ANAHEIM — Cutter is sharp, and so are the Ducks.
With his first career NHL hat trick on Tuesday night, 21-year-old Cutter Gauthier helped the Ducks secure a second victory in eight days over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Following up on a shootout win on the road last week, the Ducks pulled away from the Panthers for a 7-3 win, sweeping a three-game homestand at the Honda Center to make it four straight wins for Coach Joel Quennville’s upstart group.
The Ducks (8-3-1, 17 points) lead the Pacific Division for the first time since Dec. 18, 2021.
Spurred on by Gauthier and fellow Swede Leo Carlsson, the talented duo put the Ducks in front 3:09 after the puck dropped.
At even strength, Gauthier hopped on the ice and Carlsson sprung him on a breakaway. From the slot, his slap shot beat Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky between the legs.
For both forwards, the sequence gave them points in seven straight games, a career best for Gauthier who is now tied for the NHL lead with 10 goals.
Florida struck back midway through the first period when Brad Marchand, who missed the previous encounter with the Ducks, finished a breakaway over goalkeeper Lukas Dostal’s left shoulder.
The Ducks regained the advantage on their third power play of the opening period.
Just 11 seconds after Carter Verhaeghe was sent to the penalty box for slashing, Gauthier received a perfect cross-ice pass from Troy Terry and blasted home a one-time slap shot.
The back-and-forth persisted into the second period when Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues got the inside track on defenseman Jack Trouba and was free to fire in the Ducks’ zone off a quality assist from Mackie Samoskevich. The Canadian’s wrist shot leveled the score at 2-2. Rodrigues’ third goal of the season at 5:21 was good for his 99th career goal.
Florida broke the tit-for-tat on the power play at 10:37, making it 3-2 when Eetu Luostarinen converted a holding penalty on Alex Killorn into his second goal of the season thanks to assist No. 7 from Rodrigues.
The Ducks leaned on Gauthier, who managed his first four-point game, to even the score at 15:36.
With a man advantage after Anton Lundell was pinged for slashing, the Ducks methodically worked the puck around and drew a mixed reaction from the crowd at Honda Center until Gauthier sealed his hat trick. Jackson LaCombe and Carlsson added to their points tally when Gauthier made good on a snap shot from the right circle.
Like the Panthers earlier in the period, the Ducks connected on consecutive goals and retook the lead, 4-3, at 17:19.
A furious sequence in front of Bobrovsky produced Nikita Nesterenko’s first goal of the season after Alex Killorn started the sequence with a shot that was saved but spilled in front of the net.
A spate of penalties on both sides made the final period last longer than usual, and a trio of goals from the Ducks – Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider and Jansen Harkins – killed off the Panthers (6-6-1, 13 points) during a dominant third period.
The two sides each had 19 shots on goal after two periods. The Ducks ended their evening with 32 to Florida’s 21.
More to come on this story.