With six straight wins, the Ducks are now on the longest active winning streak in the NHL.
The Anaheim Ducks shocked the hockey world on Sunday, handing the reigning defending champion Vegas Golden Knights their first regulation loss of the season.
The Knights started strong, taking a 1-0 lead in the first period after Jack Eichel muscled his way into the zone before feeding Ivan Barbashev backdoor.
Eichel then doubled the Knights' lead in the second with a short-side snipe at four-on-four.
The Ducks started the comeback early in the third though, with Adam Henrique's power-play goal 1:38 in.
Sam Carrick there tied the game midway through the period after the Ducks forced an offensive zone turnover that Pavel Mintyukov fed to Carrick, who danced Logan Thompson before finishing five-hole.
Mason McTavish then put the Ducks up one late in the period, finishing a centering feed right in front after missing the net just seconds before.
Carrick then iced the game with an empty-netter.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Mason McTavish Continues to Prove Clutch:
I said before the season this was set up to be a true breakout year for McTavish and he's still exceeding my expectations.
He's been a major part of the team's best line and continues to score clutch goals.
Sunday's game-winner was already his third game-winning goal and another example of his willingness to score in and around the dirty areas of the ice.
Still just 20 years old, McTavish is already a bonafide top-six center in the league who can impact the game in several ways.
You don't often see a player this young scoring at a point-per-game pace while also boasting a 54.7% in the faceoff circle.
He's mature beyond his years and continues to prove that night after night.
This tweet from the Ducks really sums up how ridiculous he's been early in the season.
John Gibson With a Strong Performance:
If you're going to upset the league's best team, you usually need a strong performance in net and the Ducks got that from John Gibson.
He finished the night with 30 saves on 32 shots and one goal saved above expected to lead the Ducks past Vegas.
Gibson dialed the clock back a bit on Sunday and looked like the Gibson of old.
His tandem with October's Rookie of the Month, Lukas Dostal, has been key to the Duck's success early and he's starting to find his game too.
Allowing Gibson more rest was always going to have a positive impact on him and it looks like we're seeing that now.
Ducks Continue to Roll:
With six straight wins, the Ducks are now on the longest active winning streak in the NHL.
There isn't a hotter team around and I don't think anyone would have expected this one month ago.
This team is more confident and has more purpose than they've had in a while. Greg Cronin deserves a ton of credit for coming in and immediately changing the culture and vibe of this team.
It usually takes a while for a coach's ideas to set in. but Cronin has this team firing right away.
When you factor in the slow start of Trevor Zegras, arguably the team's best forward, you think this team has another level to reach.
It's important not to get too carried away after 11 games and start calling the Ducks a playoff threat. They're a young team that has to sustain this over 82 games.
But I'm not sure there's a more exciting or fun-to-watch team in all of hockey right now.