Ducks Fall To Canucks As Playoff Berth Remains Just Out Of Reach

The Ducks held their yearly instrumentality appreciation time Sunday, handing retired thousands of gifts, from a caller car to squad jerseys and gift cards. But nan 1 prize the Ducks’ long-suffering fans really wanted, a playoff berth, remained conscionable retired of reach.

Needing a triumph to clinch a postseason berth for nan first clip since 2018, nan Ducks mislaid a sloppy 4-3 overtime decision to nan Vancouver Canucks, nan NHL’s worst team, leaving them a constituent awkward of nan playoffs pinch 2 games to play.

The winning extremity came from Marco Rossi connected a powerfulness play pinch little than 11 seconds near successful nan other period.

The nonaccomplishment was nan seventh successful 8 games for nan Ducks, who person tumbled from first to 3rd successful nan Pacific Division standings. So they’ll deed nan roadworthy Monday for their last 2 games of nan regular play needing 1 constituent from games successful Minnesota and Nashville, aliases a Nashville nonaccomplishment Monday to San Jose, to extremity nan third-longest postseason drought successful nan NHL.

Cutter Gauthier opened nan scoring for nan Ducks astatine 3:41 of a feisty and beingness first play that was interrupted by 7 penalties and 2 fights, banging location nan rebound of an Alex Killhorn changeable conscionable 5 seconds aft nan Canucks killed a two-minute cross-checking punishment connected Teddy Blueger.

Vancouver matched that 7 minutes later erstwhile Kirill Kudryavtsev uncorked a slap changeable from nan bluish statement that was knocked down successful beforehand of nan crease but slipped down Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, allowing Curtis Douglas to scope successful flick it location for this first extremity of nan season.

Jake DeBrusk put Vancouver successful beforehand connected a powerfulness play 4 minutes later, redirecting successful a changeable from Rossi from nan debased slot.

Brock Boeser doubled nan lead pinch a short-handed extremity little than 5 minutes into nan last period, intercepting a sloppy from Leo Carlsson walk intended for John Carlson successful Vancouver’s protect end, past outskating Carlson nan different measurement earlier deking Dostal to nan crystal and lifting nan puck complete him.

That seemed to aftermath nan slumbering Ducks, pinch Gauthier getting his 2nd people of nan crippled connected a powerfulness play 37 seconds later, giving him a team-high 40 goals for nan season. Carlsson past evened things astatine 3-3 little than 2 minutes later, backhanding nan puck complete Canuck goalie Nikita Tolopilo while skating distant from nan crease for his 29th extremity of nan season.

That brought nan sellout crowd backmost into nan crippled too, pinch galore fans, who had been booing minutes earlier, rhythmically chanting “We want playoffs!” But those please went ignored erstwhile Rossi scored pinch nan Ducks Chris Kreider successful nan punishment container for slashing.

Dostal had kept nan Ducks successful nan crippled successful nan other period, making 5 immense saves connected nan powerfulness play.