Overtime Decider
The Florida Panthers entered the extra frame trailing 2-2, but their hopes for a point faded when Mikael Granlund capitalized on a late chance. In overtime, Granlund scored a tip-in goal to give the home Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 victory. The winning tally was assisted by Leo Carlsson, who recorded his fourth assist of the game, and Cutter Gauthier, who added his second assist.
This sudden-death goal ended the contest in favor of the Ducks, securing a win for the home side in front of 17,174 fans at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Scoring Sequence
The game was tightly contested from the opening faceoff. In the first period, the teams traded blows. Cutter Gauthier opened the scoring for Anaheim with a snap shot goal, assisted by Jackson LaCombe and Leo Carlsson, putting the Ducks up 1-0. Florida responded quickly through Carter Verhaeghe, who scored a tip-in goal assisted by Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk to tie the game 1-1.
The second period saw Anaheim extend their lead. Gauthier struck again with another snap shot goal, his second of the game. This effort was assisted by Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson, making the score 2-1 in favor of the Ducks. The Panthers managed to keep the game close, but the Ducks held their lead through the end of regulation.
In the third period, Florida pulled one back. Brad Marchand scored a wrist shot goal, assisted by Lars Eller, to tie the game at 2-2. This goal set the stage for the overtime period, where the Ducks finally found the decisive strike.
The period scores reflected the back-and-forth nature of the match, with Florida scoring one goal in the first and one in the third, while Anaheim scored one in the first, one in the second, and the winner in overtime.