Ducks’ playoff hopes dwindle with loss to Carolina

ANAHEIM — Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh addressed the Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday night, but while they may have been bolted up pregame they ultimately drifted even further from bolting down a playoff spot, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2.

The St. Louis Blues defeated the Nashville Predators to open a gaping 13-point advantage on the Ducks for the final wild-card berth, which they now have only a dozen games to close. Carolina, which lost 7-2 to the Kings a day earlier, won for the ninth time in its past 10 games.

Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras netted a goal apiece for the Ducks. Lukáš Dostál gave them a fighting chance by repelling 32 pucks.

Taylor Hall turned in a hat trick for Carolina. Mark Jankowski and Jordan Martinook also tallied, while Jack Roslovic added two assists. Former Duck Frederik Andersen made 35 saves, including 19 of 20 shots he faced in the third period.

Sunday’s affair pitted the Ducks’ power play, the second worst in the NHL, against the Hurricanes’ penalty kill, the second best in the league. The result? The Ducks went 0-for-6 a man up and gave up multiple shorthanded breakaways to Sebastian Aho alone.

“The power play can’t go 0-for-6,” Troy Terry said. “That’s a team whose penalty kill comes with a lot of pressure everywhere. It’s one of those teams where it can feel a little disjointed at times because they’re coming at you hard.”

Killorn said the Ducks took too long to arrive in Sunday’s contest, saving their best stretches for a final kick after they were already trailing by two goals. Their 0% power play loomed large, though Killorn was careful to tip his cap to Carolina.

“Not only do they do an incredible job in the zone with pressure, but they’re trying to score up ice, which makes it really difficult on the power play,” Killorn said. “I don’t know how many [shorthanded] breakaways they had tonight.”

The third period saw plenty of gusts from the Ducks but they were ultimately blown over by the Hurricanes.

A mere 36 seconds after the hosts had made it a game again, Hall hammered their coffin shut with his second goal of the match, finishing a slick sequence by navigating from one post to the other on his backhand. He’d then add an empty netter to complete the sixth hat trick of the former Hart Trophy winner’s career.

“Dynamite, really. Just every shift, it felt like he was impactful,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “The [second goal] down low, where he stick-handled around him, that’s a special goal. He had a great game.”

With 3:23 showing on the game clock, Zegras crashed the net to stuff Jacob Trouba’s rebound through the pads of Andersen, his ninth goal of 2024-25 halving the Ducks’ deficit. Zegras had a goal and an assist in the Ducks’ previous outing, a win in Nashville.

The Ducks began the final 20 minutes on a power play but failed to convert for the fifth time. Soon after it was Killorn, who’d scored a goal and drawn a penalty, taking a hooking minor and sending the ‘Canes to the power play.

There, Hall made the Ducks pay. Jackson Blake drove the net to bank the puck off Dostál’s pad and through Brett Leason’s legs, where Hall pounced for a wrist-shot marker, 2:32 into the closing stanza.

The Ducks would then push hard, perhaps most notably when defenseman Olen Zellweger’s foray to the goalmouth tested Andersen’s pad on an initial shot off a toe-drag move and then both his glove and his flexibility against a menacing followup bid. Andersen would also stone Terry on a breakaway soon after, and later thwart a partial breakaway by Ryan Strome.

The middle frame left the count at 2-1 in Carolina’s favor.

Mere instants after Dostál made a cat-like pad save on Sean Walker, Carolina missed on purpose to create a goal when Shayne Gostisbehere’s wide shot off the end boards popped straight to Martinook. His backhanded putback gave the visitors a lead with 5:23 left in the period.

Carolina had nearly gone up 2-0 but the one-timer of Seth Jarvis, who was none the worse for wear after a scare at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, never made it to the net when his stick broke. Soon after, the skate of Jackson LaCombe disrupted a play that sent Killorn the other way with momentum, his shot sneaking through the pads of Andersen for a tying goal. It was Killorn’s 17th tally of the year and his fourth in six games, registered at the 13:04 mark.

“(Killorn) wasn’t playing at his best earlier this year, but he’s played really well [lately],” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “He helps Leo (Carlsson) out because he’s got that age and that experience. When he’s skating, he’s more visible.”

Jankowski, who like Killorn scored his second goal in as many games, had opened the scoring with a backhanded redirection from below the goal line. His deft deflection was his 10th goal of the campaign, with seven of those coming in his past nine appearances.

The Ducks spent six minutes with the extra man in the first period but managed just two shots on goal during that time and were out-shot 11-6 overall in a scoreless frame. Five-on-five play clearly favored the ‘Canes, but Dostál was up to the challenge, stopping at least four high-danger chances.

The Ducks will next be in action on Wednesday when they host the Boston Bruins.