Cutter Gauthier scored a hat-trick as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Honda Center on Sunday night, extending their winning run to five games.

Gauthier finished with three goals and an assist, while Mikael Granlund had a goal and three assists and Jackson LaCombe added three assists. The Ducks improved to 10-7-1, while the Penguins dropped to 6-10-2.

Ducks take control

Granlund opened the scoring on the power play at 8:26 of the first period, with assists from Gauthier and LaCombe. Gauthier then took over in the second period, scoring on the power play at 6:28 and again at 9:11 to make it 3-0.

Tristan Luneau added a power-play goal at 5:12 of the third period to stretch the lead to 4-0. Laurent Brossoit stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced in the Anaheim goal.

The goals kept Gauthier's scoring streak going. He has now scored in five straight games, and this was his third hat-trick of the season. He had 10 goals across that five-game scoring run, becoming the first Ducks player to score 10 goals in a five-game span and only the seventh NHL player in 30 years to do so. Gauthier signed a six-year, $81 million contract extension with Anaheim before the season.

Power play makes the difference

Anaheim went into the game leading the NHL in home power-play percentage at 43%, and their advantage with the extra man told again. The Ducks scored twice on four power plays, and Granlund's opener came on the very second a Pittsburgh penalty expired.

Pittsburgh had the better of the shot count, outshooting Anaheim 34-25, but could not turn that pressure into goals at even strength. Erik Karlsson led all players with eight shots on goal, with 10 more blocked, while Malkin was second on the Penguins with five. Penguins coach Dan Muse began pulling Silovs for an extra attacker with just under eight minutes remaining, and Pittsburgh scored twice with the extra man, but the third goal never came.

Penguins fight back too late

Pittsburgh refused to fold. Kris Letang pulled a goal back on the power play at 8:05 of the third period, and Rickard Rakell made it 4-2 on another power play at 13:42, with the Penguins playing six-on-four after pulling their goalkeeper.

The comeback stalled there. With Pittsburgh pressing, Gauthier sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:26 of the third period, a shot from around 170 feet that found the centre of the net.

Evgeni Malkin had two assists for Pittsburgh, and Arturs Silovs stopped 20 of 24 shots. The Penguins outshot Anaheim 34-25 and went 2 for 6 on the power play, while the Ducks went 2 for 4. Pittsburgh have now won just one of their last five games and sit 14th in the Eastern Conference. Anaheim are eighth in the Western Conference.

What next

The Ducks host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, 11 November. The Penguins continue their road trip the same night when they visit the San Jose Sharks.