Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, from left to right, Beckett Sennecke, Pavel Mintyukov, Mason McTavish and Jacob Trouba celebrate after Anaheim defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 during an NHL hockey game, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By The Canadian Press

‘It’s been pretty hard’: Ducks forward McTavish bouncing back from healthy scratch

Mar 25, 2026 | 3:00 AM

VANCOUVER — Mason McTavish is quick to admit he’s been struggling.

So when the Anaheim Ducks forward snapped his scoring skid on Tuesday, a sense of relief followed.

“It’s been a while, so it’s nice to get one,” he said of the tally that helped the Ducks to a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. “It was a great feeling, for sure.”

The season hasn’t been smooth for McTavish.

While the 23-year-old Canadian has 14 goals and 20 assists across 64 games, the total is below the 52 points he amassed in 2024-25.

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Heading into Tuesday’s matchup, he hasn’t scored since Jan. 19 — a span of 14 games.

He was also healthy scratched twice last week for the first time in his career.

“It’s been pretty hard,” McTavish admitted. “It’s been a tough couple weeks, stretch of games for me, so it’s nice to get that (goal) for sure.”

The score was level at 3-3 early in the third period when McTavish carried the puck up the ice into Canucks’ territory. He dished off to defenceman Jackson LaCombe, who returned the favour with a drop pass inside the faceoff circle. McTavish took a couple of strides and blasted off a shot from the faceoff dot, sailing it over the glove of Vancouver netminder Kevin Lankinen to give his side a 4-3 advantage.

“It was a great shot, a great shot, and I thought (McTavish) had a good game overall,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said of the young forward’s play.

“I thought that line was effective in a lot of ways. I thought it last game as well, and productive. I thought he had the puck on his stick a lot more and made some plays, and obviously that was a great play off the rush.”

Troy Terry added an empty-net strike with five seconds left on the game clock, but McTavish’s goal stood as the game winner.

“Obviously you want to do everything you can to help the team win and, yeah, you’ll take a goal whenever you can,” he said. “But I mean, yeah, I guess it was a big goal, and it’s the game winner, so definitely feels good.”

With the win, the Ducks (40-27-4) remain atop the Pacific Division with a five-point cushion on the Edmonton Oilers.

CARLSSON’S CHEMISTRY

Anaheim got three assists from John Carlson, marking the veteran defenceman’s biggest offensive contribution since he joined the Ducks ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

The 36-year-old blue liner was dealing with a lower-body injury when he was acquired from the Washington Capitals on March 6 in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2026 draft and a second-round selection in 2027.

Tuesday marked his fifth game for the Ducks, and he now has four helpers with his new team.

Carlsson said he’s starting to settle in.

“Getting used to some things, getting used to some players, little things like that,” Carlsson said. “But otherwise, it’s a great group of guys that have welcomed me. I feel comfortable and confident in here, and it’s a fun team.”

PETTERSSON’S POINTS

Star centre Elias Pettersson contributed a pair of assists for the Canucks (21-41-8), including the 300th assist and the 500th regular-season point of his NHL career.

“It’s cool,” he said of the milestones. “Cool numbers to hit. Very honoured.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press