ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Kreider scored two goals, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves and the Anaheim Ducks swept their three-game season series with the Vegas Golden Knights with a 4-3 victory on Sunday night.
Cutter Gauthier scored and Ryan Poehling added an empty-net goal for the Ducks. Anaheim earned its eighth victory in 10 games overall despite nearly blowing an early 3-0 lead during a third period dominated by Vegas.
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, left, moves the puck while under pressure from Anaheim Ducks left wing Alex Killorn during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas, left, falls after hip checking Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonas Rondbjerg during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Poehling celebrates his assist on a goal by left wing Chris Kreider during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonas Rondbjerg, right, falls after being hit by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mitch Marner and Ivan Barbashev scored goals in their third straight games for the Golden Knights, who have lost five straight and seven of eight. Vegas has gone on two five-game skids since Christmas, with an 8-2-0 surge sandwiched between them.
Tomas Hertl scored with 6 seconds to play and Adin Hill stopped 19 shots for Vegas.
Kreider put Anaheim up 2-0 with his first multigoal game since Nov. 6 for the Ducks, who acquired him last June from the New York Rangers.
He opened the scoring late in the first when a puck from Poehling hit his leg and went in. He tipped home his 19th goal early in the second.
Gauthier scored his 24th goal a few minutes later, beating Hill at the near post for Anaheim's fifth power-play goal in five games.
Marner took advantage of a lucky deflection when Mark Stone's pass from behind the net ricocheted off two Ducks and went straight to him.
Vegas took control in the third period, and Barbashev tapped home a stationary puck in the crease after Dostal couldn't smother Jack Eichel's shot.
Anaheim right wing Troy Terry returned from an 11-game absence with an upper-body injury, and center Mason McTavish also returned after missing five games.
The Ducks had their eighth consecutive sellout as they returned from a five-game road trip to begin a nine-game homestand. Anaheim doesn't play another road game until March 10.
Golden Knights: Host Vancouver on Wednesday.
Ducks: Host Seattle on Tuesday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, left, moves the puck while under pressure from Anaheim Ducks left wing Alex Killorn during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas, left, falls after hip checking Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonas Rondbjerg during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Poehling celebrates his assist on a goal by left wing Chris Kreider during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonas Rondbjerg, right, falls after being hit by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
CARTAGO, Costa Rica (AP) — Preliminary and partial results showed the Costa Rican president’s handpicked successor poised to win the presidency in a crowded field after Sunday's election.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported that with votes from 88.4% of polling places tallied, conservative populist Laura Fernández of the Sovereign People's Party had 48.5% of the vote. Her closest challenger was economist Álvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party with 33.3%.
Ramos conceded Sunday night and pledged to lead a “constructive opposition,” but one that would not let those in power get away with anything.
“In democracy dissent is allowed, criticizing is allowed,” he said.
Fernández spoke to her supporters after Ramos conceded and President Rodrigo Chaves congratulated her.
“Costa Rica has voted and it has voted to continue the change, a change that only seeks to rescue and perfect our democratic institutions and return them to you, to the sovereign people, to create more well-being and prosperity for our people,” Fernández said.
“The mandate the sovereign people give me is clear: the change will be deep and irreversible,” she said.
At least 40% of the total vote is required to win the presidential election in the first round. Otherwise, the top two candidates will go to a runoff on April 5.
Fernández campaigned on continuing the policies of the term-limited Chaves.
The historically peaceful Central American nation’s crime surge in recent years could be a deciding factor for many voters. Some fault Chaves' presidency for failing to bring those rates down, but many see his confrontational style as the best chance for Costa Rica to tame the violence.
Fernández was previously Chaves’ minister of national planning and economic policy and, more recently, his minister of the presidency.
She is Chaves' favored successor and was considered the frontrunner headed into Sunday's election.
Costa Ricans also voted for the 57-seat National Assembly. Chaves’ party is expected to make gains, but perhaps not achieve the supermajority he and Fernández have called for, which would allow their party to choose Supreme Court magistrates, for example.
Twenty contenders were seeking the presidency, but no candidate other than Fernández and Ramos reached 5% in the preliminary and partial results.
Some 3.7 million Costa Ricans are eligible to vote. They began casting their ballots at 6 a.m. Sunday and voting continued until 6 p.m.
Ronald Loaiza, an electrical engineer, was one of the first to vote amid rain and cold early Sunday at a school in Cartago, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of San Jose. He came early so that he could accompany his father to vote later in another town.
“I hope that it’s a democratic celebration, that the people come out to vote,” he said. “It’s very important that we exercise the right that this country gives us, that we’re conscious of our democracy.”
Four years ago, Chaves ran an outsider campaign that carried him to victory over the country's traditional parties, despite the fact that he had briefly served as economy minister in a previous administration. His framing of traditional parties as corrupt and self-interested resonated in a country with high unemployment and a soaring budget deficit.
Presidential candidate Laura Fernández addresses supporters after polls closed in San Jose, Costa Rica, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carlos Borbon)
FILE - Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Costa Rica's presidential candidate Laura Fernandez prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Cartago, Costa Rica, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carlos Borbon)
FILE - Costa Rica's former finance minister Rodrigo Chaves speaks to supporters at his headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica, after winning a presidential runoff election, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Gonzalez, File)
Costa Rica's presidential candidate Laura Fernandez prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Cartago, Costa Rica, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carlos Borbon)
