Recap: Ducks Offense Comes Alive in Preseason Win over Utah

All three members of Anaheim's top line found the back of the net, powering the Ducks to a 5-2 preseason victory over the Utah Hockey Club tonight at Honda Center.

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With the win, Anaheim improved to 2-2-1 in the preseason with one exhibition game still to play Friday in San Jose.

Anaheim's trio of Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn led the way offensively, combining for six points in their second outing of the preseason. Brock McGinn and Robby Fabbri also scored. Jackson LaCombe, Radko Gudas, Nathan Gaucher, Tristan Luneau and Nikita Nesterenko earned assists, as a total of 11 Ducks collected a point.

Lukas Dostal, who will be Anaheim's top goaltender to begin the season in the absence of the injured John Gibson, turned in a strong night in net with saves on 35-of-37 Utah shots.

Kailer Yamamoto and former Duck Andrew Agozzino scored for Utah, which fell to 4-2-0 in the preseason. Utah will return to Honda Center for Anaheim's home opener on Oct. 16. Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves.

Killorn opened the scoring for Anaheim midway through the first period with a power-play goal, getting inside positioning in the low slot and tipping LaCombe's point shot past Vejmelka to the glove side.

LaCombe has assists in each of his first two preseason appearances.

Now entering his second season in Anaheim, Killorn scored 18 goals in 63 games last year, including five power-play tallies.

The Ducks have now scored five power-play goals in as many preseason contests.

Yamamoto tied the game for Utah with five minutes to go in the opening period on a goal a lot like Killorn's, a redirection of Josh Doan's point shot while fighting off a check from Anaheim's Mason McTavish.

The son of former Coyote Shane Doan, the younger Doan made his NHL debut last season, collecting 5-4=9 points in 11 games.

McGinn restored the lead for the home side early in the middle frame. After consecutive long shifts in the offensive zone for Anaheim, McGinn darted to the slot and connected with Gaucher, chipping the young's forwards centering pass just inside the post.

The 20-year-old Gaucher, a 2022 first-round pick, tallied 10-15=25 points with San Diego last season, his first professional campaign. Limited by a lower-body injury at the start of camp, Gaucher centered a line with veteran wingers McGinn and Ross Johnston, finishing his preseason debut with a +1 rating, four hits and one blocked shot in 13:30 of ice-time.

Anaheim's lead would jump to three in the opening minutes of the third, when a 4-on-4 situation saw the Ducks take full control via two goals 50 seconds apart.

The first came on a crisp connection from Carlsson to Gauthier, a cross-seam one-timer that the rookie winger buried past the lunging Vejmelka and a possible glimpse into the future for Ducks fans.

Carlsson has collected 2-2=4 points in two exhibition appearances.

Fabbri scored on the next shift, converting a perfectly placed backdoor pass from Luneau off the rush.

Acquired from Detroit in July, Fabbri has found the scoresheet in each of his first two preseason appearances. The 28-year-old joins Anaheim two goals shy of 100 for his NHL career after a career-tying 18 last year as a Red Wing.

Agozzino, who appeared in eight games for Anaheim across two seasons (2019-20) and last year played in all 72 games for AHL San Diego, brought Utah back within two with a netfront tap-in of Liam O'Brien's pass from behind the net.

Carlsson capped the scoring with eight minutes to play on another tipped shot, this one a high-to-low redirection off Killorn's point shot that snuck underneath Vejmelka.

The Ducks conclude the 2024 preseason Friday night in San Jose. A live stream of the game will be available on AnaheimDucks.com and the Ducks screen of the NHL/Ducks app shortly prior to puck drop.