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McTavish, Killorn star as Ducks bury Penguins to end skid

January 24, 2025

ANAHEIM — The fledgling Ducks soared above perhaps the most established core in the NHL, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, for a 5-1 victory on Thursday night at Honda Center.

The Ducks had lost four straight games and seven of eight entering the matchup, while the Penguins were coming off Monday’s 5-1 manhandling of the Kings, although Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said they didn’t have “the same conviction” on Thursday.

Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each burst out of their respective scoring funks with two-goal efforts, and Frank Vatrano also tallied. Troy Terry contributed two assists to extend his team scoring lead and match Thursday’s output from Jacob Trouba. Pittsburgh native John Gibson turned in an inspired performance, making 31 saves.

Michael Bunting deposited a power-play goal for Pittsburgh. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29 of 33 shots he faced.

After shaking off a sluggish start, the Ducks struck twice in the first period, turned in a sound second despite surrendering a power-play goal and then pulled away with another pair of even-strength goals and an empty-netter to cement their victory. They got at least one goal from three different forward lines, scoring five or more goals for just the sixth time this season.

“We have had a tough time scoring, so to get five was nice and to have every line contributing was great,” Killorn said. “Great game, (Gibson) played well. We scored when we had to.”

Early in the third period, a wild sequence saw the two sides trade sterling chances before the Ducks cushioned their lead off McTavish’s second goal of the evening.

First, Cody Glass tested Gibson’s glove with a shot from the slot, before the Ducks went the other way and nearly created a backdoor tap-in for Vatrano.

But after Brian Dumoulin’s dump-in took a fortuitous hop off the end boards and into the slot, McTavish glided into the puck and dazzled with his dangles, working a frazzled Nedeljkovic out of position to sweep in his ninth goal of 2024-25. The Ducks led 3-1, just 2:06 into the final frame.

With 13:08 to play, Vatrano put the game in the refrigerator. A gassed Evgeni Malkin couldn’t catch up to a two-on-one rush on which Erik Karlsson failed to impede Terry’s cross-ice pass for Vatrano, setting up a forehand-to-backhand-to-forehand move that allowed him to tuck a shot inside the far post for his 13th goal of the campaign. Vatrano has more goals against Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay (11) than any other franchise.

McTavish nearly completed his first career hat trick into the empty net, but a last ditch effort by former Duck Rickard Rakell forced his one-handed shot attempt into the post. Instead it was Killorn scoring his second goal of the game and 10th of the season into the vacated cage with two minutes on the clock.

“It’s nice of them to support me like that,” said McTavish, who double-shifted late Thursday. “It would have been cool, but that’s just the way it goes. I’m just thankful to my teammates and the coaching staff for keeping me out there.”

Continuing one of their spurts this season during the second period, the Ducks seemed poised to put the Penguins in a three-goal hole, until Jackson LaCombe’s interference penalty gave Pittsburgh a power play.

The Ducks skirted calamity when Bryan Rust, who later exited the action due to an injury, pushed a rebound wide of an open net. But after the Penguins regrouped, Rust would earn the primary assist with a cross-crease pass to Bunting, with the duo having isolated and outnumbered Dumoulin. At the 5:32 mark of the second period, the Ducks had their lead sliced in half.

Vatrano nearly got that goal back with 11:31 remaining in the second period, but Nedeljkovic got a small piece of the puck. As the two-minute mark loomed, Radko Gudas’ broken stick created an odd-man rush for Pittsburgh. Crosby feathered a pass for Karlsson, but Gibson’s acrobatic left-pad save preserved the Ducks’ edge at the second intermission.

“I thought Gibby was outstanding. He made some huge saves,” Cronin said. “I’m happy for him and happy for the team.”

Though the Penguins controlled possession early by bottling the Ducks up with their forecheck, which Cronin conceded felt ominous, the Ducks responded with a flurry of their own and the game’s first goal, 9:28 into the match.

It was a grinding effort as Trouba’s point shot created a rebound that McTavish pushed to Robby Fabbri, whose diving followup generated yet another rebound while drawing Nedeljkovic into no man’s land, enabling McTavish to poke his first goal in seven games into an open net.

The Ducks would double their advantage with 59 seconds left in the first period. Killorn battled through two Penguins to track down Drew Helleson’s pass, fending off P.O. Joseph and former Duck Marcus Pettersson to send a laser past Nedeljkovic. It was Killorn’s first goal in eight games and his second in 17. The secondary assist for Trevor Zegras, who missed more than six weeks with a knee injury, was his first point since Nov. 27.

“You kind of go through these parts in the season where sometimes you’re playing well [but] you don’t produce. So, to get two tonight was great,” Killorn said. “Playing with (Zegras), he’s always able to open things up because he’s able to hold onto the puck and able to make that one play.”

The Ducks will face the Nashville Predators on Saturday to close their three-game homestand.

Orange County Register

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McTavish, Killorn star as Ducks bury Penguins to end skid

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