Ducks continue dramatic giant-killer streak, beat league-leading Jets in OT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Anaheim Ducks have taken on a “giant-killer” persona with a flair for the dramatic, as the Ducks completed another late comeback against the league’s best on Thursday.

Just 54 seconds after the Winnipeg Jets' go-ahead marker, Radko Gudas tied the game with 1:50 to play, and Troy Terry netted the game-winner in overtime to knock off the league-leading Jets, 4-3, at Canada Life Centre.

“It wasn’t perfect all the time,” Terry said on the Victory+ broadcast, “but that was a character win against a really good team in their building. Can’t say enough things about (John Gibson) in net. I’m petitioning for him to get an assist on that goal.”

Gibson indeed earned the assist on Terry’s overtime winner in addition to 27 saves in the victory, including a breakaway stop one minute prior to Terry’s strike.

Terry scored two goals in the game for four goals in a four-game point streak. Ducks captain Gudas assisted on a Leo Carlsson tip-in late in the first period. Anaheim blocked 22 shots. Winnipeg blocked nine.

Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry put Winnipeg up 2-0 in the first period, and Alex Iafallo scored the go-ahead strike for the Jets with 2:44 remaining in the third period. 

Connor Hellebuyck, who leads the NHL in goalie wins, shutouts, save percentage and goals against average, made 20 saves in the loss.

Anaheim is 15-0-1 when scoring three or more goals this season and collected its fourth multi-goal comeback victory this season, tied for second-most in the NHL.

“I think we have a group that refuses to quit,” Gudas said. “We work hard. We trust the process, and I think everybody is working hard trying to do their best. Nobody is quitting and that’s a great thing to have on the team coming into the third periods.”

The Ducks (16-17-4, 36 points) have won three games in a row defeating the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers, the East-leading New Jersey Devils and league-leading Jets (27-11-2, 56 points). 

Anaheim has won six of its last nine games, with five go-ahead or game-winning third-period goals and a game-tying third-period goal ahead of a shootout win.

“I think the difference this year is maybe when we go down a goal with two minutes left is having a bit more swagger and confidence that we’re okay,” Terry said. “We can still get one and tie this up. No matter where the game is at just having that kind of confidence in the group that we can pull it out.”

Anaheim travels to Edmonton tomorrow. The Ducks erased a two-goal deficit with four straight goals in a win over the Oilers, 5-3, on Sunday at Honda Center.

Winnipeg’s forecheck got to work 33 seconds into the game.

Radko Gudas was slow to control and move a puck in the corner, and Gabriel Vilardi pressured the Ducks captain for the turnover. With Jackson LaCombe encroaching for support, Vilardi fed Kyle Connor in the vacated slot, and Connor tapped to Scheifele for the opening score, 1-0.

The Jets doubled their lead on a two-on-one break late in the first period.

Drew Helleson jumped up in the play, anticipating a board battle, but Josh Morrissey’s outlet pass from behind the net bounced off the boards to a streaking Alex Iafallo in the neutral zone. Iafallo and Lowry beat Pavel Mintyukov in the footrace, and Lowry finished for the two-goal lead, 2-0.

Anaheim got on the board two minutes later.

Alex Killorn fed Gudas at the right point, and Carlsson chopped at a Gudas’ shot to deflect the puck off Hellebuyck’s glove-side post and in, 1-1, with 1:02 remaining in the period. The Ducks’ opening tally was Carlsson’s first goal in six games.

The 20-year-old Swede became the youngest player in Ducks history to reach 20 career NHL goals beating out teammate Mason McTavish by 250 days.

The Ducks generated limited opportunities in the second period, but their leading scorer potted one of just four shots on goal in the frame to even it up.

Brian Dumoulin kept the puck alive in a one-on-two board battle at the top of the zone, and Ryan Strome swooped in for possession. Strome quickly fed Terry, who released the puck even quicker for the equalizer, 2-2.

It was Terry’s third goal in four games to extend a four-game point streak for himself and a three-game point streak for Strome.

Winnipeg controlled the rest of the middle sector with a strong forecheck and two power plays. Gibson stopped all 12 Jets shots, including four from the NHL’s top-rated power play unit. At five-on-five in the second period, Winnipeg earned the edge in shot attempts (21-8), scoring chances (9-4) and high-danger chances (3-0).

The Jets continued to hold that edge through the third period and thought they grabbed the game-winner with 2:44 to play.

Nino Neiderreiter shot the puck wide left, and Iafallo found the puck behind the net. Both Helleson and Mintyukov were tied up with their forwards in the slot, which allowed Iafallo to retrieve the puck for the wraparound, 3-2.

Anaheim’s late third-period magic struck again less than a minute later.

With Gibson pulled for the extra attacker, Gudas unleashed a bomb from the point around a Jacob Trouba screen to equalize, 3-3, with 1:50 to play.

“Usually I don’t get out there on six-on-five,” Gudas said. “When I got out there, I saw there was no goalie, so I just decided to shoot it. I saw (Trouba) in front of the net, and they gave me a nice pass for a one-timer, and I was going to use it.”

Both teams were controlled in the overtime session, but two breaks determined the outcome.

Nicolaj Ehlers had the game on his stick for Winnipeg with a breakaway, but Gibson held strong to deny the attack.

At the other end, Terry and Strome broke on a two-on-one, and Terry elected to shoot the puck himself for the game-winner.

Game Notes

• Anaheim defenseman Olen Zellweger was a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game, as the Ducks ran with the same line-up as their back-to-back wins over Edmonton and New Jersey. Pavel Mintyukov again took his spot in the line-up.

• With his 20th goal in his 86th career game, Carlsson became the sixth-fastest to reach the mark in Ducks history behind Paul Kariya (49 games), Bobby Ryan (54 games), Dustin Penner (64 games), Ryan Getzlaf (73 games) and Maxime Comtois (84 games).

• Gibson’s overtime assist was the seventh assist in his NHL career, passing him for second all-time among Ducks goaltenders passing Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Jonas Hiller holds the all-time Anaheim mark with eight.