ANAHEIM — The Ducks stepped into the ring with one of the NHL’s best and biggest teams and proved once again they could now go blow-for-blow with the heavyweights, though at the end of the night, they were the ones on the mat.
They fell to the Washington Capitals, 7-4, on Tuesday night at Honda Center in a seesaw affair that became the Caps’ fifth straight win, keeping them in a points tie with the Winnipeg Jets in the Presidents’ Trophy race.
Drew Helleson, Pavel Mintyukov and Frank Vatrano notched a goal and an assist apiece. Jacob Trouba also scored. Lukáš Dostál made 35 saves.
Washington’s Aliaksei Protas continued his breakout performance of 2024-25 with a hat trick. Former King Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and two assists. Dylan Strome, Nic Dowd and Anthony Beauvillier also scored. Alex Ovechkin didn’t add to his hot pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career NHL goals record (he remains nine goals from passing Gretzky’s mark of 894) but had three assists. Dubois had a goal and two assists., but he did chip in three assists. Tom Wilson and Brandon Duhaime each contributed two helpers. Logan Thompson stopped 26 shots.
The third period was a thriller with six goals.
Even before Protas scored his empty-netter, Beauvillier had iced the victory for Washington by way of a goal with 1:36 left.
Dowd had put the Capitals ahead after Leo Carlsson’s missed connection with Trouba in the neutral zone created an odd-man-rush goal, which proved to be the game-winner, for the Caps at 13:25.
Vatrano had knotted the score with a short-side snipe, 6:18 into the third period, giving him his third consecutive 20-goal season.
Early on, the two sides swapped goals in a 28-second span between Mintyukov’s flinger from the blue line through a Mason McTavish screen at 4:26 for the Ducks and Protas’ second goal of the night at 4:54. He was left unattended on the doorstep after cruising past a stationary Alex Killorn.
The middle frame saw the Capitals maintain territorial control and establish it on the scoreboard with the period’s only goal.
It could have been worse for the hosts, but Dostál stood tall and, at times, on his head. He made a glove save on Taylor Raddysh’s against-the grain shot, marked for the far post as Dostál moved toward the near one. His full, desperate extension allowed him to knock the puck down with his glove. He had robbed Raddysh in the first period as well on a deft deflection that defined high danger.
Dubois hastened a scoring pace that already had him on track for a career high after having the worst campaign as a pro just a year ago in Los Angeles. After being buried behind the net by Radko Gudas and Sam Colangelo, Dubois rose to his feet, circled in front and tipped the shot of another former King, Matt Roy, in for a goal.
The Capitals played imposingly for much of the first period, accumulating a 19-8 advantage in shots on goal, but a swarming spurt got the Ducks through 20 minutes tied at 2-all with each team holding a lead early.
With 1:46 showing on the clock, the Capitals tied the score after Dubois won a faceoff, leading to an Ovechkin shot attempt that was blocked by the skate of Radko Gudas. Gudas went to the ice in pain, at which point Protas pounced and rifled a shot past Dostál.
The Ducks had gone ahead 2-1 on Helleson’s fourth goal of the season, half of which have come in the past two games. Skilled forwards Carlsson and Trevor Zegras attacked the right circle before Zegras dished back to Helleson for a kneeling one-timer at the 5:20 mark.
They had equalized off Trouba’s first goal as a Duck. Troy Terry navigated the neutral zone and later received the puck back below the goal line from Frank Vatrano. Terry scanned the zone, spotting Trouba between the hash marks for a shot and then a follow-up bid, 29 seconds before Helleson’s tally.
Strome, the brother of Ducks center Ryan Strome, got the puck rolling with a goal just 2:07 after the opening faceoff. Ovechkin’s for Tom Wilson created a two-on-two rush with the Ducks scrambling, with Strome skating past the mark of Trevor Zegras.
More to come on this story.