The Ducks have reached the season’s final five games, tonight capping off a brief homestand with a rematch against the division rival Calgary Flames at Honda Center.
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Anaheim kicked off the season’s final multi-game homestand with a 3-2 win over the playoff-bound Edmonton Oilers Monday night, backed by two goals from Cutter Gauthier and 45 saves from Lukas Dostal. The win was Anaheim’s third in four games over Edmonton this season and its fourth victory in the last five games on home ice.
“I think we played a little more simple than we did the last couple games,” Gauthier said. “Playing north and playing fast is our identity, with lots of skill, and the more times we can utilize that, especially in front of our home crowd, the better for us.”
“We won the game because of the penalty kill, led by our goalie who was the best player on the ice,” head coach Greg Cronin added.
Highlights from Anaheim’s 3-2 win over Edmonton at Honda Center
The Ducks young core had its fingerprints all over the win, highlighted by Dostal’s stellar night in net and goals from Gauthier and Mason McTavish set up by Leo Carlsson and Trevor Zegras.
“Dostal is consummate professional,” Cronin said. “He works out. He prepares. On off days, he comes in, stretches and meets with the medical staff to make sure he’s good to go. He’s a personification of the ideal athlete that you want to coach. He’s low maintenance. He’s got high standards that he measures himself by on a daily basis…I think he has the ability to play a lot of games.”
“He’s been our best player all season long day-in and day-out,” Gauthier said. “With [John Gibson] and the injuries he’s facing, Dos has had to step up and play a lot. Every single night he’s been in for us he’s done one heck of a job. Every time we make a mistake we’re super happy and super fortunate he’s on our side.”
Cutter Gauthier, Lukas Dostal on Ducks win over Oilers
Gauthier gave the Ducks the lead in the second period with his 16th and 17th goals of his rookie campaign. Now with 15 points and a +10 rating in his last 18 games, Gauthier also became the seventh Ducks rookie in franchise history to reach 40 points in his first NHL season.
“Both goals were elite goal-scoring goals and the second one, you know, the one-on-one when he blew by the D and was able to hit the brakes and backhand shelf, that’s a high-end skill play,” Cronin said. “You get a window into what those two [Gauthier and Carlsson] could look like when they mature and they physically develop, but the more Cutter gets confident, manipulating defensmen and driving
wide, I think you’re going to see his goals and his points go up.”
The win over Edmonton pushed Anaheim to 34-35-8 on the season with five games left to play. The Ducks are on pace for a 22-point improvement in the standings, the second-biggest rise in the NHL this season.
Anaheim now gets the chance to play spoiler against a divisional foe hoping to make a late charge at a playoff spot, as Calgary visits town in a must-win situation. The Flames sit four points back of the Minnesota Wild for for the Western Conference’s final Wild Card position, with one game-in-hand.
“We’re fighting for our life every day right now,” Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf said. “We can’t really lose any hockey games going forward, so obviously this was a great start to the trip. We want to have a better start, but we found a way to get two points.’
Calgary has earned wins in each of the first three meetings this season with Anaheim, including a 4-1 victory last week in Alberta.
