The Canucks didn’t need a perfect night. They just needed enough to survive, and then enough to finish.
They got there in overtime, where Filip Hronek scored on the power play to seal a 6-5 win over the Ducks. After the way recent games have gone, simply reaching overtime already felt like a lift. Winning it there gave the night a completely different feel.
That was the point, really: Vancouver had spent too many recent evenings walking out frustrated. As Luke Schenn put it recently, the pattern had worn on the group - mornings full of smiles, nights ending with scowls. This one at least flipped the script.
The Canucks had reasons to believe before Anaheim pushed the lead to 3-1. They were holding the puck, generating chances, and looking like a team that could hang around if the details cooperated. But the details didn’t cooperate.
Special teams ended up doing real damage. Anaheim scored a power-play goal from Sennecke in the middle period, and that was the kind of swing that drained the air out of the building.
The Ducks only had two power-play chances, but they made one of them count. Vancouver, meanwhile, went 1-for-7 on the man advantage, with Hronek’s overtime winner doubling as the lone payoff.
Hronek’s night was eventful long before the finish. A.J.
Greer’s first goal went off Hronek’s stick and changed direction behind Leevi Meriläinen. On the next Ducks goal, Hronek and Pettersson - the forward - got tied up covering the same man in front, and Jeff Malott was left alone to put Anaheim back in front.
Even beyond those plays, Hronek had a rough go of it. He struggled in board battles and had trouble helping Vancouver stay in the offensive zone when pressure arrived.
Zeev Buium had his own issues at the other end. He got caught puck-watching on Anaheim’s fourth goal, and Leo Carlsson was left with a simple backdoor finish. Instead of boxing Carlsson out, Buium looked for the puck, hesitated, and by then it was too late - the Ducks had the easy tap-in, and Meriläinen had no chance.
In Other News...
Troy Terry Update Gives Ducks Fans A Reason To Watch November
Troy Terrys offseason hip surgery has kept one of Anaheims most important forwards on the sideline through the early part of the fall, but there has at least been steady movement in the right direction. He has been skating since training camp, a sign that the recovery has progressed far enough for the Ducks to keep an eye on what comes next as the calendar flips toward November.
The real checkpoint now is whether Terry can join practice early in the month, which would give Anaheim a better sense of how close he is to returning to full hockey activity. For a Ducks club already watching a long list of players around the league work through various injury timelines, the update gives fans a reason to keep tabs on November with a little more interest than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Just Hit A New Low In A Collapse Fans Wont Forget
The Ducks had enough offense to build two separate three-goal cushions at Honda Center, but not enough composure to finish the job against Vancouver in a 6-5 overtime loss that will linger. Anaheim kept finding answers during the night, only to watch the game slip away as the Canucks kept pressing and the Ducks failed to shut things down when it mattered most.
For a club already reeling, the defeat made it six losses in the last seven games and underscored how fragile their late-game execution has become. The power-play battle tilted the wrong way in the closing stretch, and what looked like a needed win for the Ducks instead turned into another painful reminder that even a strong start is not enough if the final minutes keep unraveling. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Face A Battle Of Alberta Lineup Question
The injury picture around Anaheim is starting to clear a bit, even if it is not all the way there yet. Joel Quenneville said Pavel Mintyukov is still day-to-day, while Ian Moore has gotten back on the ice and Troy Terry is moving closer to a return after hip surgery. For a Ducks club still sorting through its early-season availability, those are the kind of updates that can change the shape of a lineup before they turn into bigger news.
Terrys situation is the one worth watching most closely, because his comeback is inching toward the point where the Ducks may finally be able to count on him again. Around the league, teams like Nashville and Edmonton are also tracking players resuming skating or nearing returns, but Anaheims latest injury notes carry a little extra weight given how much the Ducks have had to juggle already. The next step is seeing how soon those positives turn into an actual lineup decision. [Read more 🡒]