Recap: Ducks Can't Complete Comeback in 7-4 Loss to Columbus

The Ducks erased a four-goal deficit in the second period but could not finish the job in the third, falling 7-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Honda Center.

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The loss dropped Anaheim to 20-34-2 on the season and denied the Ducks a third straight season sweep of the Blue Jackets.

Mason McTavish scored twice for the Ducks, part of a four-goal second period outburst spanning less than 11 minutes. Troy Terry and Pavel Mintyukov tallied three points apiece. John Gibson made 20 saves.

Zach Werenski and Sean Kuraly each scored twice for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 18-27-10 on the season and finished their California road trip at 2-1-0. Yegor Chinakhov, Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner also scored. Daniil Tarasov earned the win in net, despite briefly leaving the game in the second period with an upper-body injury.

Columbus claimed an early lead in the first, getting a pair of quite fortunate bounces in tight to put the Ducks in a sudden hole despite a 10-7 advantage in shots for the home side.

The first came on a pinball situation in the Anaheim crease, as Gaudreau's shot off left wing first hit Gibson's mask and then both of Werenski's skates before bouncing over the line.

Gaudreau himself scored six minutes after the opening punch, capitalizing on an Anaheim turnover with a forehand move off the rush.

Gaudreau, now in his second year with the Blue Jackets, has found the scoresheet in seven of his last eight games - including three multi-point efforts. He leads the team in points and assists this season.

Werenski then scored again in the final two minutes of the initial period, banking a shot from behind the net off Gibson's skate and in for another tough luck goal against the Anaheim netminder.

The multi-goal night was the fifth of Werenski's NHL career, passing former teammate Seth Jones for the most by a Blue Jackets defenseman in franchise history. The 26-year-old is tied for 18th among NHL blueliners in scoring this season.

Columbus native Jack Roslovic extended his own scoring streak to four games with assists on both of Werenski's goals.

Kuraly kept the fun going for Columbus early in the second, finishing a centering pass from Alexandre Texier after a giveaway by the Anaheim net.

Now down 4-0 a few shifts into the second period, the Ducks suddenly came to life and completely controlled the remainder of the middle frame - orchestrating a wild comeback in a matter of minutes.

Terry put Anaheim on the boardway midway through the period on a remarkable individual effort, an end-to-end rush capped with a snap shot past Tarasov to the blocker side.

Terry has totaled eight points in his last four games and 18 points in his last 12 outings, tied for eighth in the NHL during that span. He now co-leads the team in scoring this season, leads in assists and is tied for second in goals. 

Frank Vatrano's assist was his 19th of the season, matching his career-high set last year. The All-Star winger also owns personal-best totals in goals, points, power-play goals, power-play points and shorthanded points. 

Vatrano has seven points in his last four games and has found the scoresheet in seven of his last eight.

The second of Anaheim's four-goal outburst then came on a freak accident in the Columbus crease. With the Ducks on the attack, defenseman Adam Boqvist's stick got caught in Tarasov's mask, injuring the netminder and allowing McTavish to quickly score on a mostly open net.

Tarasov left the game immediately after the goal, seemingly with an injury to his face, and returned for the start of the third period.

In the final minutes of the period, the sides would prep to skate 4-on-4 after consecutive penalties to Columbus captain Boone Jenner and Anaheim's Ryan Strome. But by the time the action would return to a normal 5-on-5 flow, the Ducks had already pulled even.

McTavish made it 4-3 with 1:11 to go before intermission, burying a backdoor pass by Terry on an odd-man rush.

McTavish's two goals on the night marked his third multi-point performance in the last four games. The 21-year-old centerman is now just five points shy of his rookie season total (43), with 27 games still to play.

Terry assisted on both of McTavish's goals, moving within two of his third consecutive 30-assist season.

Alex Killorn then scored on the next shift, also finding himself wide open on the backdoor for a tap-in goal, this one a brilliant setup feed by Leo Carlsson through a Columbus stick check.

Carlsson, who has helpers in four of his last seven games, moved into third among NHL rookies in points per game (.59) with the assist.

Mintyukov collected the secondary assist on each of Anaheim's final three goals in the second stanza, becoming the second NHL rookie blueliner to reach 20 assists this season. Among all first-year defenders, Mintyukov is third in points and second in even-strength points.

Mintyukov also became the sixth rookie defenseman in Ducks history with a three-assist game, joining a list that includes Cam Fowler and Oleg Tverdovsky.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, the comeback magic would end there as two Columbus third-period goals scored 49 seconds apart would seal a 7-4 victory for the visitors.

The Ducks return to action Saturday night against rival Kings in LA.