ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored his 25th goal and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Tuesday night to win their final game before the Olympic break.
Jacob Trouba, Alex Killorn and Ross Johnston also scored as the resurgent Ducks built a 4-0 cushion before fending off a late Seattle push. They’ve won nine of 11 following a nine-game losing streak (0-8-1).
Anaheim climbed within one point of the Pacific Division lead and moved two ahead of the Kraken for third place. Seattle, which had won four in a row and five of six, holds a game in hand over the Ducks.
Lukas Dostal was 4 1/2 minutes from Anaheim’s first shutout in 137 games when Jordan Eberle redirected Jared McCann’s slap shot in front for his team-high 20th goal.
A giveaway by Dostal led to another Kraken goal when a pinballing puck caromed in off Shane Wright to make it 4-2 with 2:31 left.
Dostal was forced to make several more stops and Chandler Stephenson rang a shot off the post for Seattle before time expired. Dostal finished with 26 saves.
Jansen Harkins and defenseman Jackson LaCombe each had two assists for Anaheim, which improved to 17-8-1 at home. Those were the first two assists for Harkins this season to go with his three goals in 31 games.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots for the Kraken.
Gauthier opened the scoring at 4:01 of the second period on a snap shot from the top of the right circle just as a Ducks power play expired. Trouba made it 2-0 when the defenseman fired a hard slap shot from the right point with 32.8 seconds left in the period.
Killorn scored from a sharp angle 24 seconds into the third, and Johnston made it 4-0 at 13:54.
Anaheim’s streak without a shutout is the longest active drought for any NHL team. The last time the Ducks blanked an opponent came when Dostal made 26 saves in a 2-0 victory at San Jose for their lone shutout last season on Oct. 12, 2024.
Up next
Kraken: Play at Los Angeles on Wednesday night to conclude a three-game trip heading into the Olympic break.
Ducks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 25 in their first game following the break.
