Frank Vatrano recorded his fourth career hat trick as the Anaheim Ducks won their home opener for the eighth consecutive season, beating the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Sunday night.
Cam Fowler had a goal and an assist and Sam Carrick and Pavel Mintyukov also scored for Anaheim, which snapped a 14-game losing streak dating back to last season. It also was the first NHL victory for new Ducks coach Greg Cronin.
Ryan Strome and Mason McTavish each added two assists and Lukas Dostal made 32 saves for Anaheim.
Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and Martin Necas also scored for Carolina, which suffered its first loss of the season. Antti Raanta finished with 19 saves.
The Ducks, playing the second game of a back-to-back that began with a season-opening 4-1 loss against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.
Carrick made it 1-0 at the 6:52 mark with a wrist shot from the left circle. Vatrano followed 99 seconds later with a sharp-angle shot from the right side wall that scooted through Raanta's pads.
The 19-year-old Mintyukov scored his first career NHL goal at the 12:06 mark with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle off a nice setup by rookie defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who picked up his first NHL point.
Teravainen, who has scored in each of Carolina's three games, cut the Hurricanes' deficit to 3-1 with 6:08 left in the second period, roofing a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle. Vatrano put the Ducks back up by three goals just under three minutes later with a wrist shot.
Teravainen made it 4-2 early in the third period with a power-play goal, his fourth marker of the season. Necas made it 4-3 with 4:31 left with another power-play goal, tapping in a cross-ice feed from Michael Bunting.
The Hurricanes pulled Raanta with 2:10 remaining and Fowler and Vatrano sealed the win with a pair of empty-net goals.
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