Canucks ride 5-goal first period to win over Ducks

Brock Boeser had a goal and an assist for the Vancouver Canucks in a 6-2 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Saturday afternoon.

Elias N. Pettersson scored his first NHL goal, Filip Hronek, Conor Garland, Dakota Joshua and Max Sasson also scored, Quinn Hughes had two assists and Thatcher Demko made 30 saves for the Canucks (35-28-13, 83 points), who ended a three-game skid (0-2-1). Vancouver is six points back of the second Western Conference wild-card spot.

Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras scored and Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for the Ducks (33-35-8, 74 points), who have dropped three of four.

Terry scored his 20th goal of the season to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 1:21 of the first period, fitting the puck between Demko and the short-side post from the right circle, but the Canucks came back with five straight goals in a 4:30 span of the first.

Pettersson, playing in his 22nd NHL game, joined the rush and scored with a one-timer from the high slot to tie it 1-1 at 9:40.

Hronek gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead when his shot from just inside the blue line deflected off the stick blade of Zegras before hitting the net at 10:46.

The Canucks were on their first power play when Boeser scored on a deflection from the slot to make it 3-1 at 11:32.

Vancouver went back on a power play and Garland scored when a rebound went off his leg and into the crease before he pushed it across the goal line for a 4-1 lead at 13:25.

Joshua then scored from in close to make it 5-1 at 14:10, prompting a timeout from Ducks coach Greg Cronin, but Dostal remained in the game.

The Ducks cut it to 5-2 at 2:49 of the second after Radko Gudas took a slap shot that went wide, but the rebound kicked off the end boards and came out the other side to Zegras, who shot the puck into the open side of the net before Demko could slide over.

Sasson scored on a breakaway at 5:33 of the third to re-establish a four-goal lead at 6-2.

--Field Level Media