Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each scored two goals and John Gibson made 31 saves as the host Anaheim Ducks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
Frank Vatrano also scored and Troy Terry and Jacob Trouba each added two assists for Anaheim, which improved to 18-0-2 when scoring three or more goals in a game. McTavish just missed scoring a hat trick when his one-armed empty-net try hit the post.
It was the 201st career win for Pittsburgh native Gibson, who snapped a personal five-game (0-4-1) losing streak with his first win since Jan. 5 against Tampa Bay.
Michael Bunting scored a goal and Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 29 saves for the Penguins.
Anaheim, shut out in three of its six previous games, jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 9:28 mark of the first period. McTavish put in a rebound of Robby Fabbri's shot into an open net past a sprawling Nedeljkovi during a goal-mouth scramble.
The Ducks extended the lead to 2-0 with 59 seconds left in the period. Killorn deked defenseman P.O. Joseph near the blue line and then fired a wrist shot inside the far post.
Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the second period on Bunting's team-leading ninth power-play goal -- a one-timer near the right post off a crossing pass from Bryan Rust.
Anaheim extended its lead to two goals early in the third period when Terry's dump-in into the Penguins' zone took a crazy carom off the corner glass straight to McTavish coming down the slot. McTavish scooped up the puck and then wrapped a shot around Nedeljkovic's right pad.
Vatrano made it 4-1 at the 6:52 mark with a wrist shot inside the far post off a crossing pass from Ryan Strome.
The Penguins pulled Nedeljkovic for an extra attacker with 5:37 remaining, and Killorn sealed the win with a length-of-the-ice empty-netter with two minutes to go.
--Field Level Media
Pittsburgh | Anaheim | |
Michael Bunting 1 | Points | Alex Killorn 2 |
Michael Bunting 1 | Goals | Alex Killorn 2 |
Rickard Rakell 1 | Assists | Troy Terry 2 |
Michael Bunting 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Alex Nedeljkovic .879 | Save Percentage | John Gibson .969 |
Alex Nedeljkovic 29 | Saves | John Gibson 31 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh | 32 | 1 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 8 | 35 |
Anaheim | 34 | 5 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 10 | 26 |