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. 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.

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.