The Vancouver Canucks rebounded from their back-to-back losses against the Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks on the road and beat the Ducks 3-2 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night. The Canucks fell behind 1-0 early despite a strong start, but got goals from Jake DeBrusk, Teddy Blueger, and Carson Soucy in the second period to pull ahead 3-1 and eventually win only their 13th game on home ice. The Ducks got tallies from Sam Colangelo and Brian Dumoulin as they lost for only the fourth time in their last 10 games.
The win pulls the Canucks back into a tie with the Calgary Flames for the second wild card spot, while the Ducks fall to six back. Here is your game recap.
Game Recap
The story of the first period was John Gibson as the Canucks threw 17 shots his way and he stopped them all. The Canucks came out flying and outshot the Ducks 17-5, but couldn’t put one by Gibson. He made several highlight-reel saves (and got a little help from his friend, the post, 10 seconds in), including one where he made a behind-the-back glove save to rob Brock Boeser of his 19th. The Ducks even left the opening period up 1-0 after Colangelo got a lucky deflection at 13:21 on his team’s third shot of the game.
The Canucks finally got on the board early in the second on their third power play of the game. DeBrusk potted his 22nd of the season and 10th on the power play after he took a pass from Boeser and wristed it over the blocker of Gibson just 1:40 in. Then, they took the lead with Teddy Blueger’s sixth, deflecting the puck off Ducks’ defenseman Jackson LaCombe at 10:33, before Soucy’s third survived a long coach’s challenge for goaltender interference at 18:51 to take a two-goal lead into the second intermission. The Canucks ended up getting only two past Gibson, though, as the Ducks starter had to leave the game after getting run into by Drew O’Connor, with Lukas Dostal taking over and allowing Soucy’s 3-1 goal late in the period.
The Ducks got within one in the third period with Dumoulin’s second of the season, but they couldn’t find the equalizer late and fell 3-2 to the Canucks. Gibson stopped 19 of 21 before handing the reins to Dostal in the second, who finished with the loss after allowing Soucy’s eventual game-winner. He stopped 14 of 15 in relief. Lankinen, meanwhile, wasn’t very busy but still allowed two on 16 shots. He improved to 21-10-7 on the season, while Dostal fell to 18-15-5.
What’s Next for the Canucks & Ducks?
Both teams are back in action on Friday as the Canucks continue their four-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild, while the Ducks return to Anaheim and start their own three-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues.
