Cutter Gauthier scored at 3:57 of overtime as the Anaheim Ducks rallied for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.
Gautier, who earlier had an assist, intercepted a pass by Mitch Marner in the low slot and then spun around and fired a wrist shot through the pads of Vegas goalie Akira Schmid for the game-winner and his team-leading 13th goal.
Jackson LaCombe and Troy Terry each had a goal and an assist, and Olen Zellweger also scored for Anaheim, which moved two points ahead of both Vegas and Seattle into first place in the Pacific Division. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for the Ducks.
Shea Theodore, Braeden Bowman and Tomas Hertl scored goals and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which fell to 1-7 in overtime or a shootout while extending its point streak to six games. Schmid finished with 29 saves.
The contest featured a wild start with four goals scored on the first eight shots in the first 8:17 of action.
Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two goals in a 72-second span. Theodore got the first at the 3:25 mark with a point shot through traffic that clanged in off the left post. Rookie Bowman followed with his fourth goal in six NHL games, backhanding in a rebound of his own shot from in front of the crease.
Anaheim rallied to tie it, 2-2, with two goals in 34 seconds. LaCombe got the first with a one-timer from above the right circle into the top far left corner of the net. Zellweger then ripped a wrist shot past teammate Chris Kreider’s screen and past Schmid’s glove side.
The Golden Knights regained the lead, 3-2, near the end of the period on a power-play goal when Eichel’s shot from the high slot caromed in off the glove of Hertl.
Terry tied it midway through the second period when he took a crossing pass from Leo Carlsson on an odd-man rush and fired a wrist shot past Schmid’s blocker side.
The Ducks dominated possession in overtime and Terry nearly won it at the 2:24 mark, but his shot caromed off the crossbar — setting the stage for Gauthier’s game-winner.
–Field Level Media
