Gibson makes 42 saves, Ducks score 5 in win against Kraken

SEATTLE – John Gibson made 42 saves for the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-2 win against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday.

“Your goalie’s your best penalty killer, and he was terrific down the stretch there,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said.

Trevor Zegras, Cutter Gauthier and Alex Killorn each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (9-9-3), who lost the first game of a home-and-home with the Kraken 3-2 in Anaheim on Monday.

“I thought Cutter Gauthier was really good,” Cronin said. “He was skating the puck and obviously got rewarded with a goal and an assist.”

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen scored for the Kraken (11-11-1), who have lost two of their past three. Joey Daccord made 28 saves.

Three of Anaheim’s goals came after turnovers in Seattle’s defensive zone.

“I think that says it all,” Bjorkstrand said. “We’ve just got to bear down, make the right plays, get it out. I can’t go through the plays and what the mistakes were, but if we turn it over, just find a way to get over the blue or make a better play depending on the situation.”

Frank Vatrano gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 8:23 of the first period, finding a loose puck at the top of the crease, spinning, and sweeping it past Daccord’s right skate.

“They were a little harder around the walls, and they were a little harder around our net,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said. “The first goal was a result of that.”

Brett Leason pushed it to 2-0 at 12:43 with a snap shot from the left circle off a rush that tied up Daccord and squeezed under his right arm.

“We’re just playing super fast, playing north, we’re not messing around with it around the blue lines,” Gauthier said. “It’s very predictable that way, and when everything’s predictable, it’s an easy game, and I feel like we’ve been playing like that most recently.”

Tolvanen cut it to 2-1 at 16:34, taking a feed from Yanni Gourde at the top of the right circle and firing a wrist shot past Gibson’s blocker.

Bjorkstrand tied the game 2-2 at 8:58 of the second period with a one-timer from the slot after Shane Wright intercepted an Olen Zellweger breakout pass at the right half wall and found Bjorkstrand.

“I know [our line] got two nice goals, but I think we just have to still keep building the chemistry and build on this game,” Tolvanen said.

Killorn responded to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead 1:04 later. Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson turned the puck over to Zegras behind the net, who passed to Killorn for a one-timer at the bottom of the left circle.

Gauthier extended the lead to 4-2 with a power-play goal at 19:23, taking a pass from Pavel Mintyukov at the top of the right circle, cutting toward the slot, and sending a wrist shot through traffic over Daccord’s glove.

“I feel like me and Leason have been playing really well together every single time we’ve been on the ice,” Gauthier said. “We just find each other, and we’re reading off each other really well. It was nice to get a couple points tonight, obviously, and most importantly get the job done.”

Zegras gloved a loose puck out of the air, dropped it, and stuffed it past Daccord from just outside the crease for the 5-2 final at 13:55.

“It’s pretty simple for us,” Cronin said. “If you put pucks deep, you saw there was a physical style to the game, and then I thought we sustained it for the 60 minutes. And I’ve been saying all year when you get good sticks and you finish checks, that means you’re skating, and I thought we did a good job of that for 60 minutes.”

NOTES: Daccord’s .848 save percentage was his lowest of the season, and it was the first time this season he has allowed more than four goals in a game. … The Ducks scored first for the 14th time in 2024-25 to tie the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning for the second-most instances in the League. The Minnesota Wild (15) lead all teams. … Gibson remained undefeated in regulation this season, improving to 4-0-1.