Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier will strive to continue his torrid run when the Ducks host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday evening.
Gauthier has 10 tallies in a five-game goals streak, including one goal in Anaheim’s 5-3 road win against the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Pittsburgh, which ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, is on a three-game West Coast swing with the second game of a back-to-back set.
“It was big,” Pittsburgh’s Declan Carlile told the Penguins Radio Network after Saturday’s victory. “The last stretch hasn’t been great, so we came out with a good mentality on this road trip. Can’t get three (wins) without one, so it was a good start.”
Sidney Crosby and Tommy Novak each scored two goals, and Evgeni Malkin had three assists for the Penguins, who had lost eight of their past 10 games (2-7-1). Sergei Murashov made 26 saves for his first win of the season.
Crosby moved into sixth place on the NHL’s career scoring list with 1,773 points (660 goals, 1,113 assists), passing Kings legend Marcel Dionne (1,771 points). Malkin (1,421 points on 539 goals, 882 assists) passed Adam Oates (1,420 points) for the 20th spot.
Pittsburgh led 3-1 after one period as Novak scored the fastest two goals (5:10) by a player to begin a game this season. He has four goals in his past four games.
“Some big goals from Tommy to get us going,” Crosby told SportsNet Pittsburgh on Saturday. “Hopefully gain a little confidence, a little boost. We get right back at it tomorrow, so it’s good for us, and we want to keep it rolling here.”
Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs is 1-1-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in three career games against the Ducks.
Against the Flames, Anaheim’s Gauthier broke a 3-3 tie with 1:34 remaining in the third period as the Ducks won their fourth straight game.
“Just keeping it simple and shooting the puck,” Gauthier said of his streak. “The more times you shoot the puck, the odds of it going in are more in your favor, so keep it pretty simple. Shoot it.”
He became the first Ducks player to score 10 goals in a five-game span and the seventh NHL player in 30 years to accomplish the feat.
Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, and Mikael Granlund and Beckett Sennecke each had two assists for the Ducks, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit. Ville Husso stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief of Lukas Dostal, who allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period.
The Ducks are 5-1-1 in their past seven games and have scored at least five goals in each of those outings.
Carlsson has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in a seven-game point streak, including six multi-point games.
“He’s been great the last 10 games,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He’s been possessed. Wants the puck all over the ice and making things happen.”
Carlsson has 10 multi-point efforts in 17 games this season.
Anaheim took both games from Pittsburgh last season. Chris Kreider, now with the Montreal Canadiens, had two goals and an assist in the Ducks’ 4-3 home win on Oct. 14, 2025. Husso made 44 saves as Anaheim won 4-3 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 9.
