LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rookie Beckett Sennecke had two assists and then scored in the shootout, sending the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
Mason McTavish ended it with a third-round shootout goal for the Ducks, who rallied from an early two-goal deficit for their second straight victory after a nine-game skid.
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Los Angeles Kings left wing Jeff Malott, top, knocks Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger to the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings center Alex Turcotte, right, watches the puck fly away during a face off with Anaheim Ducks left wing Alex Killorn, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke, left, passes the puck while under pressure from Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks center Jansen Harkins, left, is shoved to the ice by Los Angeles Kings center Alex Turcotte during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Tim Washe scored his first NHL goal and Ryan Strome got his first goal in a month for the Ducks when Southern California’s two NHL teams opened a back-to-back, home-and-home chapter of the Freeway Faceoff rivalry by going to their second shootout of the season. Lukas Dostal made 26 saves.
Joel Armia had a goal and an assist in his return from a five-game injury absence for the Kings, who have lost five of six.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots, but the Canadian Olympian couldn't stop the famously deliberate shootout style of McTavish, one of the NHL's most successful shootout scorers.
Quinton Byfield put the Kings ahead on their first shot on goal 98 seconds after the opening faceoff, beating Dostal for his ninth goal off a rush set up by Armia.
Neither team mounted a consistent offensive attack for two periods, but Armia made it 2-0 for the Kings midway through the second with a one-timer off a backhand pass from Andre Lee.
Strome answered 39 seconds later, putting a shot past a screen from Sennecke for his second goal in 22 games.
Less than three minutes after that, Washe alertly located a rebound off the boards and beat Kuemper from a sharp angle for his inaugural goal in his sixth NHL game. The 24-year-old undrafted forward won an NCAA title last spring with Western Michigan.
The Ducks played without their top two scorers due to injury. Leo Carlsson had treatment earlier in the day on a thigh injury that could endanger his participation in the Olympics, while Troy Terry (upper body) went on injured reserve before missing his fourth straight game.
A rematch in Anaheim on Saturday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Los Angeles Kings left wing Jeff Malott, top, knocks Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger to the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings center Alex Turcotte, right, watches the puck fly away during a face off with Anaheim Ducks left wing Alex Killorn, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke, left, passes the puck while under pressure from Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks center Jansen Harkins, left, is shoved to the ice by Los Angeles Kings center Alex Turcotte during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
DALLAS (AP) — The mess in Texas may be just beginning.
Four-term Sen. John Cornyn and his allies spent nearly $70 million to survive the first round of the party’s nomination fight on Tuesday. He was slightly ahead of conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, with more votes still being counted on Wednesday.
Both now advance to a May 26 runoff election that Republicans fear could be even uglier and more expensive than the first contest.
“It's judgment day for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn said on Tuesday night.
But whether any level of attacks can stop Paxton — who has long been shadowed by allegations of corruption and infidelity — remains unclear, especially as he fashions himself as the kind of Make America Great Again warrior President Donald Trump needs in Washington.
Paxton was defiant when speaking to a few hundred supporters at a Dallas hotel ballroom, a far different scene than Cornyn's small press conference.
“We just sent a message, loud and clear, to Washington,” he said. “We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.”
Republicans are sweating the runoff because the 83-day sprint takes place as operatives in both major political parties acknowledge that Democrats have an unusually solid chance of winning a Senate seat in Texas this year, something that hasn't happened in nearly four decades.
Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, who Republicans immediately attacked as a far-left extremist — even though they privately consider the 36-year-old Christian progressive to be a stronger general election candidate than his primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
The Texas contest is playing out as Trump fights to maintain control of Congress for his final two years in the White House. Republicans are more confident about keeping their majority in the Senate than the House, but a competitive race in Texas could scramble the map, or at least consume resources that the party needs in more competitive states like North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
Republican leaders in Washington insist that Cornyn has the best shot, especially after he finished ahead of Paxton in Tuesday's primary, with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt finishing a distant third and conceding. Cornyn's campaign argued that a runoff wouldn't even be necessary if it wasn't for “Wesley Hunt's vanity campaign.”
“Paxton’s problems aren’t just an issue in a Republican primary; they also threaten to put the Senate seat at risk due to his lack of strength against Democrat nominee Talarico," a memo from Cornyn's team said.
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
“The D.C. establishment has done its job: it rallied around its wounded incumbent, opened the fundraising spigot, and flooded the airwaves. But the results, the data, and the reality on the ground all point to the same conclusion: John Cornyn has no viable path to the Republican nomination,” the pro-Paxton Lone Star PAC wrote in a memo. “Cornyn should suspend his campaign, concede the nomination to Ken Paxton, and refuse to allow another $100+ million in Republican resources to be burned in a race that is already decided.”
The only person who might be able to forestall the intraparty fight, or at least limit its fallout, is Trump. But the president has declined to endorse a candidate in the primary, describing all of them as “great,” and it was unclear if anything would change in the runoff.
Without Trump's support, Cornyn made it clear that he would make the case himself. He told reporters that Paxton would be “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans" in November.
“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”
Cornyn will face intense fundraising pressure, having already spent so much money in the first round of the primary. Aides said he had some small fundraisers planned but nothing in the days immediately after this week's vote as he returns to Washington.
In addition, Paxton's allies are confident that the political landscape will tilt in the attorney general's favor.
“The casual and moderate Republican voters who are most likely to support an establishment incumbent are the least likely to return for a runoff,” said the memo from the Lone Star PAC. “The committed conservative activists who form Paxton’s base are the most likely to show up.”
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
