Cutter Gauthier Hat Trick Lifts Ducks Past Senators

Cutter Gauthier snapped a sharp-angle shot past Jonas Johansson on a 5-on-3 power play at 1:50 of the third period to give the Anaheim Ducks the lead, then scored again 36 seconds later. That finished off his second career hat trick in a 6-3 comeback win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night at Honda Center, the AP reported.

The Ducks needed this one badly. Anaheim had won just once in its previous eight games before rallying from a three-goal hole, and now sits at 6-7-1. Ottawa drops to 9-6-1 and has lost three times on its five-game road trip.

From 3-0 Down to Running Away With It

The Senators came out flying. Thomas Chabot and Michael Amadio scored in the first period, Claude Giroux added another, and Ottawa built a 3-0 lead before the Ducks got going.

Anaheim rallied to tie it at 3 in the second period, and the power play did the rest. The Ducks went 4 for 5 with the man advantage, while Ottawa went 0 for 3. Gauthier logged 5:49 of power-play time and put five shots on goal, and he now has seven goals on the season.

The decisive sequence was all about discipline. Ottawa took the penalties that gave Anaheim a two-man advantage early in the third, and Gauthier made the Senators pay twice while Anaheim was still on the power play. For a Ducks team that came in with one win in eight games, seeing its young sniper take over a period like that is the kind of night that can turn a stretch around.

Judd Caulfield scored twice, rookie Roger McQueen added a goal and Leo Carlsson set up three goals. Anaheim outshot Ottawa 33-22.

A Debut in Net

Laurent Brossoit got the win in his Anaheim debut. He was recalled from AHL San Diego on Saturday, and this was just his second NHL game in three seasons. After Ottawa's third goal, he did not allow another.

On the other side, Johansson made 27 saves on 33 shots, but the Senators gave him little help on the penalty kill. Giroux finished with a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which watched a 3-0 lead turn into a three-goal loss.

Up Next and the Smacktok Lean

The Ducks visit the Canucks on Tuesday at 6 PM PT. The Senators play at Buffalo on Wednesday at 4:30 PM PT.

Our Smacktok lean: Gauthier is getting big power-play minutes and fired five shots on Sunday, so we'd lean higher on his shots on goal in Vancouver.