Nhl milestone shifts Ducks’ trajectory as Quenneville reaches 1,000 regular-season wins

Why this matters now: Joel Quenneville’s 1, 000th regular-season victory — sealed by Cutter Gauthier’s goal with 1: 14 remaining — does more than pad a résumé. It immediately affects the Ducks’ locker-room energy, their place in playoff contention, and how opponents size up a team that has been unbeaten at home in six straight. The nhl milestone also arrives in the first game back after the Olympic break, altering short-term momentum for both clubs.

Nhl milestone: immediate effects on the Ducks, the coach and the opposition

Here’s the part that matters: Quenneville’s 1, 000th win reframes expectations around a team now in playoff contention in his first season back in the league. When he entered the locker room players gave him an ovation and surprised him by wearing fake versions of his signature mustache, a visible sign of the mood lift. The Ducks are 31-23-3 and 10-2-0 in their past 12 games; the momentum from a home, come-from-behind win and a celebrated coaching landmark is likely to amplify that run in the near term.

How the game at Honda Center developed

Cutter Gauthier delivered the decisive goal with 1: 14 left to make it a 6-5 Anaheim victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center on Wednesday. Leo Carlsson returned from an 11-game absence after a procedure to treat a left thigh injury and finished with a goal and two assists — including the pass that set up Gauthier’s go-ahead score. Chris Kreider added two assists and goalie Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.

Edmonton struck 13 seconds into the game: Matt Savoie stretched a pass up the wall to Jack Roslovic, who beat defenseman Radko Gudas and scored from the left circle. Connor McDavid later recovered a loose puck behind the Anaheim net and fed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a 2-0 lead at 9: 03. Ian Moore cut the deficit to 2-1 at 10: 30 and Alex Killorn tied it 2-2 at 3: 01 of the second after finishing a rebound on a power play.

Matt Savoie finished with a goal and two assists for Edmonton, while Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard each recorded a goal and an assist. Connor McDavid and Mattias Ekholm contributed two assists apiece. Tristan Jarry made 20 saves before being replaced in the third by Connor Ingram, who stopped three shots. The Oilers are 28-23-8 and have lost a season-high four straight.

Quenneville’s place in coaching history and the math on Bowman

The win put Quenneville at a career mark of 1, 000-595-153 over 26 seasons; his record line also notes 77 tie games that predate the shootout elimination of ties in 2005-06. He joined Scotty Bowman — at 1, 244-573-10 with 314 ties — as the only two coaches to reach 1, 000 regular-season wins. Reaching Bowman’s total would likely require at least five more seasons, making Bowman’s figure a distant target; Quenneville remains the active leader while Paul Maurice, at 945 wins, ranks third all-time.

Background, return and locker-room reaction

Quenneville is 67 years old and in his first season with Anaheim, a club that hired him on May 8, 2025, which came 10 months after the league reinstated him. He had been out of the nhl since 2021 when the league determined he had an "inadequate response" to allegations of sexual assault while he was coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Quenneville’s career path included head coaching stops with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, a highly successful run with the Blackhawks that included three Stanley Cups, and a later stint with the Florida Panthers that ended with his 2021 resignation.

Players publicly acknowledged his influence after the game: Jacob Trouba said he was very happy for Quenneville, and Radko Gudas — who previously played for Quenneville in Florida — praised the coach’s ability to read the game and to balance immediate needs with long-term management of a group.

Key timeline and quick reference

• Game: Ducks 6, Oilers 5 at Honda Center (Wednesday).
• Decisive play: Cutter Gauthier scored with 1: 14 left, set up by Leo Carlsson.
• Carlsson: 1 goal, 2 assists; missed 11 games after a left thigh procedure.
• Goalie notes: Dostal 22 saves (Anaheim); Tristan Jarry 20 saves then replaced by Connor Ingram (3 saves) for Edmonton.
• Team runs: Ducks 10-2-0 in past 12; Anaheim’s eighth multigoal comeback and sixth straight home win; Oilers have lost four straight, a season high.

Quick forward signal: if Anaheim sustains home dominance and the post-Olympic momentum holds, the win could cement the Ducks’ position in the playoff picture; conversely, continued losses will deepen Edmonton’s skid.

What’s easy to miss is the sequence: this milestone did not arrive in isolation but after a reinstatement and a May 8, 2025 hiring that put Quenneville back behind an NHL bench for the first time since 2021.

The real question now is how the emotional lift from a celebrated 1, 000th win balances against the season-long grind both teams face after the Olympic break — and whether the Ducks can translate the uplift into sustained results while the Oilers regroup.