McTavish ends goal drought in 3rd, Ducks edge Canucks to extend Pacific lead

VANCOUVER -- Mason McTavish broke a tie early in the third period for the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.

McTavish put the Ducks ahead 4-3 at 5:45 off a rush he led up the ice, taking a short return pass from Jackson LaCombe and firing a quick shot over Kevin Lankinen’s glove from the left dot for his first goal in 15 games. The game-winner came after being a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career for two straight games last week.

“It's been pretty hard,” McTavish said. “It's been a tough couple weeks, stretch of games for me, so it's nice to get that one for sure. It was a great feeling, for sure.”

Mikael Granlund scored twice, John Carlson had three assists, and Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (40-27-4), who won their third straight and extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1). Leo Carlsson and Chris Kreider each had two assists, and Lukas Dostal made 27 saves.

Anaheim extended its first-place lead in the Pacific Division to five points over the Edmonton Oilers and six on the Vegas Golden Knights.

“There's obviously times of the game that we just got to buckle down a little bit more, and I think maybe just a little more zone time would help with that,” said Carlson, who was playing his fifth game with the Ducks after being acquired from the Washington Capitals on March 6. “But it's a savvy group in here that's finding ways to win, so that's good.”

Carlson missed his first four games with Anaheim after the trade and had one assist in his first four games in the lineup before breaking through on Tuesday.

“He had a really good game,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He just knows when it's time to jump into the play or play recognition at the point, shots getting through, his gap is solid, patience with the puck coming out of our end, direct passes. Just settles us down a lot.”

Carlson said it’s been an adjustment after spending his first 17 seasons in Washington.

“Getting used to some things, getting used to some players, little things like that but otherwise, it's a great group of guys that have welcomed me,” Carlson said. “I feel comfortable and confident in here, and it's a fun team.”

Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk scored, and Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson each had two assists for the Canucks (21-41-8), who have lost three in a row, 13 of their past 16 (3-10-3) and were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. Lankinen made 29 saves.

“We fought well,” Pettersson said. “Maybe a little too easy, the goals we let in. We don't help ‘Lanks’ enough. … We’re going to play until the final whistle. We were close.”

DeBrusk’s power-play goal gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the first period, taking a pass down low to Dostal’s left and sweeping a forehand back into the middle and just inside the far post past the goalie’s right pad.

Killorn tied it 1-1 at 5:26 of the second period after being sent in alone from the left face-off dot by Carlson, pulling the puck across to his backhand before lifting it past Lankinen’s glove.

Granlund gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 7:50 after Carlsson’s low shot from outside the right face-off dot bounced off Lankinen and straight up and over the goalie before Granlund knocked it in out of the air behind him.

Boeser tied it 2-2 on the power play at 13:13 shortly after a Hronek slap shot knocked the blade out of Ryan Poehling’s skate. Hronek got the puck back up high and faked another slap shot that got Poehling to drop, then skated around him before passing back across to Boeser at the bottom of the left circle for a quick shot past a sliding Dostal. Pettersson had the secondary assist, his 300th assist and 500th point in his 533rd NHL game.

“Cool numbers to hit,” Pettersson said. “Very honored.”

Granlund’s power-play goal put the Ducks back ahead 3-2 at 1:01 of the third period. Anaheim only had one shot on goal during a 5-on-3 for 1:35 that started late in the second period, but Granlund scored before the second penalty expired. He converted on a quick shot off his own rebound from the right hash mark after Lankinen got a glove on his initial attempt, only to have it pop out back to Granlund.

Drew O'Connor tied it 3-3 at 2:22, converting a rebound from the right hash mark after Dostal made the initial save off an Evander Kane shot on a 3-on-2 rush.

It was O’Connor’s 17th goal of the season, setting a new NHL career high, but he said it was hard to separate his individual success from the team’s struggles.

“We win and lose as a team,” O’Connor said. “So, it's nice when you can score, but overall, I think if we play like that, we'll give ourselves a chance to win more often than not.”

McTavish restored Anaheim’s lead 3:23 later, and Troy Terry scored into an empty net with five seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.

“We'd let one in and we answer right away,” Carlson said. “Those are big moments of the game, and learning moments too, that we focus on going forward.”

NOTES: Carlson (36 years, 73 days) became the oldest defenseman in Ducks history to post a three-assist game, besting Chris Pronger (34 years, 163 days on March 22, 2009). Carlson is also the oldest Anaheim defenseman to record a multi-assist period, a mark set by Scott Niedermayer (35 years, 212 days) on March 31, 2009. … Pettersson became the second-fastest Canucks player to record 500 NHL points, behind Thomas Gradin (529 games). He also reached 167 power-play points, passing J.T. Miller (165) for ninth most in team history. … The Ducks earned their first 40-win season since 2017-18, the last time they made the postseason.