|
 Goalie Ryan Miller saved two of the three shots he faced in the
shootout, and the Canucks earned a 2-1 win over Anaheim, spoiling
the Ducks' home opener at the Honda Center.
Left winger Alexandre Burrows scored the decisive shootout goal.
Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen thought he stopped the puck with
his stick, but as he moved back, so did the puck.
"I try to get (Andersen) moving a little bit," Burrows said. "Make
him think that they you're coming slow, put him to sleep a little
bit, get him thinking you're going to make a move on him and just
surprise him with a quick shot five hole.
"I've done this one a few times, but I don't think I've ever done it
against Freddie, so I did it, and lucky enough, it went in tonight."
Right winger Radim Vrbata also scored in the shootout for Vancouver,
while left winger Jakob Silfverberg beat Miller for Anaheim's only
shootout goal.
The Canucks (2-0-1) experienced the new overtime format for the
second time in their first three games of the season, while the
Ducks (0-1-1) got their first official look at the three-on-three
showdown.
The Ducks were handed a power play in the overtime period, giving
them a fourth skater, but they failed to convert.
"When you get those things, you can't force plays," Anaheim coach
Bruce Boudreau said. "I think we tried to force plays in areas that
weren't there, and when that happens and they get to clear it, it
builds their moment up and brings ours down. It's not a good thing.
I think we have to go back to the drawing board when it comes to
four-on-threes."
Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen broke a scoreless tie early in the
second period. He blasted a slap shot past a screened Miller at
1:56. Left winger Andrew Cogliano got the puck from the hash marks
along the boards, with his back turned, out and up to Vatenen at the
point, setting up the goal.
"We needed to score a goal," Boudreau said. "We shoot from the point
and get traffic in front of the net, that's when things happen. We
had opportunities, but we didn't get enough traffic in front of Ryan
Miller, who is obviously playing pretty well right now."
Vancouver answered just over six minutes later when right winger
Adam Cracknell scored. The play started when left winger Brandon
Prust got in the way of right winger Jannik Hansen's initial shot on
net. The block cleared just enough space for Cracknell to come
through and snap the rebound past Andersen's glove.
Anaheim had a scoring chance with just eight minutes left in
regulation when center Shawn Horcoff split two defenders, but Miller
came up with the big save.
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"We battled hard," Vatenen said. "It was just not one of those days
when we were going to win the hockey game. We had some chances, but
we just didn't get the puck in the net."
Miller finished with 28 saves through regulation and overtime.
Andersen stopped 24 shots.
Both teams came out playing at a fast pace and fighting, literally.
Within the first two minutes of the game, Ducks defenseman Clayton
Stoner and Prust dropped the gloves. Ten seconds later, Anaheim went
on the power play when defenseman Alexander Edler was called for
holding.
Each team had several chances and multiple power plays in the first
period but could not find the net.
The Ducks hosts the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, the second game of
a four-game homestand. The Canucks travel to Los Angeles for a
matchup with the Kings on Tuesday night.
"It's always tough to play back to back against these two teams,"
Burrows said. "(The Kings have) been resting for a few days now, and
we just need to regroup and rehydrate and get ready for (Tuesday)
night."
NOTES: Anaheim fell to 12-9-2 in home openers. Before Monday, the
Ducks won four of the previous five. ... Ducks D Kevin Bieksa played
his first game against the Canucks since being acquired on June 30,
2015. He was selected by Vancouver in the fifth round of the 2001
draft. ... Canucks G Jacob Markstrom (hamstring) and F Chris Higgins
(fractured foot) are on injured reserve. ... Ducks RW Nate Thompson
(shoulder surgery) is on the non-roster injured reserve. ...
Scratches for the Canucks were D Yannick Weber and RW Jake Virtanen.
... The Ducks scratched RW Tim Jackman, D Josh Manson and C Chris
Wagner.
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