Ducks Earn A Point Against The Canucks

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Vancouver Canucks for their final home game of the season. Lukas Dostal was in net against Nikita Tolopilo. Radko Gudas and Cutter Gauthier both returned to the lineup after being out with injuries.

Cutter Gauthier go the Ducks on the board first. A rebound came to him at the side of the net for an easy score.

The Canucks tied up the just over halfway through the period. Curtis Douglas got to a rebound behind Dostal and tapped it in.

About a minute later Radko Gudas and Teddy Blueger dropped the gloves.

Jake DeBrusk scored later in the first period on the power play to make it a 2-1 lead. He tipped a point shot from Marco Rossi past Dostal.

Jeffrey Viel and Douglas dropped the gloves with just over five minutes left in the period. Vancouver lead 2-1 after the first period.

There was no scoring in the second period.

The Ducks went on the power play early in the third period. Brock Boeser got a breakaway and scored shorthanded to give Vancouver a 3-1 lead.

Gauthier then scored on the same power play to pull the Ducks back within one goal. He scored on a one timer from the right face-off circle.

Leo Carlsson tied the game up about two minutes later. He got to a rebound in the slot and then backhanded it over Tolopilo, who was already down from the initial shot.

The teams were tied at three at the end of regulation. In overtime, Chris Kreider was called for slashing and the Canucks would score on the power play to win 4-3.

Analysis:

The Ducks got off to a good start scoring first, but then quickly fell behind 2-1. A shorthanded goal by Vancouver early in the third made it 3-1, but Anaheim didn’t give up. The Ducks were able to score twice and force overtime. In the extra session the Canucks scored on the power play to pull out a 4-3 win.

Anaheim did outshoot Vancouver 28 to 19 through three periods. In overtime the Canucks outshot the Ducks seven to one. Special teams was a major factor in this contest. The Canucks scored on 2-of-3 power plays and had a shorthanded goal. The Ducks scored on 1-of-2 power plays.

Beckett Sennecke has been a great surprise in his breakout season as a rookie, but he needs to keep it simple in overtime. He has tried to get too fancy, resulting in losing control of the puck. In several instances the opponent gets a quality scoring chance and/or scores. In this game Vancouver got an odd man rush in OT and Kreider ended up getting called for a questionable penalty while defending.

A good sign was the return of Gauthier, who was on fire in this contest. He scored twice and nearly had a hat trick. Gudas also returned and looked back to his normal physical self. He did land awkwardly in his fight with and went to the locker room for a little bit before returning to the game.

Anaheim got a point, but it was still a frustrating night when a win would have clinched a playoff spot. The Canucks are one of the worst teams in the league and the Ducks couldn’t get it done against them. The Ducks will likely still make the playoffs, but how far they can go is another question.

Team Notes/Stats:

The Ducks earned a point, so they need a loss by Nashville in any fashion today to clinch a playoff spot.

Gauthier became the Ducks first 40-goal scorer since Corey Perry did it in the 2013-14 season.

The Ducks organization recognized Steve Carroll for his 50 years of announcing before and during the game. This was his final home game covering the Ducks.

What’s Next?

The Ducks head to Minnesota to play the Wild on Tuesday at 5 PM.

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April 13th, 2026