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The Anaheim Ducks capitalized on a dominant special teams performance to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on home ice. Cutter Gauthier led the way for Anaheim, recording a hat trick to push the Ducks past a struggling Pittsburgh squad.
Ducks Take Early Advantage in Nostalgic Uniforms
Sporting 1990s movie-inspired Hometown Remix jerseys, Anaheim took control after a competitive opening stretch. Pittsburgh entered the game with lineup adjustments, placing Andrei Kuzmenko in for the injured Ville Koivunen while Arturs Silovs started in goal. Rutger McGroarty was recalled from the AHL but remained a healthy scratch.
After early offensive pressure from Pittsburgh, Anaheim struck first late in the opening period. Penalty troubles began for the Penguins when Kaedan Korczak was sent to the box. With just one second remaining on the power play, Mikael Granlund pounced on a rebound to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh managed to kill off a subsequent cross-checking penalty against Sidney Crosby but failed to convert on their own power play following a tripping call on Tristan Luneau.
Special Teams Failures Cost Pittsburgh in the Second
The second period proved pivotal as Pittsburgh failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity. After Alex Killorn received a high-sticking penalty that injured Tommy Novak’s lip, the Penguins were granted 1:37 of a 5-on-3 power play. Anaheim defender Jackson LaCombe blocked a clear scoring attempt with his skate, prompting Pittsburgh to call an early timeout. Despite the tactical pause, the Penguins could not register a goal during the two-man advantage.
Anaheim immediately punished the missed opportunity. On a subsequent power play, Gauthier tricked the defense with a deceptive no-look shot to make it 2-0. Minutes later, Granlund set up Gauthier for his second goal of the night, exposing Pittsburgh’s defensive structure to extend Anaheim’s lead to 3-0 before the second intermission.
Late Pittsburgh Push Falls Short
Anaheim widened the gap early in the third period on their third power-play goal of the evening. Following a tripping minor on Blake Lizotte, Luneau fired a long shot through traffic past Silovs to make it 4-0. Pittsburgh continued to fight back by aggressively pulling Silovs during late power plays to create 6-on-4 advantages.
The strategy initially paid off. Kris Letang scored his first goal of the season with a heavy slapshot from the high slot to cut the deficit to 4-1. Minutes later, with Silovs on the bench again during another power play, Crosby found Rickard Rakell for a quick goal, bringing Pittsburgh within two at 4-2 with over six minutes remaining.
However, Pittsburgh’s final push fell short. After pulling Silovs for a third time, an open shot was blocked by a Ducks defender near the goal line before Gauthier sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from distance to complete his hat trick.
Anaheim finished the night converting 3-of-4 power plays, while Pittsburgh went 2-of-5. Evgeni Malkin recorded two power-play assists for the Penguins, while Pittsburgh faceoff struggles on the penalty kill continued to prove costly. Pittsburgh wraps up its road trip on Wednesday night against the San Jose Sharks.
