The Anaheim Ducks erased an early three-goal deficit on Sunday evening at Honda Center, scoring six unanswered goals to secure a 6-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators, as Ottawa Citizen reported.
Ottawa controlled the opening 20 minutes of play, building a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. Philip Tomasino got the Senators on the board six minutes into the contest when he redirected a shot from Thomas Chabot past Ducks goaltender Laurent Brossoit. Claude Giroux doubled Ottawa's lead just 62 seconds later at the 7:02 mark, beating Brossoit on the stick side. Michael Amadio extended the cushion to three goals at 17:37 of the first period after taking a pass from Giroux and finishing on a break. Drake Batherson also recorded an assist during the period, extending his point-scoring streak to eight consecutive games.
Despite facing early boos from the home crowd at the end of the first period, Anaheim turned the game around over the final two frames. The Ducks scored twice within 1:58 early in the second period to cut into the deficit. Cutter Gauthier ignited the comeback at 1:35 of the second period after Shane Pinto committed a turnover in the Ottawa zone. Gauthier picked up the loose puck, skated in alone, and beat Ottawa goaltender Jonas Johansson on the glove side.
Anaheim narrowed the margin to 3-2 shortly after, when Judd Caufield jammed a loose puck through a scramble in front of the net. The Ducks completed the second-period comeback with just 42 seconds remaining before the intermission. Operating on the power play, Caufield netted his second goal of the night by tipping a point shot from defenseman Tristan Luneau past Johansson to tie the score 3-3.
Anaheim took full control of the game in the third period, capitalizing heavily on special teams. Gauthier scored his second goal of the night at 1:50 of the third period during a 5-on-3 power play, sending a shot through Johansson's legs to give the Ducks their first lead of the contest. Just 36 seconds later, Gauthier completed a hat-trick on another man-advantage opportunity at 2:26, beating Johansson to make it 5-3.
In total, the Ducks converted four of their five power-play opportunities during the contest. Conversely, Ottawa failed to convert on any of its three power-play chances, which included a 5-on-3 situation. Ottawa currently ranks No. 29 in the National Hockey League on the power play.
The game grew physical in the final frame. Ottawa center Dylan Cozens was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct during the third period following a hit to the head of Anaheim's A.J. Greer. The play is subject to automatic review by the NHL department of player safety.
Johansson, who made his fourth start for Ottawa since Linus Ullmark suffered a lower-body strain on Oct. 21, surrendered six goals on 33 shots in the loss. On the other side, Brossoit earned the victory in his first NHL appearance since March 15, when he previously played for the San Jose Sharks. Brossoit allowed three goals on the first seven shots he faced before stopping the remaining attempts to seal the win.
The victory gave Anaheim a boost after entering the matchup with a 1-6-1 record over its previous eight games. Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville opted to start Brossoit after experiencing disappointment with recent performances from goaltenders Ville Husso and Lukas Dostal. Ottawa finished its swing through California with a 1-2-1 record, dropping to 0-4-0 this season when playing on the second night of back-to-back games.
