ANAHEIM, Calif. – With the Anaheim Ducks already in a bit of a hole, they dug even deeper, and somehow at the bottom, they rediscovered some of last season's comeback magic and pulled a win out of their hat.
After allowing six straight and a hat trick last game, Anaheim rebounded out of a 3-0 deficit and scored six straight of its own, including a Cutter Gauthier hat trick, and the Ducks closed the homestand with a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday at Honda Center.
Anaheim (6-7-1, 13 points) earned just its second home win in seven games in its own barn and has scored 24 goals in the last four games.
"Last year, we were experts in coming back in games," Joel Quenneville said of his group, which led the league in comeback victories last season. "This year, we've been more the other way. So, it's nice to come back and get the win. It felt a little bit more reassuring as we were doing than it did in recent games."
After trailing 3-0, Gauthier opened the Ducks scoring in the second period off an Ottawa turnover, and Judd Caulfield scored twice in the second period, including a power play deflection.
"I thought we came into the game very flat," Gauthier said. "No juice. It was really dead in the building. A lot of us woke up in the locker room coming into the intermission. We needed to punch back and got some life. We were able to get one quick. That got the crowd into it, and got the fans going, and got us going too."
Gauthier then scored in both phases of a five-on-three power play to open the third period to put Anaheim ahead. Roger McQueen added the Ducks' fourth power play goal of the night in the third period. Leo Carlsson collected three assists.
Philip Tomasino, Claude Giroux and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators in the first period.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 19 of 22 shots in his first start as a Duck and just his second NHL game in three seasons. Brossoit was called up from AHL San Diego on Saturday to start over the healthy regulars in Lukáš Dostál and Ville Husso in what Quenneville simply called "an opportunity."
"It happened pretty quick, so there's not much to say," Brossoit said of the call-up. "I've been around long enough that they know what I'm doing. Just brought me up and said here's an opportunity for you."
Brossoit took that opportunity for his first NHL win since 2024, and now, Quenneville says the Ducks will head into this next road trip carrying all three goaltenders."
"I was hoping it wouldn't take years in between wins, personally, but here we are," Brossoit said. "It feels amazing, no matter how you shake it up."
Jonas Johansson made 27 saves for the Senators.
Anaheim now heads out on a three-game Western Canada road trip, beginning in Vancouver on Tuesday.
The Ducks return home to host Pittsburgh next Sunday, where Anaheim will debut its Hometown Remix jersey. The sweaters for that league-wide alternate uniform initiative will be unveiled tomorrow morning.
"I just think that being comfortable and creating a standard we can progress from is what we want to build from," Quenneville said, "and not thinking that's good enough either.
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Anaheim had been in an extended defensive rut. The Ducks blew multi-goal leads in each of the two previous games on the homestand and had allowed 21 goals in its last four games, 29 goals in its last six games and 36 in the last eight games with a 1-6-1 record in that stretch.
Those numbers led Quenneville to phone in a wake-up call to his goaltenders and the five-man units in front of him by starting Brossoit. The 34-year-old played in just one NHL game last season and none the year before, but Brossoit had a solid start in AHL San Diego with a 2.56 goals against average and .910 save percentage in six games.
Despite the backdrop, it was far from a strong opening for Anaheim.
An eager Ducks defense tried to jump a cross-zone pass and left room for Thomas Chabot to step up and rip a shot off Philip Tomasino and in, 1-0, six minutes into the game.
Just 62 seconds later, Claude Giroux blazed down the right wing and rifled a second Ottawa goal, 2-0, on the Senators' fourth shot of the game.
With under three minutes remaining in the opening frame, Michael Amadio was sprung by Giroux and split the Anaheim defense on a breakaway, 3-0.
The Ducks were booed off the ice by the Honda Center crowd with just three goals allowed on seven shots.
"I think the first period we just gave up too many Grade A's," Caulfield said. "That can't really be happening for us to have success here. I thought it was great overall for us to show that resiliency"
Ottawa gifted the Ducks their own Grade A chance to open the comeback, as the Senators defense fumbled a puck in the slot. Gauthier pounced to give Anaheim and the Ducks crowd the spark it needed.
Two minutes later, it was Caulfield doing the dirty work around the net to create a rebound off a Noah Warren point shot, and Caulfield dug out the puck to cut the lead to just one, 3-2.
"There's just no panic in our game," Caulfield said. "We know that we're capable of making those comebacks. We just have to trust ourselves to make the plays and trust each other. We know we're a team and that's the only way we're going to get back in this is with each other."
Anaheim would pull level in the final minute of the second period, as Caulfield tipped in the Ducks' first power play goal of the night on a Tristan Luneau shot.
"That's as good as an example as you can set by getting rewarded by efficiency and what you've been doing," Quenneville said. "Judd made the team when we probably didn't envision him being there at the beginning of the year. Next thing you know he's on our power play and playing top line. He does all the little things well, and those things add up."
Anaheim carried power play time into the third period, and with 30 seconds left on the first opportunity, Ottawa took another penalty. Gauthier and the Ducks never looked back.
Gauthier smoothly snuck in a goal under Johansson on the five-on-three power play, and on the ensuing single-man advantage, Mikael Granlund went across ice to Carlsson, who sent the puck back across into Gauthier's wheelhouse for the one-timer, 5-3.
Gauthier collected his second career hat trick with his third multi-goal of the season, second consecutive following another two power play goals on Thursday.
"I think keeping it simple," Gauthier said of his current hot streak. "A lot of volume shooting. The more I get pucks on the net, if they're not going in, they're creating good opportunities for my teammates and creating chaos. When I'm thinking too much or not shooting the puck, it's normally not going in for me."
With five minutes remaining, McQueen put the icing on this one with his first career power play goal shooting through a Caulfield screen.
Game Notes:
This was Anaheim's first three-goal comeback win since 2024, and it was just the second time in franchise history the Ducks erased a three-goal deficit to win by three goals or more. The last time was in 1994 against the Hartford Whalers. (That's how you know it's been a while.)
Ducks posted a franchise record for points in a game from players 25 or younger (15 points - 6 goals, 9 assists).
Leo Carlsson put up his fourth consecutive multi-point game with his second straight three-assist night. Carlsson has 21 points in 14 games – a 126-point pace.
Jackson LaCombe extended his points streak and assist streak to six games. He has points in 12 of 14 games this season.
