Frank Vatrano scores twice as Ducks cruise to win over Sharks
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored twice in the first period and the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday.
Mason McTavish and Radko Gudas also scored, John Gibson made 25 saves and the Ducks ended a two-game losing streak and won for the seventh time in nine games.
Vatrano’s goals increased his team lead to 11 and gave him three multi-goal games to go along with hat tricks Oct. 15 at home against Carolina and Oct. 28 at Pittsburgh.
Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 40 saves. San Jose has lost two straight after getting its first two wins of the season following an 0-10-1 start.
San Jose dropped to 0-7 on the road and has totaled four goals away from home.
Vatrano’s initial goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead 4:49 into the game when he tipped a blast from Ilya Lyubushkin, sending the puck through the legs of Blackwood.
Kunin tied it with 6:55 remaining in the opening period. Tomas Hertl took a shot from close range that was saved by Gibson, with Kunin cleaning up the loose puck for his second of the season.
Vatrano put the Ducks back on top again with 1:38 left in the first when he fired a one-time blast off a pass from Cam Fowler and scored from the top of the right circle on the power play.
Anaheim delivered again on the power play at with 1:52 left in the third for a 3-1 advantage. McTavish charged the Sharks’ goal and flipped a shot past Blackwood off a pass from rookie Leo Carlsson for his seventh of the season.
Anaheim has 10 power-play goals in its last seven games.
Just 49 seconds later the Ducks took a 4-1 lead when Gudas fired a shot from the right point. The puck deflected high in the air off the stick of San Jose’s Mike Hoffman and over the head of Blackwood into the Sharks’ goal for Gudas’ second of the season.
The Ducks were without forward Trevor Zegras (lower body) for the second consecutive game, while the Sharks were missing forward Anthony Duclair (illness) for the second contest in a row.
UP NEXT
Sharks: Host Florida on Tuesday night.
Ducks: At Nashville on Tuesday night.
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