How the Anaheim Ducks have momentarily pulled out of their early season tailspin

Don't look now Anaheim fans, but the Ducks are on a little bit of a heater, after holding on to a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. In a season that has not lived up to expectations so far and one that was beginning to slowly slip away, the Ducks have briefly righted the ship with consecutive wins. All it took was a historic achievement, a third-string goalie buoying a flawed goal crease, and a red hot powerplay. You know, easily repeatable stuff.

History made

To say Cutter Gauthier has been on a torrid goal scoring pace would be an understatement. Although his start to the 2026-27 season was rather subpar, especially for a player who received a sizeable extension during the offseason, Gauthier has reminded the rest of the league how dangerous he is as a sniper.

Not only was Gauthier responsible for 21.57% of Anaheim's expected goals in the win over the Canucks, but he notched back-to-back hat tricks in consecutive games for the Ducks, a franchise first. Gauthier also was the first player in NHL history to score multiple power play goals in three consecutive games.

Gauthier has scored 8 of his 10 goals in the last three games, catapulting him all the way up to 12th in the NHL. His 59 shots on goal put him at 8th place and back on track for another high-volume shot season.

The third-string buoy

In the Ducks' previous game against the Ottawa Senators, Laurent Brossoit was brought in to primarily to shake up the goaltending situation, as both Lukas Dostal and Ville Husso were underperforming. However, Brossoit not only helped Anaheim win that game, but earned himself another start in the goal crease against the Canucks. While his numbers were not exactly flattering, with an .826 save percentage and 4 goals against, Brossoit at least secured the win. On the whole, Brossoit's numbers are in line with his Anaheim counterparts, but he does have a better goals saved above expected than Husso with -1.3 versus -3.1. Brossoit may not usurp Dostal for the number one spot, but he has at least made a case to be the number two for Anaheim.

Red hot powerplay

The Ducks may not have their five-on-five play together, but when on the man advantage, they have been absolutely cooking. In the win over the Canucks, the Ducks converted on all 3 of their opportunities.

Not only have the Ducks converted on 11 of their previous 14 powerplay opportunities, but they are also first in the entire NHL with a 38% success rate. This current iteration of the Ducks is giving off Rangers-Esque vibes from a couple season ago, when a very potent powerplay carried a flawed team into the postseason. While there's still plenty of runway left for the Ducks to get their five-on-five play straightened out, leaning on a decided strength is not a bad tactic, until the rest of the lineup sorts out the kinks.

What's next?

The Ducks will continue their western Canadian road trip with back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, beginning on Thursday night. With consecutive wins under his belt, expect Brossoit to get at least one start in net and Dostal to get the other. The Ducks are finally at .500 for the season with a 7-7-1 record, but still 2 standings points short of a playoff spot. And with these next matchups being against Pacific Division foes, the next two games will have an extra added layer of importance. Plus, someone is still probably mad about how his last postseason ended.

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