Vancouver defeated Anaheim 2-1 for their 39th win of the season.
While the score was close, the Vancouver Canucks (39-17-7) dominated from start to finish, defeating the Anaheim Ducks (22-26-3) 2-1 on Sunday night. Nils Höglander and Conor Garland provided the offence, while Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the victory. With the win, improves their record to 19-11-4 on the road while extending their win streak versus the Ducks to six straight.
Overall, this was one of the Canucks best efforts all season. If not for the play of Lukas Dostal, this would have been a blowout for Vancouver. The Canucks outshot Anaheim 14-3 in the first period and limited the Ducks to 19 shots by the end of the game. Whether it was creating chances in the offensive zone or limiting Anaheim's ability to create any sort of offence, Vancouver played a 60-minute game and were rewarded with the victory.
Quotes
Rick Tocchet on the the Canucks performance:
"I thought, for the most part, it was a grind game. You have to win those games 2-1. I don't think we gave them a lot, not a lot of Grade A's and when they did, Casey was there for it."
Rick Tocchet on Nils Höglander's performance:
"I thought Hogs was one of our best forwards; he was maybe our best forward. He had some jump, kept the puck on his stick a lot, drove their D wide. I gotta admit, Hoggy was very good. Not many turnovers from him. Behind their net, came up with loose pucks. Yeah, Hoggy was really good tonight."
Rick Tocchet on Vasily Podkolzin's play:
"I thought Pods was pretty good. I thought there were some good moments of holding onto pucks. Couple of system stuff and he'll be fine. I think, for the most part, if he can hold pucks for us and get on the forecheck, that's something that we are looking for."
Facts and Stats
- Casey DeSmith picks up his first win since Jan. 9, 2024
- J.T. Miller extends his point streak to seven games
- Conor Garland snaps an eight-game goalless streak
- Canucks improve to 32-1-3 when carrying a lead into the third period
Scoring Summary
1st Period
VAN: 1:37- Nils Höglander (19th) from Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek
ANA: 4:15- Alex Killorn (9th) from Max Jones and Urho Vaakanainen
2nd Period
VAN: 3:34- Conor Garland (12th) from Nikita Zadorov and J.T. Miller
3rd Period
No Scoring
Canucks Next Opponent
Vancouver continues their three-game road trip with a visit to L.A. This is the second time the Canucks and Kings have faced each other in a week, with the last meeting resulting in a 5-1 L.A. win on Thursday night. Game time is set for Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT from Crypto.com Arena.
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