Leo Carlsson, Ducks pull away from Utah in preseason victory

ANAHEIM — It was an evening of debuts for the Ducks, none bigger than that of lottery selection Beckett Sennecke, but it was last year’s prized pick, Leo Carlsson, leading the way with three points as the hosts handled Utah HC, 5-2, in a preseason game on Wednesday night at Honda Center.

While Sennecke, who had a quiet night, was making his first career preseason appearance, several returning players like second-year defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as well as veteran blue-liners Cam Fowler and Radko Gudas were making their first exhibition cameos of the year. The Ducks got goals from Alex Killorn, Brock McGinn, Cutter Gauthier, Robby Fabbri and Carlsson, as well as a 35-save night in net from Lukáš Dostál. Killorn added an assist while Carlsson tacked on two.

Utah HC saw Kailer Yamamoto and Andrew Agozzino score. Karel Vejmelka turned aside 27 shots by the Ducks.

Agozzino clawed back one goal for Utah with a snap shot, but the Ducks’ foray in the final frame was swift and decisive as they scored twice in 50 seconds early in the third period before adding a late insurance goal.

After their newly anointed captain Gudas started the period in the penalty box during a four-on-four situation, they broke the game open, with both their goals providing a promising peek at the season to come.

First it was Carlsson, Fowler and Gauthier running a sort of three-man weave after a zone re-entry that concluded with Carlsson looking off Michael Kesselring brilliantly before making a drop pass to Gauthier, who hammered the puck into a gaping aperture. Gauthier played just one game last season for the Ducks but he and Carlsson could be their most formidable tandem in the future.

Then, it was another player who made a brief appearance last year but figured to play a significant role this season, Tristan Luneau, executing a give-and-go play with Fabbri, an offseason trade acquisition. Fabbri dished to Luneau who slid the puck under Max Szuber’s pad with a silky setup for Fabbri’s tip-in.

Carlsson scored his first goal and third point of the night when he redirected Killorn’s shot home with 8:23 to play.

Despite it being a game of runs in terms of the shot count – the Ducks held a 16-9 advantage before Utah reeled off a 19-7 stretch – the Ducks emerged with the lone goal of the second period.

A mere 2:50 had elapsed when the Ducks reclaimed the lead when McGinn secured the puck, reversed it and flashed low between the hash marks to guide a Gudas point shot past Vejmelka.

The first period was played with pace and vigor, including the first of three scrums, and sent the teams to the first intermission deadlocked, 1-1.

Utah equalized at the 14:05 mark, when Yamamoto’s deflection from just inside the left faceoff dot beat Dostál after dinging metal and banking into twine. Yamamoto, a former Junior King who spent last season with Seattle, has been in training camp on a professional tryout.

The Ducks had opened the scoring with a power-play goal that was orchestrated and finished by Killorn, 9:13 into the match. He settled the puck near the blue line, found Jackson LaCombe high in the zone, received the puck, sent it to Carlsson and then slipped to the net as Carlsson set up LaCombe’s shot to be tipped in by Killorn.

More to come on this story.