Drew O’Connor Strikes Late, Canucks Hold Anaheim Off 2-0

The Vancouver Canucks opened the scoring late in the game and battled to secure the win against the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 at Rogers Arena.

Head Coach Adam Foote said the group played simple and connected, especially on the defensive side of the puck, which was instrumental in the win.

“We seemed more solid coming back into our end. We were a lot faster going back for pucks, and we were more layered, so there were less slot plays and less east-west behind our net,” Foote said.

“It seemed like we got a little bit of confidence as the game went on. It seemed like we were putting pressure on them up ice in the neutral zone, and then our forecheck was where it was a few weeks ago, where we had a really strong F3. I know they've got some guys out, but they still have a good rush team, and our F3 was a lot better today.”

Nikita Tolopilo, played all but 2:11 and turned aside all 32 shots he faced, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 1 shot in the time he was between the pipes.

Tolopilo was going through concussion protocol after being ran into at the end of the first period, forcing him to miss the first couple of minutes of the second.

Tolopilo focused on playing to his structure and keeping his game simple, and wants to stick to the same process going forward.

“Every game, every night, it's so important. I'm just happy like that, we got a win and hopefully we're going to keep building on that and get more,” Tolopilo said.

Drew O’Connor had the go-ahead goal, and said it was a great team effort.

“Thought it was good. Tolo did a great job, obviously, made a lot of big saves, but I thought we were pretty tight. We didn't give them too much off the rush. They're a rush team, and I thought we did a good job keeping an F3 above and not giving them too many chances,” O’Connor said.

It was a milestone game for Jake DeBrusk, who is now up to 600 career games. DeBrusk assisted on O’Connor’s go-ahead goal and was pleased with the win in a milestone game.

“You don’t really think about it, I'm not in it for the 600, 700 games, but at the same point, it forces you to look back a little bit. I don't think if when I was 18 years old, I would have told myself, I would have had that, so very grateful for all the ups and downs and everything. It was nice to celebrate in a win, and hopefully I can squeak out 600 more,” DeBrusk said.

Goals

Aatu Räty pushed the pace up ice and slid the puck to DeBrusk as the Canucks entered the offensive zone. DeBrusk then found O’Connor in the slot for a slap shot, beating Lukas Dostal on his glove side.

“[It was] just a good play by Jake. Just wanted to get it off quick. I think those ones sometimes, when the goalie is sliding over, it's just better to get it off as quick as you can,” O’Connor said.

With 48.5 seconds left in regulation and Anaheim pressing with a 6-on-4 for advantage, the Canucks re-gained control of the puck, Teddy Blueger icing the game with an empty netter to seal the win, sniping a shot between the pipes from his own end to make it 2-0.

Up Next

The Canucks finish their eight-game homestand on Saturday, January 31st for a matinee game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4:00 p.m. PT.