Marco Rossi scored on a power play with 10 seconds left in overtime, helping the Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Sunday night at the Honda Centre.
The goal came after Chris Kreider was called for slashing and prevented Anaheim from clinching its first playoff berth since the 2017–18 season.
Vancouver 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 Tolopillo made 24 saves, while Anaheim wasted a two-goal night from Cutter Gauthier and 22 stops from Lucas Dostal.
Anaheim came across like a team ready to punch its playoff ticket on home soil, Vancouver responded with more pressure than you might expect from a club in this difficult season, and by the third period it had turned into one of those loose, tense nights where no one seemed safe with the lead.
game flow
At 3:41 of the first period, Gauthier opened the scoring by finishing a one-timer in the open side after Chris Kreider tapped in a rebound in the crease.
Vancouver answered at 10:49 when Douglas pushed in a loose puck for his first NHL goal, a feel-good moment that the Canucks desperately needed on a night.
Late in the period, DeBrusk took the lead on a Rossi point shot on the power play at 14:37, and just like that Vancouver turned an early deficit into a 2–1 lead.
That score lasted for a second, then everything took off. Boeser made it 3-1 just 4:28 into the third after taking a pass at the right point during an Anaheim power play and scoring short-handed on a breakaway. This should have been the goal of the breathing room.
However, Gauthier answered with a power-play finish of his own 37 seconds later, then Leo Karlsson tied it at 3–3 with a backhand from a sharp angle at 6:56. Suddenly, the ducks have the building back.
Gauthier became Anaheim's first 40-goal scorer since Corey Perry in 2013-14, which tells you how big his night was for him.
NHL.com also noted that the Ducks have now lost seven of eight, even though they are in position to pick up a win soon. This is the cruel part for Anaheim. They were right there, at home, with a chance to close the door, and yet they let Vancouver linger long enough to be doomed late on.
Adam Foote said after the game that his group could have easily stopped pushing, but they didn't, and it was true. After Anaheim tied, Vancouver held their own instead of letting the game slip away.
In overtime, Rossi got 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.
For the Canucks, this isn't a huge turning point. I'm not going to pretend that it was. But it was another sign that the young pieces and fill-in guys are still giving this team something to work with.
