Anaheim Ducks at Vancouver Canucks

Brock Boeser scores 2 goals as Vancouver Canucks beat Anaheim Ducks 3-1

Elias Pettersson snapped a third-period tie as Vancouver improved to 3-4 in its last seven games. Thatcher Demko stopped 30 shots.

Ryan Strome scored for Anaheim, and John Gibson made 24 saves. The Ducks dropped their seventh straight game.

The Canucks jumped in front when Filip Hronek’s blocked shot was knocked home by Boeser 6:34 into the first period. It was Boeser's NHL-high 16th goal this season.

Strome tied it with his third goal 5:10 into the second. He scored from the right faceoff circle.

“I think we liked our work ethic. The third period it seemed they turned it on a little bit but I think the first 40 we played a great game,” Strome said. “Even the third, I thought we defended hard, it was just they got the one wraparound goal and that seemed to just deflate us a bit.”

Pettersson put Vancouver ahead to stay when he swept home a wraparound 32 seconds into the third.

Boeser added an empty-netter with 48 seconds left.

“I’m very happy. He’s been great for us this year and he keeps scoring goals,” Pettersson said about Boeser leading the league in goals.

The Canucks were outshot 27-12 through the first two periods before an improved third-period performance.

“It’s a lesson that we learned last year,” Boeser said about the Canucks emerging in the third.

“There were lots of games last year where we weren’t good in third periods. (Canucks coach Rick Tocchet) came in and I think that was one of the things I think we picked up on, ‘You’ve got to play good in third periods and you can’t have a letdown.’”

Mason McTavish had a chance to tie the game with 2:17 left in the third but was denied by the goalpost.

“You could see it from the bench, the net was wide open and I saw it going in and I expected the light to go on and it’s kind of a shock but we got to score more than one goal or two goals a game,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

Canucks: Host Vegas on Thursday night.

VAN leads series 1-0