Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano rally Ducks past Sharks in OT – Daily News

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ANAHEIM — The NHL All-Star break is coming at an inopportune time for the Ducks.

They’re hot.

After taking three of four possible points in a pair of recent road games, the Ducks returned to Honda Center on Wednesday night, securing their NHL-best ninth third-period comeback by defeating the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 in overtime.

“I want to continue what we’ve done [after the break],” said Ducks head coach Greg Cronin, whose team is 3-0-1 in the past four games, with points in six of their last seven. “I’m really happy with the way we played the last six games or so, so we have to continue to play that direction.”

The contest between the bottom teams in the Pacific Division was tight as they alternated goals until 2024 All-Star Frank Vatrano scored with 53 seconds left in the 5-minute overtime, his team-best 22nd goal of the season.

“I think it was a great team effort the whole game,” Vatrano said before heading to Toronto on what should be a joyous red-eye flight for the 29-year-old Massachusetts native. “So it’s good going to break on that note.”

Vatrano put a wrist shot past San Jose goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen for the winner, but what made him happiest was that it broke a personal six-game drought.

“It’s good, it’s been a while,” said Vatrano, who is second on the team with 36 points. “When you grip your stick a little higher you’re not scoring, so it’s good to see one go in.”

Troy Terry, who extended his points streak to six games, tied it with 1:01 remaining in regulation and assisted on Vatrano’s game-winning goal.

With the goalie pulled, Terry beat Kahkonen with a wrist shot with plenty of traffic around the net for his 15th goal of the season. Terry, who has four goals and 10 points in the past six games, has a team-high 37 points.

“He’s been the heart and soul of this team. Every single game he is the hardest-working guy,” Terry said of Vatrano. “I didn’t realize he had not scored in a while, at least by his standards. So just to be able to get that and now he gets to go have the experience of a lifetime that he deserves.”

Isac Lundestrom also scored for the Ducks and John Gibson made 26 saves. Adam Henrique also extended his points streak to six games with an assist on Terry’s goal.

The Ducks nearly grabbed an early lead in the opening minute of the game when rookie defenseman Olen Zellweger banged a shot off the piping.

For the next five minutes, the Ducks (18-30-2, 38 points) kept a dangerous edge about them by pushing the action and creating several quality chances against the Sharks (14-32-5, 33 points), who entered the game feeling good about themselves after beating the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday in San Jose.

At 2:12, Ducks winger Lundestrom netted his second goal of the season, cleaning up a rebound in front of Kahkonen to make it 1-0.

The strong start gave way when a tripping penalty on Brett Leason at 5:44 gave the Sharks an opportunity to collect themselves and step into the game.

San Jose forward Anthony Duclair’s ninth goal, thanks in part to the first NHL point from defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, cashed in the power-play chance at 6:59.

Both teams asserted themselves with stretches of sustained action in the opposing zone. By the end of the first period, after each side had two tries with a man advantage, the score remained unchanged.

The stalemate held until 17:57 of the middle frame.

San Jose snatched a 2-1 lead on a Marc-Edouard Vlasic slapshot from the blue line that flew end-over-end through traffic, beating Gibson on his stick side. The Canadian defenseman’s five goals have all come in the last nine games.

“I was begging them after two periods to shoot,” Cronin said.

Needing another third-period comeback to head into the All-Star break in good form, the Ducks peppered San Jose with 15 shots and held a near 2:1 possession advantage in the offensive zone.

Kahkonen stood firm until the end, saving 31 shots, including all seven against the Ducks’ power play. The visitors also blocked 27 shots, adding to the sense in the building that possession might not amount to much.

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