Vatrano has 2 goals and an assist after signing contract extension, leading Ducks past Lightning 4-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Frank Vatrano had two goals and assist after signing a three-year contract extension Sunday, John Gibson picked up his 200th NHL win and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1.

Troy Terry also had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who have won four of their last six. Jackson Lacombe put it out of reach at 16:26 of the third.

Gibson, the third active U.S.-born goaltender to reach that milestone, stopped 36 shots.

Jake Guentzel had a power-play goal in the second period for Tampa Bay. Nikita Kucherov picked up his 38th assist and 55th point, both fifth in the league.

Jonas Johansson made 22 saves. Tampa Bay has dropped at least three straight for the second time this season.

Vatrano — whose extension through the 2027-28 season will pay him $3 million in each of the next three seasons — redirected Jacob Trouba's shot past Johansson with 2:57 remaining in the first, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

Vatrano, who has 11 goals and 23 points, scored into an empty-net goal with 1:32 remaining.

Lightning: Guentzel — who signed a seven-year contract during the offseason — scored his 21st goal, the most by any players on a new team this season.

Ducks: Forward Ryan Strome, who skated in his 200th career game as a Duck, had two assists, extending his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists).

Terry snapped a shot from the edge of the right faceoff circle, past Johansson's glove and just inside the post before ringing out to put the Ducks up 1-0 at the 5:24 mark of the first period.

Anaheim improved to 8-1-2 when leading after two periods. Tampa Bay is 2-9 when trailing after 40 minutes.

The teams have home games on Tuesday. The Lightning face Carolina and the Ducks take on Calgary.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh looks to pass the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) celebrates after his goal with right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) looks to shoot the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks players celebrate after a goal by right wing Troy Terry (19) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Mitchell Chaffee (41) and Anaheim Ducks center Isac Lundestrom (21) vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) looks to shoot the puck while Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) looks to pass the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) shoots the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, as the U.S. efforts to broker a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine have entered a pivotal stage.

The ministry released a video showing combat vehicles that are part of the mobile intermediate range ballistic missile system driving across a forest as part of combat training. The ministry’s announcement followed a statement from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who said earlier this month that the Oreshnik had arrived in the country. Lukashenko said that up to 10 such missile systems will be stationed in Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that the Oreshnik would enter combat duty before the year's end. He made the statement at a meeting with top Russian military officers, where he warned that Moscow will seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands in peace talks.

The announcement comes at a critical time for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort Sunday and insisted that Kyiv and Moscow were “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement.

However, Moscow and Kyiv remain deeply divided on key issues, including whose forces withdraw from where in Ukraine and the fate of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the 10 biggest in the world. Trump noted that the monthslong U.S.-led negotiations could still collapse.

Putin has sought to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength as Ukrainian forces strain to keep back the bigger Russian army.

Russia first tested a conventionally armed version of the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree — to strike a Ukrainian factory in November 2024. Putin has bragged that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several of them used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.

The Russian leader has warned the West that Russia could use the Oreshnik next against allies of Kyiv that allowed it to strike inside Russia with their longer-range missiles.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the Oreshnik has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles).

Russian state media boasted that it would take the missile only 11 minutes to reach an air base in Poland and 17 minutes to reach NATO headquarters in Brussels. There’s no way to know whether it’s carrying a nuclear or a conventional warhead before it hits the target.

Intermediate-range missiles can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Such weapons were banned under a Soviet-era treaty that Washington and Moscow abandoned in 2019.

Russia previously has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to the territory of its Belarus, whose territory it used to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Lukashenko has said that his country has several dozen Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

While signing a security pact with Lukashenko in December 2024, Putin said that even with Russia controlling the Oreshniks, Moscow would allow Minsk to select the targets. He noted that if the missiles are used against targets closer to Belarus, they could carry a significantly heavier payload.

In 2024, the Kremlin released a revised nuclear doctrine, noting that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The threat was clearly aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with longer-range weapons and appears to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The revised Russian doctrine also placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella.

Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. His government has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory for the invasion of Ukraine. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said that the deployment of Oreshnik to Belarus deepens the country’s military and political dependence on Russia.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, Russian troops line up at a base in Belarus where the Oreshnik missile system was deployed in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, Russian solders camouflage one of the trucks of the Russia's Oreshnik missile system with a net during training in an undisclosed location in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, A Russia's Oreshnik missile system is seen during a training in an undisclosed location in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, A Russia's Oreshnik missile system is seen during a training in an undisclosed location in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, A Russia's Oreshnik missile system is seen during a training in an undisclosed location in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)