Carlson’s Hat Trick Leads Ducks to Victory Over Sharks, Ending 6-Game Skid

Carlson’s hat trick paced the Ducks to a 6-1 victory over the Sharks, ending a six-game skid. The veteran defenseman is in his 17th NHL season.

He was acquired from the Washington Capitals on March 5. The trade cost a conditional first-round pick in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Game summary

Leo Carlsson opened the scoring at 2:59 of the first period. At 6:20, Mikael Granlund backhanded a drop pass to Carlson.

Carlson scored off the crossbar with a one-timer from above the right circle. A partial whiff by San Jose defenseman Sam Dickinson led to a 2-on-1 break.

Beckett Sennecke held the puck and slid it to Alex Killorn for a redirection at 5:15 of the second period. Anaheim went on its first power play at 9:40 of the third period.

Carlson snapped a shot from above the circles at 10:31 to make it 4-0. Shakir Mukhamadullin scored off a Tyler Toffoli drop pass at 12:40 to cut the lead to 4-1.

Carlson completed his third goal with a one-timer on a 5-on-3 power play at 14:03. Frank Vatrano tapped in a loose puck from close range at 17:32 to make it 6-1.

Key contributors

Pavel Mintyukov, Beckett Sennecke, Troy Terry and Mikael Granlund each recorded two assists. Lukas Dostal made 16 saves and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots.

Anaheim improved to 42-32-5 after snapping a 0-5-1 stretch. San Jose fell to 37-34-7 and had lost 5-2 to the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Additional notes

Shakir Mukhamadullin prevented a shutout; Anaheim’s last shutout came on Oct. 12, 2024. San Jose’s Sam Dickinson was involved in the play that led to a Ducks breakaway.

This report is filed by Filmogaz.com.