Beckett Sennecke took the NHL’s rookie scoring lead with a goal and an assist for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, who bounced back from a 7-0 loss to Utah on Wednesday with a much better effort. Cutter Gauthier scored his 16th goal and Ross Johnston had a goal and an assist for Anaheim.
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Logan Thompson made 34 saves in a standout performance for the Caps, who took a point at each stop on their three-game road trip to California despite losing for just the second time in 11 games. Tom Wilson, Ethen Frank and Aliaksei Protas scored in regulation for the Caps, and Anthony Beauvillier scored in the shootout.
Ville Husso made 18 saves and saved Frank’s penalty shootout to end the game.
After Wilson scored his 17th goal from the slot midway through the first period, Gauthier tied it on a clever setup by Sennecke.
Frank scored on a rebound early in the second half. Johnston tied it 13 seconds later on a redirection of Radko Gudas’ shot for the fourth-line grinder’s second goal, but Protas scored on a big rebound moments later.
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Sennecke tied it again late in the second with a deflected shot for his eighth goal and 22nd point, both best among rookies.
Washington rookie Ryan Leonard did not return after his face was bloodied on a non-penalty check by Jacob Trouba in the first period.
Mikael Granlund returned after missing 18 of the Ducks’ previous 19 games due to a lower-body injury.
With Charlie Lindgren injured, Washington’s backup goaltender was Parker Milner, a 35-year-old retired minor league goaltender who occasionally practices with the Caps and who happened to show up on the trip.
Milner, a minor league teammate of Thompson’s, is now the food editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. Before warmups, the Caps gave Milner the traditional solo lap for players making their NHL debut.
Next
Capitals: Host Columbus on Sunday.
Ducks: Host Chicago on Sunday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL