Ducks defeat Canucks for third win in row

VANCOUVER -- Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle didn't know much about rookie Ondrej Kase coming into this season, but it didn't take the 21-year-old long to get his attention.
Kase scored his first NHL goal with 5:25 left in the second period to help the Ducks to a 3-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.
"It's always good to see when you have a young kid that has kind of never been on your radar screen," Carlyle said, citing injuries that kept Kase out of training camp. "And then he comes in and he's been an every-game player for us since we got him."

WATCH: All Ducks vs. Canucks highlights
Kase made it 2-0 shortly after the Ducks killed off consecutive penalties in the second period, including a 5-on-3 for 58 seconds. He couldn't control a backdoor pass from Ryan Getzlaf to the left of the crease, but with Miller stranded after sliding across to try and stop him, Kase carried the puck behind the net and banked it in off two Canucks defensemen from below the goal line.
"It's unbelievable," said Kase, playing his eighth NHL game after starting the season with San Diego of the American Hockey League. "Getzlaf gave me a great pass. It was a little bit lucky."
Kase's goal got a smile from Getzlaf.
"Anytime you see a guy get his first goal it's exciting," Getzlaf said. "Kase has actually been one of our best players since he's been here. He works hard and he's making plays."

John Gibson made 27 saves for the Ducks (12-8-4), who have won three straight. He had a shutout until Canucks center Henrik Sedin scored with seven minutes left in the third period after a lucky bounce off the glass.
"As long as we win, it doesn't really matter to me," Gibson said.
Jakob Silfverberg scored 3:19 into the second period to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead, and Andrew Cogliano made it 3-1 with 2:25 left in the third period.
Ryan Miller made 21 saves for the Canucks (10-12-2), who lost in regulation for the second time in seven games and were coming off consecutive victories for the first time since they won four in a row to begin the season.
"Sometimes you work you butt off and lose, but when you lose knowing you could have given a bit more, it's very disappointing," defenseman Luca Sbisa said. "I don't know why it happened. We had a lot of momentum going into this game, putting two wins together. It's something with our heads, mentally. Obviously, we didn't go into this game giving 100 percent."

Goal of the game

Silfverberg gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead on a top-corner slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle, one-timing a cross-ice pass over Miller's blocker-side shoulder after defenseman Sami Vatanen backed off the Canucks defense off the rush and slid the puck across.

Saves of the game

Gibson made his best saves when Vancouver had 58 seconds of 5-on-3 in the second period, throwing out his right pad to stuff Daniel Sedin on a one-touch chance from the top of the crease at 12:32 and stopping him on the rebound too.

Unsung moment of the game

Cogliano appeared to have a backdoor tap-in after a cross-crease pass from Ryan Kelser early in the first period, but defenseman Erik Gudbranson knocked the Ducks forward hard enough that he deflected the puck wide.

Highlight of the game

Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler's clearing attempt bounced off the glass to Loui Eriksson in the slot, and he passed to Sedin for a tap-in from the side of the goal crease to Gibson's right, pulling the Canucks within a goal and giving them life with seven minutes left.

They said it

"That's what we're trying to sell, that we're not really an offensive juggernaut by any means. We're just trying to buckle down and have our group win games 2-1, 1-0." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle on allowing only one goal for a second consecutive game
"I thought we controlled the game for the most part and deserved to win. I know they hung in and made a game of it near the end, (but) I thought we did enough to win the whole night." -- Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano
"It hit the under part of [Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher] blade and just hopped back the other way. I was reading the release as glove side. Just enough to send it on its edge and it just kind of skipped. Still, you want to be tight enough to cover that. It's not a great goal." -- Canucks goalie Ryan Miller on Andrew Cogliano's late goal, which beat him through the legs from 52 feet

Need to know

Vatanen moved past Lubomir Visnovsky for seventh on the Ducks' all-time defensemen scoring list (109 points) with his assist on Silfverberg's goal. … Canucks assistant Perry Pearn coached his 1,500th game in the NHL.

What's next

Ducks:At the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Canucks: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NHL.TV)