Ducks Rally Again and Win In OT

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Winnipeg Jets. Lukas Dostal was in net against Connor Hellebuyck.

The Jets got on the board just over one minute into this contest. Alex Iafallo scored from the right circle through traffic beating Dostal on his blocker side.

Ross Johnston and Luke Schenn dropped the gloves halfway through the period. Winnipeg held a 1-0 lead after the first period.

Gabriel Vilardi scored early in the second period on the power play to make it a 2-0 lead for the Jets. He scored a one-timer between the hash marks.

Jacob Trouba got Ducks on the board in the final minute of the second period with a slap shot through traffic. The Ducks were down 2-1 heading into the third period.

Elias Salomonsson scored in the opening minutes of the third to make it a 3-1 lead for Winnipeg. He scored from the a quick shot from the above the right circle. The whole play started with a turnover from Mason McTavish when he was clearly tripped and the officials didn’t call a penalty.

Anaheim got a power play early in the third period and Leo Carlsson scored to pull the Ducks back within one. He got to a rebound at the side of the net beating Hellebuyck before he could cover the puck.

Pavel Mintyukov then tied the game at three halfway through the period. He got to a rebound and scored from the left circle into the partially open net before Hellebuyck could recover.

The Jets had a power play and right after it expired Ryan Poehling got the puck on a rush and scored a filthy goal. He had Dylan Samberg draped over him and Poehling kept the puck away from him while shooting across his body for the score. He beat Hellebucyk glove side who committed to the short post to block the shot.

Winnipeg pulled their goalie with less than two minutes to go and they tied up the game. Kyle Connor scored on a one-time from the right circle to make it a 4-4 game and force overtime.

In the extra session both teams had chances to end it, but in the final seconds it would be the Ducks who would prevail. Beckett Sennecke skated in the slot and passed the puck to Chris Kreider at the side of the net. The puck hit Kreider’s skate and he then slammed it home behind Hellebuyck who had come out to the top of the crease to cover Sennecke.

Analysis:

The Ducks rallied down 2-0 and 3-1 to eventually pull out a 5-4 win in overtime. Anaheim did not play well in the first two periods, but they got some momentum with Trouba’s goal at the end of the second period. Things looked bleak when the Jets answered early in the third with another goal to back up by two, but the Ducks never gave up. Anaheim was able to score three straight times and looked like they might win in regulation until the Jets tied it up late. In overtime it looked like the game would go to a shootout, but a nice move by Sennecke and the finish by Kreider gave the Ducks the win and two much needed points.

In the first two periods Hellebuyck was in Olympic form stopping 23 of 24 shots on goal by Anaheim. The Ducks were able to break through multiple times in the third period due to some rebound goals and a fantastic play by Poehling on the rush. When a goalie is on his game, rebounds and shots through traffic are usually the best scoring options for the opposing team. The Ducks scored three of their four goals in regulation in those fashions.

Sennecke had himself a night with three assists. He assisted on the first two goals on the third period which brought the game to a 3-3 tie. He then made the biggest play in the overtime bringing the puck into the slot and finding Kreider at the side of the net for the game winner.

Like the game on Wednesday night, the Anaheim goals all came from different players. Five players each scored a goal for the Ducks. They got two big goals from defensive players, Trouba and Mintyukov. It’s difficult for opposing teams to win when you can get scoring up and down the entire lineup.

One thing the Ducks do need to work on is how they started their games recently. They were down 4-2 to Edmonton and Winnipeg 2-1 both respectively at the end of each second period. It’s great to see them rally both times, but it would also be great to see them get a lead early on. It is thrilling to see the comeback kids, especially in person, but getting behind early by multiple goals is playing with fire especially come playoff time.

Team Stats/Notes:

The Ducks recorded consecutive multi-goal third period comebacks for the second time in franchise history.

They went undefeated in February going 4-0-0.

Carlsson became the third Ducks player to post multiple 20-goal season before age 22, joining Cutter Gauthier and Trevor Zegras.

Sennecke became the 5th rookie forward to post a three-assist game.

Ryan Strome was scratched due to being “under the weather” according to Head Coach Joel Quenneville.

Troy Terry has been dealing with an upper-body injury.

Mikael Granlund has an upper-body injury and should be back soon.

Frank Vatrano has been skating and is close to returning.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Calgary Flames Sunday at 5 PM.

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February 28th, 2026