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 The Ducks got shootout goals from right wingers Jakob Silfverberg
and Corey Perry for a 4-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on
Thursday in a game they almost let slip away.
It was the eighth time in the last 10 games the Ducks have gone to
overtime or a shootout. During that stretch, Anaheim is 4-1-5. It
was also the second consecutive game where Anaheim blew a two-goal
lead.
"It's not the way want to play," said Perry. "It wasn't perfect but
we found a way to win. That's what we have been trying to do. We've
been getting our points but the two points was crucial in this
game."
Anaheim opened the scoring with the game just 37 second old on
center Andrew Cogliano third of the season and led 2-0 after the
first period thanks to center Ryan Getzlaf's sixth.
The Canucks stormed back in the second on goals by right wingers
Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata and rookie center Bo Horvat to take a
3-2 lead.
"It was awesome," Horvat said of his first NHL goal. "To score your
first NHL goal, at home with all the fans and to get the team going,
it's something I won't forget."
Anaheim left winger Matt Beleskey made it 3-3 when he scored off a
scramble at 11:52 of the third.
"We're just playing for 50 minutes instead of 60," said Beleskey,
who has nine goals on the season. "We have lots of time to work on
that.
"It just comes down to a little focus. Luckily we came back and got
the two points. That's all that really matters right now."
Ducks' coach Bruce Boudreau said his team "sort of got
discombobulated a little bit" but managed to regroup.
"Obviously you don't like to give up a lead but it's early in the
second period," he said. "It's not like you are blowing leads with
five minutes left."
It was an emotional night for Duck center Ryan Kesler. He played his
first game back in Vancouver since his trade to Anaheim last spring.
Kesler was stopped in the shootout, didn't register a point, and was
booed by the Rogers Arena crowd every time he touched the puck.
"Let's just say I'm glad it's over with," said Kesler.
He shrugged when asked about the fan's reaction to his return.
"They paid for their tickets, they are allowed to do what they want
to do," Kesler said. "Does it hurt? When you play somewhere for 10
years, and you give your heart and soul every night, it is what it
is. Move on."
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Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack was frustrated after allowing two
goals in the shootout.
"I felt like I have to give the boys a better chance," said Lack who
is 1-3-1 on the season. "I can't let two out of three in. It's
something I am going to work on."
The Canucks had won a 5-4 game in Edmonton on Wednesday but Vrbata
refused to let the back-to-back be an excuse.
"They were the fresh team coming in," he said. "We didn't give up,
turned it around in the second period. Too bad we couldn't score the
fourth one in the third."
Anaheim improved its Western Conference-leading record to 12-4-5 for
29 points.
NOTES: Vancouver lost D Dan Hamhuis less than three minutes into the
game. He fell after appearing to clip a skate and was helped off the
ice favoring his right leg. ... The Canucks acquired C Will Acton
from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for LW Kellan Lain. The
27-year-old Acton has three goals and two assists in 33 NHL games.
... RW Alex Burrows missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... D
Luca Sbisa returned to Vancouver's lineup after missing four games
with a lower-body injury. ... The Ducks traded D Bryan Allen to
Montreal for LW Rene Bourque. Bourque, 32, has 142 goals and 278
points in 573 games with Montreal, Calgary and Chicago. ... D
Francois Beauchemin returned to the Ducks lineup after missing five
games with the mumps. ... RW Devante Smith-Pelly also played after
missing three games because of an upper-body injury. ... Anaheim
placed C William Karlsson (illness) on Injured Reserve. ... The
Ducks reassigned C/RW Chris Wagner to the AHL's Norfolk Admirals.
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