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Vancouver Canucks Spoil Ducks’ Playoff Bid in 4-3 OT Win
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- Vancouver Canucks Spoil Ducks’ Playoff Bid in 4-3 OT Win
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Marco Rossi scored on the power play with 10 seconds left in overtime, as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at Honda Center on Sunday night.
The goal came after Chris Kreider was called for slashing, and it stopped Anaheim from clinching its first playoff berth since the 2017-18 season.
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Vancouver also got a goal and an assist from Rossi , the first NHL goal from Curtis Douglas , a power-play finish from Jake DeBrusk , and a short-handed strike from Brock Boeser .
Nikita Tolopilo made 24 saves, while Anaheim wasted a two-goal night from Cutter Gauthier and 22 stops from Lukas Dostal.
Anaheim came out like a team ready to punch its playoff ticket at home, Vancouver answered with more push than you might expect from a club this deep into a rough season, and by the third period it had turned into one of those loose, tense nights where nobody looked safe with a lead.
The flow of the game
At 3:41 of the first period, Gauthier opened the scoring by finishing a one-timer into an open side after Chris Kreider tapped a rebound across the crease.
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Vancouver answered at 10:49 when Douglas pushed in a loose puck for his first NHL goal, a nice little moment on a night the Canucks badly needed one.
Later in the period, DeBrusk tipped in a Rossi point shot on the power play at 14:37, and just like that Vancouver had turned an early deficit into a 2-1 lead.
That score held through a quiet second, then everything sped up. Boeser made it 3-1 only 4:28 into the third after picking off a pass at the right point during an Anaheim power play and scoring short-handed on a breakaway. It should have been the breathing room goal.
However, Gauthier answered 37 seconds later with a power-play finish of his own, then Leo Carlsson tied it 3-3 at 6:56 with a backhand from a sharp angle. Suddenly, the Ducks had the building back.
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Gauthier became Anaheim's first 40-goal scorer since Corey Perry in 2013-14, which tells you how big his night was on their side.
NHL.com also noted the Ducks have now lost seven of eight, even though they remain in position to clinch soon. That is the cruel part for Anaheim. They were right there, at home, with a chance to close the door, and still let Vancouver hang around long enough to ruin it late.
Adam Foote said after the game that his group could easily have stopped pushing, but didn't, and that rang true. After Anaheim tied it, Vancouver steadied itself instead of letting the game slide the rest of the way.
In overtime, Rossi set up in the right circle and DeBrusk found him for the winner at 4:50. It was a clean finish and the game was over.
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For the Canucks, this isn't some grand turning point. I'm not pretending it was. But it was another sign that the younger pieces and fill-in guys are still giving this team something to work with down the stretch.
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