Ducks beat Kraken 4-2 for 6th straight victory following 9-game losing streak

SEATTLE (AP) — Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 21 saves and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory following a nine-game losing streak.

Ryan Poehling scored short-handed, Chris Kreider added a power-play goal and Pavel Mintyukov banked in a long empty-netter. The Ducks have three games left on a five-game trip they opened with a 2-1 shootout victory at NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night.

Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle in the third game of a six-game homestand. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots, highlighted by a successful poke-check on Jansen Harkins’ penalty shot midway through the second.

Gauthier and Poehling gave Anaheim a 2-0 lead in the first period, with the Ducks outshooting the Kraken 13-2 in the opening 20 minutes.

Gauthier scored at 1:02. He broke down the right side, cut inside and beat Grubauer with a wrist shot.

Poehling connected with the Ducks a man down with 4:36 left. He raced down the left side and avoided Grubauer's poke-check.

McCann got one back for Seattle at 1:55 of the second. Kreider countered on a power play 2:05 later, scoring off a rebound for his 16th of the season.

Schwartz cut it to 3-2 at 1:54 of the third, getting behind the defense to tip in Shane Wright's feed.

Ducks: Have an Alberta back-to-back, playing at Calgary on Sunday night and Edmonton on Monday night.

Kraken: Host New Jersey on Sunday.

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

Anaheim Ducks left wing Jeffrey Viel, left, vies for the puck against Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans, right, against the boards during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Kraken left wing Jared McCann falls after getting hit by the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Poehling reacts to scoring as Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn, center, looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier, fourth from left, celebrates his goal with center Ryan Poehling (25) and left wing Jeffrey Viel (28) as Seattle Kraken right wing Eeli Tolvanen, left, and defenseman Vince Dunn (29) skate away during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Poehling celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States wrapped up Saturday with “constructive” discussions on “possible parameters" for ending the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Negotiators will return to the United Arab Emirates for the next round on Feb. 1, according to a U.S. official who described the meetings as upbeat and positive.

The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push for progress to end Moscow’s nearly 4-year-old invasion.

“All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

The meetings covered a broad range of military and economic matters and included the possibility of a ceasefire before a deal, said the official. There was not yet an agreement on a final framework for oversight and operation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.

The power generated from the plant will be shared “on an equitable basis,” according to the official, but control of it was still undecided.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said there was “an understanding of the need for American monitoring and control of the process of ending the war and ensuring real security.”

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated alongside Ukrainian officials, including chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov. Russia sent military intelligence and army representatives, according to Zelenskyy.

While Zelenskyy said in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that a potential peace deal was “nearly ready,” certain sensitive sticking points — most notably those related to territorial issues — remain unresolved.

The U.S. official said Russian and Ukrainian officials likely would need to hold further talks in Russia or Ukraine before there was a chance of Zelenskyy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or even a joint session with President Donald Trump. There seemed to be momentum to reach the stage of leader meetings, according to the official, who spoke to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks in Abu Dhabi.

Just hours before the three-way talks began Friday, Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with Witkoff and Kushner during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.

The second day of talks came as Russian drone attacks killed one person and wounded four in the capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 27 people, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.

“Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table.”

Morton reported from London and Price from Washington.

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

A resident leaves her home in a damaged building following a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

A paramedic gives first aid to a resident who was injured in a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)