Penguins vs. Ducks Recap: Gauthier Hat Trick, LaCombe 3 Assists

The Anaheim Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Sunday night. Anaheim opened with two power-play goals: Mikael Granlund at 8:26 of the 1st and Cutter Gauthier at 6:28 of the 2nd. Gauthier added an even-strength goal at 9:11, and Tristan Luneau made it 4-0 on another power play at 5:12 of the 3rd. Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell scored on Pittsburgh power plays, but Gauthier finished his hat trick with an empty-netter at 19:26. Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves on 33 shots. Three DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Jackson LaCombe 1+ points (-185 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: LaCombe plays 28.6 minutes a night and came in with a point in 5 straight, 9 of his last 10 and 15 of 17 games this season. - What happened: He had 3 assists in 30:54 of ice time, on Granlund's opening goal and on two of Gauthier's goals. The first assist at 8:26 of the 1st cashed it early. - Worth watching: Over 30 minutes and a spot on the power play give him a lot of chances to touch the puck. That workload is the angle.

ALT: Ducks +1.5 puck line (-280 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Over the last 15, the Ducks scored 3.8 a game and the Penguins allowed 3.7. We projected a 0.5-goal Anaheim edge, even with the Ducks on a back-to-back. - What happened: Anaheim won by 3, so the +1.5 cleared by 4.5. - Worth watching: At -280 this is an alt line built for a parlay leg. The projection only needed Anaheim to stay close.

Rickard Rakell 2+ shots on goal (-320 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Rakell had 2+ shots in 9 of his last 10 and 14 of 17 this season on 17-21 minutes a night. Anaheim's goalies had a .865 save percentage and allowed plenty of volume. - What happened: He had 3 shots on goal in 22:06, with 5:40 on the power play. One of them was his power-play goal at 13:42 of the 3rd, set up by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. - Worth watching: Pittsburgh put 33 shots on goal, and Rakell's 5:40 of power-play time keeps him in the mix. The price is steep, so look for better numbers.

How the game played out

Special teams told the story. Anaheim scored 3 power-play goals on 4 chances, and Pittsburgh scored 2 on 6. Arturs Silovs made 20 saves on 24 shots in 53:45. The Ducks also blocked 20 shots.

Trends to watch

• The Granlund, Gauthier and LaCombe group was involved in four of Anaheim's five goals.
• Pittsburgh outshot Anaheim 33-25, so the Penguins' shot props still have volume even in a loss.
• Brossoit faced 33 shots, the kind of workload that matters for saves lines.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. Find more on the NHL hub, see every NHL recap, or read up on the player prop.