4-goal second period leads Ducks past Penguins

[January 18, 2018]  Scoring a season-high four goals in the second period Wednesday night, the Anaheim Ducks dumped the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Rickard Rakell, Adam Henrique, Chris Wagner and Ondrej Kase potted the game-deciding markers for Anaheim, which moved within two points of a Western Conference wild-card playoff spot. John Gibson earned the win in net with 30 saves.

Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm sealed the verdict with his seventh goal, an empty-netter with one second to play.

Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel scored goals for Pittsburgh, which started its three-game California road trip with a thud after winning its previous four games. Goalie Tristan Jarry took the loss, stopping 28 of 32 shots.

The Ducks owned a territorial edge in the first period, although the Penguins broke the scoring seal at 18:26 after forcing a turnover in the right corner. Patric Hornqvist fed Malkin in the right circle, and the center zipped a wrister by Gibson for his 20th goal.

That lead didn't last long. Rakell equalized at 4:17 of the second period with his 16th goal. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin fired a point blast that Rakell tipped past Jarry to start the Ducks' explosion.

Henrique gave Anaheim the lead for good at just 1:25 later. Jarry saved the first shot and then stuffed a backhand try by Kase, but Henrique picked up the next rebound, skated around the net and scored his 10th marker on a wraparound.

Wagner's short-handed tally made it 3-1 at 9:24 of the middle period. Off a Pittsburgh turnover in the neutral zone, Wagner got a breakaway and slipped the puck between Jarry's pads for his sixth goal of the season.

Kase finished off the big period with his 12th goal at 18:28. After blocking a point shot, Kase collected the loose puck for a breakaway, finishing with a backhander over Jarry.

The Penguins used the man advantage to get back into contention in the third period. Kessel wired a wrister from the right circle at 8:35 for his 21st goal, and Guentzel bagged his 14th marker at 14:06 with a short-side wrister from the left circle.

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Anaheim's Cam Fowler each notched two assists.

--Field Level Media

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