeek also acknowledged the financial realities of the deal. Zegras will be a restricted free agent next summer, when the Ducks also will need to re-sign Carlsson, promising forward Cutter Gauthier and talented young defensemen Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.
The big, speedy Poehling will become a key contributor on the Ducks’ awful special teams, Verbeek predicted. Poehling was one of the Flyers’ top penalty-killing forwards last season while scoring 31 points — just one fewer than Zegras.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek speaks to reporters during a news conference in June 2023.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
Verbeek still realizes his decision will rankle some Ducks supporters who won’t be happy to lose the most interesting player on a few terrible Anaheim teams in recent years. Zegras remained a fan favorite at Honda Center throughout his tenure with the Ducks, who hired coach Joel Quenneville last month with the stated goal to return to the playoffs next spring.
Zegras was the Ducks’ first-round pick in 2019, and he had two 60-point seasons early in his NHL career. He finished as the runner-up to Detroit’s Moritz Seider in 2022 for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.
Zegras also became well known outside Anaheim for his proficiency with the Michigan goal, in which a player lifts the puck with his stick blade and wraps it into the net from behind.
But the 24-year-old Zegras struggled with injuries and consistency for the past two seasons, scoring just 47 points in 88 combined games. He had 12 goals and 20 assists in 57 games last season, increasing his production at midseason after a slow start and a 22-game absence with a knee injury.
Zegras’ commitment to defense was also widely questioned in Anaheim, although he appeared to make significant strides on that end of the ice last season.
Zegras has been a frequent topic of loud trade rumors for the past two seasons, although Verbeek claimed Monday that “there was never really anything talked about in the past as far as Trevor.”
The Flyers made another major deal with the Ducks in January 2024, with GM Danny Briere sending the disgruntled Gauthier to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale, Zegras’ longtime friend. Both Zegras and Drysdale were drafted in the first round by the Ducks before Verbeek took over the front office.
Gauthier had a strong rookie season for the Ducks with 20 goals and 24 assists, while Drysdale scored 20 points with a minus-32 rating last season for the Flyers.
Philadelphia also has a new coach for the upcoming season with the hiring of Rick Tocchet.
Poehling had 12 goals and 19 assists in 68 games as a depth forward for Philadelphia last season. After starting his career in Montreal and getting traded to Pittsburgh for the 2022-23 season, he signed with the Flyers as a free agent and produced the best two offensive seasons of his career.
Chris Kreider has agreed to move his no-trade clause to accept a trade from the New York Rangers to the Ducks, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal had not been finalized.
The trade is expected to be completed Thursday.
Kreider, 34, is third on the franchise goal-scoring list with 326 after spending his first 13 NHL seasons with the Rangers. He has two years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million.
Moving on from Kreider is general manager Chris Drury’s first offseason change to a roster that underachieved and missed the playoffs.
The New York Post was first to report Kreider accepting the move.
