Ducks snap Capitals' 6-game winning streak with 4-3 shootout victory on goals by Terry, McTavish

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Troy Terry and Mason McTavish scored in the shootout, and the Anaheim Ducks snapped the Washington Capitals' six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Friday night.

Beckett Sennecke took the NHL’s rookie scoring lead with a goal and an assist for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, who rebounded from a 7-0 loss to Utah on Wednesday with a much-improved effort. Cutter Gauthier scored his 16th goal and Ross Johnston had a goal and an assist for Anaheim.

Logan Thompson made 34 saves in a standout performance for the Caps, who took a point from every stop on their three-game California road swing despite losing for only the second time in 11 games. Tom Wilson, Ethen Frank and Aliaksei Protas scored in regulation for the Caps, and Anthony Beauvillier tallied in the shootout.

Ville Husso made 18 saves and gloved Frank's shootout try to end it.

After Wilson scored his 17th goal from the slot midway through the first period, Gauthier tied it off a clever setup from Sennecke.

Frank scored on a rebound early in the second period. Johnston tied it 13 seconds later with a redirection of Radko Gudas' slap shot for the fourth-line grinder's second goal, but Protas scored on a fat rebound moments later.

Sennecke tied it again late in the second with a deflected shot for his eighth goal and his 22nd point, both tops among rookies.

Washington rookie Ryan Leonard didn't return after his face was bloodied on an unpenalized first-period check from Jacob Trouba.

Mikael Granlund returned after missing 18 of the Ducks' previous 19 games due to a lower-body injury.

With Charlie Lindgren injured, Washington's backup goalie was Parker Milner, a 35-year-old retired minor-league goalie who occasionally practices with the Caps — and who coincidentally came along on the road trip.

Milner, a minor-league teammate of Thompson, is now the food editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. Before warmups, the Caps gave Milner the traditional solo lap for players making their NHL debuts.

Capitals: Host Columbus on Sunday.

Ducks: Host Chicago on Sunday.

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

Washington Capitals center Ethen Frank, center, scores on Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ville Husso, left, as defenseman Pavel Mintyukov watches during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, left, deflects a shot as Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke, right, watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke, right, tries to score on Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas, left, and Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry scuffle during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rory McIlroy survived a bizarre encounter with a banana peel lodged in a tree to shoot a 3-under 68 on Saturday at the Australian Open.

His round left him nine strokes behind Danish player Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 66 and a 54-hole total of 14-under 199.

Cam Smith, the 2022 British Open champion who ended his streak of missing seven consecutive cuts this year on Friday, also shot 66 Saturday and was tied for second, two strokes behind.

On the par-4 second hole, McIlroy missed the fairway right and his ball ended up under a small tree and under a banana peel which had apparently been thrown away by a spectator.

Golfers are allowed to move loose impediments as long as the player’s ball doesn’t move in the process. If the ball had shifted as a result of trying to move a loose item, the player incurs a penalty.

So McIlroy tried in vain to hit his ball through the banana peel and the branches and back on to the fairway. But it only traveled about 30 feet and he ended up making a double bogey six.

“It was sort of a double whammy — it was in the tough grass, and under a banana skin,” McIlroy said. “But I shouldn't have been there in the first place.”

The Northern Irishman made birdie on the next hole and after another bogey and birdie to complete the front nine, shot a 1-over 35.

On the back nine which was played in often steady drizzle, McIlroy had four birdies, including on the final two holes as he had done on Friday, when he also shot 68.

"I didn’t get off to a great start, but I played well from there,” said McIroy, who made five birdies on his final 10 holes Saturday.

“I am probably going to be too far behind to challenge tomorrow,” he added. “But I’d love the course to keep getting firmer and firmer . . . and if it does I think I could go out there and shoot something very low, 8 or 9 under.”

McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild opening round on Thursday containing six bogeys and five birdies.

McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner and who completed his career Grand Slam when he won the Masters this year, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015. He won it in 2013.

The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the European tour's new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Cam Smith of Australia plays an approach shot on the 9th Hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Cam Smith of Australia plays an approach shot on the 18th Hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (centre) reacts after completing his round with Adam Scott of Australia (Left) and Min Woo Lee of Australia (Right) during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Adam Scott of Australia on the 9th Hole after completing his 1st round during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays an approach shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)