The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Tuesday, with Cutter Gauthier recording his second consecutive hat trick. According to the report, Gauthier scored three goals to lead the Ducks (7-7-1) to victory, making him the first player in franchise history to register back-to-back three-goal games.
Gauthier’s performance extended a recent hot streak. The 22-year-old American has eight goals in his last three games after going the previous nine games without scoring. He previously scored three goals in Anaheim’s 6-3 comeback victory over Ottawa on Sunday. Gauthier now leads the league in power-play goals with eight.
Mikael Granlund added a goal and two assists for the Ducks, while Leo Carlsson contributed a short-handed goal and Beckett Sennecke had four assists. Laurent Brossoit stopped 19 of 23 shots in net for Anaheim.
Jake DeBrusk scored twice for the Canucks (3-13-1), with Liam Ohgren and Linus Karlsson each adding one goal. Star centre Elias Pettersson recorded two assists. Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen made 17 saves in his first start since October 22.
The Ducks’ power play dominated the contest. Anaheim entered the game with the league’s second-best power play at 34 percent, behind only Utah at 34.6 percent, and converted 3-for-3 with the man advantage. According to the report, Anaheim has accumulated 10 power-play goals on 12 chances over its last three games.
Vancouver mounted a comeback attempt in the third period, rallying from a 5-2 deficit. The Canucks pulled goalie Lankinen with 1:43 remaining but could not complete the rally. This mirrored an earlier matchup on October 27 when Vancouver beat Anaheim 6-5 in overtime after facing a similar deficit.
Key facts
- Cutter Gauthier scored three goals, his second consecutive hat trick
- Jake DeBrusk scored two goals for Vancouver
- Anaheim’s power play went 3-for-3; team has 10 power-play goals in last three games
- Gauthier leads the league with eight power-play goals
- Gauthier scored eight goals in his last three games after going nine games without scoring
- This was Gauthier’s second hat trick in two consecutive games, first in Ducks history