VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks put up a late rally Tuesday but couldn't complete a comeback against the Anaheim Ducks.
Down 2-0 midway through the third period, the Canucks (5-6-2), scored two late goals to force overtime but ultimately fell 3-2 to the visitors.
It was a disappointing result for Vancouver forward J.T. Miller.
"We played a good game again," he said. "It's a good push but we're here for two (points) not one."
Troy Terry buried the game winner 3:52 into extra time, popping a shot up and over the outstretched pad of Vancouver goalie Jaroslav Halak.
Cam Fowler and Isac Lundestrom scored in regulation for the Ducks (7-4-3), who extended their win streak to five games.
Terry, a 24-year-old right-winger, also had an assist in regulation and stretched his league-leading point streak to 12 games. He has nine goals and seven assists across the span.
“(Terry) is doing a great job. I mean, he's working," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. "Tonight wasn't our best night as a line. I felt like we fought it early, we didn't drive the bus the way we need to, and that's on us as a group but it's about being resilient and finishing the way we wanted to and those are good signs for our group."
Miller and Elias Pettersson had third-period goals for the Canucks (5-6-2). Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser assisted on both tallies.
John Gibson was a force in net for Anaheim, stopping 35 shots before Miller finally beat him 13:29 into the third with a wrist shot from inside the blue line.
Miller played junior hockey with Gibson and said he knows the netminder's game really well.
“He’s a big goalie, he’s been dominant at every level," he said. "It’s funny, our two goals tonight were not pretty goals but we got traffic. (Pettersson) didn’t get all of it on his and those are the ones that seem to find a way to go in. He’s a really good first-save goalie, he’s really big and athletic and he’s been like that for a long time.”
The Ducks' goalie ultimately recorded 41 saves on the night. Halak had 28 saves for the Canucks in his third start of the season.
Canucks coach Travis Green said his team knew a pretty goal wasn't going to come on Tuesday.
“We talked about making an effort, we were probably going to need a rebound goal, an ugly goal the way the game was going. We talked about that after the second period," he said. "And give our guys a ton of credit — they stayed with it to the end.”
Pettersson forced overtime, scoring with 55 seconds left in regulation. The Swedish centre took a moment to settle a puck before rifling a shot from the faceoff dot that trickled through Gibson's pads and tied the score at 2-2.
The Canucks were short-handed at the time, with Conor Garland sitting in the penalty box after Halak was called for tripping Getzlaf. Halak was then pulled to give Vancouver a full five-man attack with less than a minute to go.
An unlucky bounce turned into Anaheim's second goal of the night 9:15 into the third period.
Halak stopped Lundestrom's shot from in tight but the rebound hit Miller at the top of the crease. The Canucks forward appeared to pull the puck off the line and both sides continue to play for about a minute before the horn sounded.
An official explained that, after a review, it was determined that the puck had fully crossed the goal line, resulting in a 2-0 lead for the Ducks.
The Ducks took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, despite being outshot 13-8 by the Canucks.
Anaheim opened the scoring after Hughes was called for tripping Adam Henrique. Fowler blasted a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Halak on the glove side at 11:18. Terry registered an assist on the play.
A woeful penalty kill has plagued Vancouver early this season. The Canucks came into Tuesday's game having killed off a league-worst 63.9 per cent of their penalties.
The Ducks came in with the NHL's fifth-best power play, capitalizing on 27.3 per cent of their chances with the man advantage.
Anaheim went 1 for 4 on the power play Tuesday, while Vancouver went scoreless on two opportunities.
"Obviously if our special teams were better we’d have a lot better record right now," Green said. "You can’t go back and change things. You gotta be honest and look at all areas of your game and try to improve all areas of your game still. And that’s what we’ll try to do tomorrow. We’ll get back at it.”
The Canucks kick off a three-game road swing Thursday when they face the Avalanche in Colorado. The Ducks visit the Kraken in Seattle the same night.
NOTES: The loss wrapped a seven-game homestand that saw the Canucks go 2-4-1. … The Ducks have not lost in regulation since Oct. 26 when they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Winnipeg Jets. … The Canucks marked "armed forces appreciation night" with camouflage warm-up jerseys and hundreds of members of the Canadian Armed Forces in attendance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2021.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
