LDN - Sports

Ducks slip past Canucks with two late goals

[October 24, 2016] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As the Anaheim Ducks reverse their early skid, the Vancouver Canucks are struggling to maintain their initial success.

Nick Ritchie and Corey Perry scored late in the third period to give Anaheim a 4-2 win over the Canucks on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 for the Ducks' home opener at the Honda Center.

Ryan Getzlaf added three assists, and Cam Fowler and Andrew Cogliano also provided goals for the Ducks, who earned their second consecutive win after losing their first four games. Goalie John Gibson contributed 17 saves for Anaheim (2-3-1).

"Up until the last two games, we haven't put 60 minutes together," Fowler said. "If you're limiting teams to 20, 25 shots you're limiting their scoring chances and more often than not, you're going to put wins on the board. We're a team that preaches defensive hockey, and we know that's our secret to winning games."

Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat scored for the Canucks, who lost for the first time in regulation this season, falling to 4-1-1. Goalie Ryan Miller, sidelined the previous four games because of a groin injury, stopped 33 shots in just his second appearance of the season.

"From the puck drop, we weren't ready," Vancouver defenseman Luca Sbisa said. "They out-played us. They out-battered us. We were very sloppy, especially through the neutral zone. They had four lines going, and I don't think we had any one going."

Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins believed fatigue became a factor. The Sunday night game was the Canucks' sixth in nine days and their second in two nights after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

"I thought we were tired as a group," Desjardins said. "I thought our defensemen were tired. L.A.'s a big, heavy team, and they kind of wore out our defense."

Ritchie broke a 2-2 tie in unusual fashion with 8:36 to play. After Getzlaf received Perry's drop pass at the right circle, Getzlaf dragged a high aerial shot. Vancouver defenseman Christopher Tanev lost sight of the puck, but Ritchie batted it out of the air and backhanded it inside the left post for his first goal.

Perry's third goal ended the scoring with 1:17 remaining when he poked the puck between Miller's legs.

"We had the mentality of going to work, and it showed in all three periods," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We wanted to make sure that we applied as much pressure as we possibly could on all areas in the ice."

Fowler gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 18 seconds into the second period. After Getzlaf secured the puck in the right corner, Fowler dragged a wrist shot from the left point that hit the right post and ricocheted behind Miller, whom Perry screened.

"They wanted to get pucks deep and have a great forecheck, and they did all night," Henrik Sedin said of the Ducks. "Once the game was tilted that way, it was tough for us to get out of it."

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Ducks defenseman Josh Manson (42) helps goalie John Gibson (36) defend the goal against Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin (22) during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Henrik Sedin tied the score at 4:19 of the third period. The Canucks' captain received Loui Eriksson's pass from behind the net and converted a wrist shot that bounced inside the right post.

Cogliano's third goal gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds into the game. Josh Manson began the scoring sequence with a three-on-two rush from the slot in his own end. Miller kicked away Manson's shot from the Canucks' slot, but Cogliano converted the rebound inside the left post.

Miller kept the margin at one goal by making a big save with 8:50 left in the first period. Jakob Silfverberg went on a breakaway after stealing a pass from the left boards in Vancouver's end. Silfverberg fired a wrist shot, but Miller used his right shoulder to block the puck.

Then with 33 seconds left in the period, the Canucks tied the score on a short-handed goal. Eriksson's backhanded pass from Vancouver's zone freed Horvat at center ice for a breakaway. Horvat finished the play with a wrist shot into the upper-left corner of Gibson's net for his third goal.

Horvat's goal represented just the Canucks' fourth shot on goal. Vancouver went the first 12:16 without one.

NOTES: Vancouver scratched RW Alexandre Burrows, RW Derek Dorsett and D Nikita Tryamkin. ... Canucks C Brandon Sutter needs one point for 200 in his career and five assists for 100. ... Anaheim scratched LW Emerson Etem, D Korbinian Holzer and D Simon Despres, who went on long-term injured reserve Saturday. Despres has not played since suffering an apparent concussion in the season opener Oct. 13 against the Dallas Stars. ... The Ducks recalled D Shea Theodore, C Joseph Cramarosa and C Michael Sgarbossa from San Diego (AHL) and assigned LW Mason Raymond, RW Nick Sorensen and D Jacob Larsson to the same club on Saturday. Cramarossa made his NHL debut Sunday night, seeing 8:20 of ice time.

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