Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano scored first-period goals, but the Ducks could not keep up with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers tonight in a 5-2 loss at Honda Center.
The loss dropped the Ducks to 18-23-6 on the season and 9-12-2 on home ice.
McTavish and Vatrano provided the Anaheim offense as part of an explosive five-goal opening frame. Troy Terry, Ryan Strome and Radko Gudas collected assists. Lukas Dostal made 24 saves in his 27th start of the season.
Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Carter Verhaghe, Sam Bennett and Uvis Balinskis scored for the Panthers, who improved to 28-17-3 with their second consecutive win over the Ducks. Veteran netminder Sergei Bobrovsky earned his 19th victory of the season, and the 415th of his NHL career, with stops on 28-of-30 Anaheim attempts.
Anaheim went ahead first with a cathartic power-play goal, snapping a six-game drought on the man advantage. With Florida's Evan Rodrigues sidelined for tripping, Mason McTavish fought off two defenders to keep a loose puck alive for Strome in the right wing corner. The free space allowed Strome to quickly fire a cross-ice pass to Terry, who furthered the favor with a centering pass to Vatrano for a one-timer past Bobrovsky from the low slot.