The Ducks have been red hot lately. Coming off a successful East Coast skid, winning three of five games, the Ducks have now won five in a row, including impressive wins over the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars.
Anaheim was welcomed into the Honda Center on Tuesday as they finished off a three-game homestand against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Following a gritty shootout win in Miami a couple of weeks prior, the Ducks completed the sweep at home, winning 7-3.
Anaheim’s offense continued to shine bright against Florida, with forward Cutter Gauthier scoring his first NHL hat trick in a four-point game.
“It’s a pretty special night,” Gauthier said. “[The] Most important thing is we got the job done.”
Forward Nikita Nesterenko also netted a goal and an assist on the night, while forwards Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry joined in on the action with two assists each.
The Ducks also showed incredible resilience against Florida and overcame a 3-2 deficit in the second period with five consecutive goals.
“We’re super confident,” Gauthier said. “We have a lot of depth, guys buying in in this locker room. There’s no complaining.”
The Ducks then extended their winning streak on Thursday night when they bested the Stars 7-5.
Forward Chris Kreider continued an impeccable start to the season, scoring two goals. Kreider, a recent free agent signing by the Ducks, has quickly established himself as a stalwart name.
With captain and defenseman Radko Gudas still out of the lineup, rookie defenseman Ian Moore stepped up for Anaheim, scoring his first-ever NHL goal in Dallas.
“I saw we had some speed. [Forward Ryan Poehling] was flying through the neutral zone and [I] tried to support him,” Moore said of his goal. “He put it right on my tape and [I] tried to bat it on [the] net and see what happens.”
Head coach Joel Quenneville was thrilled with his team’s performance.
“It was a crazy game,” Quenneville said. “The production across the board, timely goals, getting the power play going, and a couple of nice plays.”
The Ducks’ defense struggled to stop the Stars for most of the game, however, continuing a poor defensive streak for the team.
The Stars’ offense received some help from the penalties the Ducks committed, a theme that is becoming quite common. Dallas scored three of their goals on power plays.
The Ducks will look to maintain their momentum and remain atop the Pacific Division standings as they head to Las Vegas on Saturday to play the second-place Golden Knights.