Cutter Gauthier scores first career goal in Ducks’ win over Red Wings
Cutter Gauthier scored his first NHL goal to put the Ducks ahead with 8:51 to play as they rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.
Ross Johnston scored the Ducks’ fourth consecutive goal 38 seconds after Gauthier’s goal, and Ryan Strome added an empty-netter after Alex deBrincat scored for Detroit on a power play with 3:44 left.
Olen Zellweger had a goal and two assists, and Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry scored power-play goals for the Ducks.
Frank Vatrano’s goal late in the third brings the Ducks within one, but they can’t score again in loss to Vegas.
John Gibson stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, who won twice on their six-game homestand.
Austrian rookie Marco Kasper scored his first career goal for Detroit, which has lost three of four. Jonatan Berggren scored on a two-man advantage for Detroit, and Lucas Raymond also scored.
Alex Lyon made 23 saves.
Ducks forward Robby Fabbri didn’t get to face Detroit, his team for the previous five seasons, after having knee surgery Friday. Fabbri will be out for six to eight weeks, while defenseman Cam Fowler will be out for two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.
Takeaways
Red Wings: The 20-year-old Kasper finally broke through 19 months after his NHL debut with his first multi-point game. After spending last year in the AHL, the eighth overall pick in 2022 has stuck with Detroit this season despite a personal 10-game scoreless drought.
Ducks: Zellweger was outstanding in his second career multipoint game. Zegras’ goal was his second in 16 games.
Key moment: Gauthier finally found the net in his 17th game for Anaheim, which acquired the fifth overall pick in 2022 from Philadelphia in January.
Key stat: The Ducks’ two power-play goals matched their total in their previous six games combined. Anaheim began the night 31st in power-play percentage.
Up next: The Ducks are at Dallas on Monday night. The Red Wings visit Los Angeles on Saturday.
