Recap: Ducks Can't Find Late Equalizer in 3-2 Loss to Leafs

Jackson LaCombe and Frank Vatrano scored, but the Ducks could not mount a third-period comeback tonight in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

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The loss dropped Anaheim to 10-14-3 on the season and pushed the club's winless skid to five games.

LaCombe and Vatrano provided the Anaheim offense, each bringing the Ducks back within one in a comeback effort that ultimately fell just short. Ryan Strome notched two assists. Lukas Dostal made 30 saves in his 17th appearance of the season.

Veteran winger Max Pacioretty powered the Toronto attack with a two goals and an assist. William Nylander also scored, his team-leading 18th goal of the season, helping the Maple Leafs improve to 18-9-2 on the season. Goaltenders Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz combined to stop 26-of-28 Anaheim shots.

Toronto jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period on goals by Pacioretty and Nylander, the latter a puck batted into the net out of mid-air from just outside the crease.

The Leafs improved to 12-1-1 on the season when scoring first. Anaheim owns a 9-4-3 record when opening the scoring, but just a 1-9-1 mark when conceding the game's first goal.

A 17-year pro back from two Achilles tears, Pacioretty's three-point performance was his first since Dec. 2021.

Anaheim got back within one before intermission though, as Vatrano beat Stolarz, his former teammate, blocker side from the top of the right circle for a power-play goal.

Vatrano now has five goals in his last nine games. He ranks second among team leaders in points and goals this season.

Stolarz left the game after the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.

The Leafs would then briefly restore the two-goal cushion midway through the middle frame, capitalizing on a couple of big stops by Woll on the other end of the ice, when Pacioretty deftly redirected Connor Timmins' point shot past Dostal.

But much like the first period, Anaheim responded to the two-goal deficit two shifts later, this time with LaCombe feeding his shot from the high slot through a swarm of bodies in front and just inside the post.

LaCombe leads Ducks defensemen in goals this season (five) and now has four points in his last five games.

The Ducks would then have their chances at the tying goal in the third, most notably bids in tight for Alex Killorn and Troy Terry, but would not be able to break through for an equalizer.

The Ducks conclude a four-game road trip Saturday in Columbus.