Boeser has goal and assist as Canucks score 5 in 1st period to beat Ducks 6-2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brock Boeser had a goal and an assist in Vancouver’s five-goal first period and the Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-2 on Saturday.
Connor Garland, Filip Hronek, Dakota Joshua, Max Sasson and rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson also scored for Vancouver, and Quinn Hughes had two assists. Thatcher Demko stopped 32 shots to help the Canucks pull six points behind Minnesota for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal finished with 30 saves.
Terry scored on Anaheim’s first shot on goal 1:22 into the game for a 1-0 lead.
The Ducks then scored five times in a 4:30 span to take a 5-1 lead.
Takeaways
Canucks: Vancouver, 10-1-0 in its last 11 games against the Ducks, allowed an opening goal in the first five minutes for the 11th time this season — sixth at home. They rebounded to score six goals for the fifth time.
Ducks: Anaheim is 12th in the West and has been eliminated from playoff contention. Terry became the fourth Ducks player with 20 goals this season, joining Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano.
Key moment
Petterson tied the score 1-1 with his first NHL goal at 9:40 of the first off a pretty assist from Linus Karlsson to start the five-goal outburst. Hronek deflected Teddy Bleuge’s shot at 10:46 to put the Canucks ahead. Boeser and Garland had power-play goals 2:53 apart, and Joshua scored with 5:50 left in the period to give Vancouver a 5-1 lead.
Key stat
Anaheim has give up 78 goals in the first period, third-most in the NHL — trailing only San Jose (88) and Seattle (86).
Up next
Ducks host Edmonton on Monday, and Canucks host Vegas on Sunday.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl