Vancouver Canucks outsmart Anaheim Ducks in shootout to get seventh straight win – NHL Recap
Anaheim Ducks gave a tough time to the challenging Vancouver Canucks, but the latter was more determined as they outsmarted the former in a very close encounter on Tuesday, April 03, 2012, at Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Both Canucks and Ducks went neck and neck throughout the game, but Canucks were slightly better in the shootout as they won the game, 5-4, to register seventh victory in a row.
Canucks’ coach, Alain Vigneault, said after the game:
"It was entertaining. It had, obviously, its moments, both offensively and defensively. I thought we made some real good plays offensively. I thought we made some uncharacteristic mistakes defensively from a couple of our guys that ended up in the back of
our net."
Despite being eliminated from the playoff contention, Ducks put a marvellous effort and stunned Canucks by making the first scoring move of the game.
At 13:18 in the first period, Ryan Getzlaf put Ducks in charge, but the lead was soon neutralised when Alex Burrows scored for Canucks at 14:17.
Around two minutes later, Corey Perry scored and once again put Ducks in lead, which was once again levelled when Chris Higgins scored for Canucks near the end of the period.
After the dramatic first period, the crowd was observing another fascinating encounter in the next.
As per the expectations, the game stayed captivating throughout the period as Ducks scored two goals early to get the lead once again.
At 2:24, Rod Pelley took Ducks’ score to three goals while Devante Smith-Pelly added another goal after around five minutes.
The final 10 minutes of the period, however, were dominated by Canucks as they brought matters back to square one by scoring two goals to once again level the score.
At 11:21, Alex Burrows reduced the deficit to just one goal while Maxim Lapierre provided the equaliser at 18:33.
Both teams had already scored a total of eight goals before the third period. However, no team was able to score in the final period and the regulation ended with both teams tied at 4-4.
The game was forced to overtime, which also remained goalless and the shootout was called. Both teams scored on their first attempt, but Ducks missed out on their second while Canucks scored on their second to take advantage.
Maxim Lapierre scored for Canucks in the final attempt to take his team to the victory.
Ducks’ goaltender, Jonas Hiller, who made 35 saves in the game, said after the loss:
“We had a chance to win until the shootout. Their moves were better than ours were."
Canucks are leading the Western Conference with 109 points after 80 games. They are going to play their next game against Calgary Flames.
On the other hand, it was third straight defeat for the Ducks, who are ranked at 13th spot in the Western Conference with 78 points after 80 games. They will play their next game against Edmonton Oilers.
Tags: