VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Dakota Joshua scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks held on for a 3-2 win over the Ducks on Sunday, a day after clinching a playoff spot.
Brock Boeser added a power play goal in the first period for the Canucks and JT Miller contributed two assists.
The Ducks got third-period goals from Olen Zellweger and Mason McTavish.
Vancouver goalie Arturs Silovs made 20 saves in his first NHL game since March 6, 2023.
Lukas Dostal stopped 27 of 30 for the Ducks, who were coming off a 6-1 loss to the Oilers in Edmonton and lost their fifth straight game.
“I thought overall we put some pressure on them. I thought the whole game was pretty competitive on our part,” said Zellweger, who had his parents in the stands. “Not where we wanted it in the end, but I’m sure we’ll continue to build on our efforts and competitiveness here.”
The Canucks remain atop the Pacific Division standings, six points ahead of the Oilers. Vancouver was idle on Saturday as it clinched its first playoff berth since 2020.
Earning a playoff spot is only part of the team’s plan, Miller said.
“We need to focus more on the next game and not look ahead because if we play like we did tonight we are going to lose most of the games,” he said. “So we have to make sure that we are focused on the present and not on the playoffs. »
After allowing two goals in the third period, the Canucks stifled the Ducks during the second half of the final period.
Conor Garland delivered the game-winning shot with 2:13 left, sending a blind backhand pass to Joshua from the baseline. The big winger fired a shot past Dostal for his second goal of the afternoon to give Vancouver a 3-2 lead.
Ducks coach Greg Cronin called the result “a shame.”
“We have a power play with five minutes left in the game and we don’t get a shot on goal. You get lucky there and we don’t take advantage of it, and then it’s a cardinal sin: You don’t leave the front of the net when the puck is behind your net,” he said.
“You just can’t give up those goals and it cost us the game.”
The Ducks had a great opportunity to score the game-winner when Noah Juulsen was called for tripping at 14:09 of the third period. The Canucks killed the penalty without the Ducks recording a single shot on goal.
Vancouver was 2-for-4 on the power play Sunday while the Ducks were 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Zellweger beat Silovs at 3:37 of the final period, sending a shot over the goalie’s glove from the bottom of the faceoff circle for his first NHL goal.
A little over a minute later, Gustav Lindstrom attempted to go around the Vancouver net and the unmarked McTavish was there to collect the puck. The Ducks center fired a wrist shot past Silovs to tie the score at 2.
On Sunday, the Canucks played nine home games with a 5-3-1 record. Vancouver is 25-9-4 at Rogers Arena.
FOLLOWING
Ducks: Face the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday.
Canucks: Visit the Golden Knights in Vegas on Tuesday to kick off a three-game road trip.
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