Cutter Gauthier scored twice to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders at Honda Center on Wednesday. Ville Husso made 42 saves in his first game since January 26, while Anders Lee scored the lone goal for New York, ending their five-game winning streak. Beckett Sennecke and Chris Kreider each contributed two points for Anaheim.
The Anaheim Ducks snapped a two-game losing skid with a dominant performance against the New York Islanders, winning 5-1 on March 4, 2026, at Honda Center. The Ducks, who had lost 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche the previous day to end their own five-game winning streak, improved to 34-24-3. New York, now 35-22-5, saw their five-game winning streak come to an end in the opener of a four-game road trip.
Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:58 of the first period, scoring on a rebound after Husso saved his initial tip-in attempt. This marked Lee's fourth straight game with a goal. The Ducks responded quickly on a power play, tying the game at 1-1 when Gauthier one-timed a pass from Beckett Sennecke from the left face-off circle at 12:56.
Gauthier then put Anaheim ahead 2-1 at 16:05 with his Anaheim-leading 31st goal of the season, a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Leo Carlsson. It was Gauthier's fifth goal in three games and eighth in seven, extending his streak to five straight goals for the Ducks—the first player in team history to achieve that. "He has an amazing shot and he’s going to score almost every time he gets those opportunities," Carlsson said. "My job is more to have a lot of speed in the middle and feed him."
Sennecke extended the lead to 3-1 at 18:40 of the first period, one-timing a rebound from the left side for his 20th goal. In the third, Ryan Poehling made it 4-1 at 2:11 with a backhand from in close, assisted by Ryan Strome in his return since January 26. Frank Vatrano sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 4:11 remaining.
Husso, playing his first game since January 26, stopped 42 of 43 shots. "When you score five goals in the game, you should win, and I think we played a pretty good game overall," Husso said. "Very, very big team win."
Islanders coach Patrick Roy noted his team's 40-plus shots but credited Anaheim's play. "Maybe we could have done a little bit better job getting in front of those, taking the goalie's eyes away from the puck," Roy said. "They play well defensively and they forecheck well." Defenseman Matthew Schaefer added, "I think we could have been a little bit better in our D-zone. They had a lot of easy access."
Notable notes include Sennecke reaching 51 points as the first NHL rookie to hit 50 this season and the fastest in Ducks history at 61 games. David Rittich made 21 saves for New York, with Ryan Pulock sidelined by an upper-body injury and Adam Pelech playing his 622nd game for the Islanders, tying a franchise record for defensemen. Vatrano returned after fracturing his shoulder on December 27 against the Los Angeles Kings.