{"id":139097,"date":"2026-01-18T16:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/139097\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T16:51:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:51:33","slug":"ducks-scrap-back-beat-kings-in-shootout-to-secure-first-win-of-critical-stretch-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/139097\/","title":{"rendered":"Ducks scrap back, beat Kings in shootout to secure first win of critical stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2013 It was the first \u201cmost critical game of the season\u201d in a string of \u201cmost critical games of the season\u201d leading into the Olympic break for the Anaheim Ducks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anaheim finally snapped a nine-game losing skid last time out, but in the first of a back-to-back against the rival Los Angeles Kings, the Ducks were once again without their top-two scorers\u2013Leo Carlsson is out 3-5 weeks<\/a> after a thigh procedure and Troy Terry was retroactively put on injured reserve\u2013and Chris Kreider, who was a game-time decision with an illness.<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, the Ducks fell behind 2-0 on a pair of transition goals\u2013something that plagued Anaheim through that nine-game skid\u2013against a Kings team specifically designed and inclined to clog up games and drag offenses into the mud.<\/p>\n

So, what were the Ducks to do? Well, persevere, of course.<\/p>\n

Veteran Ryan Strome netted his first goal in a month and rookie Tim Washe grinded out his first career NHL goal to tie it up heading into the third period. After the game predictably went to overtime, Beckett Sennecke and Mason McTavish scored in the shoot to support Luk\u00e1\u0161 Dost\u00e1l\u2019s two saves, as the Ducks took the tiebreaker and the game, 3-2, on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

Anaheim earned its league-leading sixth multi-goal comeback victory and its first comeback victory since Dec. 9 in Pittsburgh. The Ducks are fourth in the league in comeback victories (12) and are 5-0 in the shootout.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve kind of climbed out of it here, and we\u2019re resilient,\u201d Strome said. \u201cWe\u2019re playing hard. We\u2019re checking hard. We\u2019re trying not to make any mistakes and shoot ourselves in the foot. I think some of the lessons in the tough times are paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anaheim (23-21-3, 49 points) keep pace in the thick of an ever-tightening wild card race and sit two points behind San Jose (24-20-3, 51 points) for that final spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure do,\u201d Washe said when asked if he\u2019s immediately aware of the stakes despite being called up from the AHL just a week ago. \u201cThe guys make it known around here. This group wants to win. That was the mindset coming into this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nashville (23-20-4, 50 points) handed league-leading Colorado its first home regulation loss, and with the point for the shootout loss, Los Angeles (19-16-12, 50 points) stayed in the mix of that chasing group.<\/p>\n

The Kings are tied with Vegas for most games taken to overtime (19) and most overtime or shootout losses (12), as Los Angeles and the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights continue accumulating extra points.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta get points,\u201d Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. \u201cWe need points in the worst way. Getting the extra one was the bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anaheim hosts the Kings in the second half of a back-to-back home-and-home set on Saturday, as the Ducks continue a stretch of eight Pacific Division opponents in the 10 games leading up to the Olympic break.<\/p>\n

By any measure, it has been a tough season for 13-year veteran Ryan Strome.<\/p>\n

Strome missed the first 16 games of the season with an upper-body injury suffered the day before the team\u2019s opener, and since then, he\u2019s been healthy scratched five times, as the production has not come as frequently as desired.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ve wasted a lot of time this year being frustrated, and it wasn\u2019t really helping,\u201d Strome said. \u201cJust trying to have a good attitude coming to the rink. Try to lead by example, no matter what your situation is. Unfortunately\u2013well, fortunately, we have a young team. The way I behave is seen by a lot of guys. So, I have to come in with a good attitude, and just put my head down and work, no matter what was going on. Try to be ready for that next opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was a much better mindspace for me, and I think it was beneficial to keep working. Stop worrying about the things I can\u2019t control and just do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strome blasted home the Ducks first goal of the game on a beautiful interchange with Jackson LaCombe and Beckett Sennecke.<\/p>\n

It was just Strome\u2019s third goal of the season and his first point of any kind since Dec. 16. Strome has seven points in 31 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice to get rewarded, but more so just to help the boys,\u201d Strome said. \u201cThis is a big win for us. It feels really good. Everybody\u2019s contributing. You see up and down the line-up we\u2019ve got guys out, we\u2019ve got guys playing all over the place, and it\u2019s fun. The bench is alive, and everyone is pitching in, and it\u2019s a lot of fun to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as they did without their top guys against Dallas, Anaheim had to simplify their game and do the dirty work against the Kings, especially with how Los Angeles limits opportunities.<\/p>\n

Seemingly every time a Ducks player turned up ice, there were three black jerseys between an orange jersey and the net. By the late stages of the game, it looked like four black jerseys forming the blockade.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no way through it, so the Ducks sent pucks over it and worked around it to create their chances off the forecheck.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to make them work for their offense,\u201d Washe said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get pucks in behind them. We were able to do that and come up with some pucks there. Big plays to the net.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washe would be the biggest beneficiary of the night on the strategy, as late in the second period, he battled for the puck below the goal line. The 24-year-old rookie pulled the puck out and sent it to the point, where Jacob Trouba blasted a shot.<\/p>\n

Washe collected the carom of the boards and slid in the game-tying goal, his first career goal in the NHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing feeling, right? That\u2019s what you dream of right there,\u201d Washe said. \u201cCredit to Ross (Johnston, who grabbed the puck from the net) and everyone there that made it so special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washe has been back up with the Ducks just a week in his first call-up of the season from AHL San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he gives us some center presence, reliability,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cGives you another guy that can take face-offs, more so playing a defensive role that we need more of that thought process through the course of a game.\u201d<\/p>\n

After winning the NCAA national championship with Western Michigan last season, Washe signed with Anaheim as an undrafted free agent and made his NHL debut in the final two games of the 2024-25 season. Washe then made a bid for the Ducks roster in training camp, but he was one of the final cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s older. He\u2019s got man strength,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cHe\u2019s got experience in playing meaningful games. He paid his dues playing in the American League, which gives you good experience as well. Coming out of camp there, he pushed us. He had a pretty good chance to start. He\u2019s taken advantage tonight and in his first couple of games as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducks level up, and it’s Tim Washe’s FIRST NHL GOAL! Washe with the forecheck down low, grinds it out and gets to the front of the net for the fortunate rebound. Ross Johnston grabs the momentous puck from the net.<\/p>\n

2-2 in LA. #FlyTogether<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TKRz5MXM33<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) January 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

While the Ducks relied on the hard-working edge of the game to push through without their top guys, it was 19-year-old rookie Beckett Sennecke that took the mantle of \u201cmost dangerous player on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sennecke was regularly double-shifted at points and played 23:59 of ice time, the third-most by any Ducks forward this season. It\u2019s only a matter of seven seconds from Sennecke\u2019s ice time to the most by a Ducks forward this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a monster game,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cHis instincts are special. I think guys that have that natural ability to find the puck or produce points. He has a way of doing a lot of amazing things. I think he\u2019s deceiving with the puck. Get through some tight areas where all of a sudden he has breakaway speed where he can create an odd-man break. He has pretty good touch when he\u2019s on that odd-man break, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sennecke earned assists on both Ducks goals and scored a smooth goal in the shootout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those games you remember at the end of the year how much of a factor he was,\u201d Quenneville said.<\/p>\n

Just 47 games into his NHL career and only 11 days from his 20th birthday, Sennecke has been the Ducks\u2019 most consistent forward with 37 points, five points in the last four games, eight points in the last eight games and nine points in the last 10 games.<\/p>\n

Sennecke has not gone more than two games without a point since the end of October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the better games I\u2019ve ever seen of a young guy,\u201d Strome said. \u201cHe wants the puck, and he demands it. He\u2019s confident. Obviously, we\u2019ve got to rein him in a couple times there, but you never want to take that confidence away from a young player. He battles. He goes at guys, and he hits guys, and gets hit. He\u2019s not shying away from anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday was a busy day on the personnel ledger for Anaheim. Here\u2019s how the day progressed:<\/p>\n

In the morning, the Ducks acquired forward Jeffrey Viel from Boston for a 2026 fourth-round pick, which will be whichever is better between the fourth-round picks received from Philadelphia in the Trevor Zegras trade or from Detroit in the John Gibson trade.<\/p>\n

Viel has played just 10 games for the Bruins this season with no points and 30 penalty minutes, including 17 penalty minutes in Anaheim on Nov. 19. He is a gritty bottom-six forward that spent most of last season in AHL Providence. Viel has 64 career NHL games over parts of five seasons with 183 penalty minutes, and all five of his career points came in the 2021-22 season with San Jose.<\/p>\n

Viel was travelling from the East Coast on Friday. He may be available Saturday.<\/p>\n

With the Ducks short on forwards due to injuries and game-time decisions, Troy Terry was put on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 6 to open up a roster slot, which allowed the Ducks to call up Sam Colangelo from AHL San Diego. With the retroactive designation, Terry can be activated as soon as he\u2019s ready to return without the mandatory seven-day waiting period. He has missed the last four games.<\/p>\n

Colangelo came into the line-up for the first time since Oct. 31, as Chris Kreider was still battling an illness at gametime.<\/p>\n

Prior to the game, the Ducks announced Leo Carlsson would be out 3-5 weeks following a procedure for a Morel-Laval\u00e9e lesion on his left thigh\u2013a degloving injury that separates the skin and fat from the underlying fascia and tissue, which creates a space that can fill with blood and lymph.<\/p>\n