Nick Ritchie helps Anaheim defeat Vancouver

ANAHEIM -- Nick Ritchie and Corey Perry each scored in the third period to help the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 in their home opener at Honda Center on Sunday.
It was the first loss in regulation for the Canucks (4-1-1).
"We had the mentality of going to work tonight, and it showed in all three periods," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We wanted to make sure we applied as much pressure as we possibly could in all areas of the ice."

Vancouver, outshot 37-19, struggled to withstand the Ducks' pressure and generate offense. The Canucks had scored six goals in the third period and gone into overtime four times this season, but Ritchie scored at 11:24 when he batted a puck out of the air to break a 2-2 tie, and Perry scored with 1:17 remaining.
After getting off to a strong start, the Canucks, who lost in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, said the results of their Southern California swing have been disappointing.
Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said it looked as though the Kings had worn down his defensemen.
"I don't know if we paid for it a little bit trying to come back against L.A.," Desjardins said. "That's what I hope it is. I thought we were tired as a group and I thought our 'D' were tired."
Henrik Sedin tied the game at 2-2 when he scored at 4:19 in the third period, his second goal in as many nights.

The Ducks scored 33 seconds into the game when Andrew Cogliano collected a rebound and beat Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller.
Bo Horvat tied the game with a shorthanded goal at 19:27 of the first. Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler misplayed a pass through the neutral zone and Canucks forward Loui Eriksson collected it and passed to Horvat, who lifted a shot over Ducks goalie John Gibson.
Fowler redeemed himself on the same power play 18 seconds into the second period when he sent a wrist shot through traffic and banked it off the far post for a 2-1 lead.
Gibson made 17 saves for Anaheim; Miller had 33 for Vancouver.

Goal of the game

Ritchie broke a 2-2 tie when Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf attempted to put a shot on net and it was stopped by the stick of Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler. The puck bounced into the air and Ritchie gave it a backhand swat into the net.

Save of the game

With the Canucks trailing 2-1 in the second period, defenseman Philip Larsen received the puck in the neutral zone but broke his stick. Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg collected the puck and sent a hard slap shot at Miller, who made the save and then another two seconds later against Ducks forward Joseph Cramarossa.

Highlight of the game

Perry took the puck in the neutral zone and faked a slap shot that fooled Edler, which allowed him to skate around Edler and send a backhand past Miller.

Unsung moment of the game

Perry was screening Miller when Fowler lifted his wrist shot top shelf. Miller momentarily lost track of the puck as it went through traffic and over his shoulder and Perry's, then off the crossbar and into the net.
"Perry is one of the best in the game at taking a goalie's eyes away," Fowler said. "I was kind of pinched off, I didn't have a whole lot of options and I saw Corey in front of the net. So I just tried to feed one in."

Need to know

Canucks forward Derek Dorsett injured his shoulder Saturday against Los Angeles and will be seen by the doctor when they return to Vancouver. Desjardins had initially said he was questionable for Sunday. Forward Alexandre Burrows did not play because of an injury sustained in Los Angeles. Desjardins did not have an update.

They said it

"The opening ceremony was pretty crazy. Seeing all those lights, I was just sitting there thinking about how long I've waited for this. It was amazing. Everyone back home watching was sharing that with me. I've been waiting so long, and I knew when I got the chance I'd be ready. I was lucky enough to make the team out of camp, but it was a numbers game, so I got sent back down. I did what I had to do to get back. It's a day I'll never forget." -- Ducks forward Joseph Cramarossa on his NHL debut
"We weren't great the first two periods. It wasn't a good shift and our shifts that followed weren't great shifts either. Overall, the effort was there again in the third. I liked how the guys came out, we had a chance again in the third, even though we didn't deserve it." -- Canucks coach Willie Desjardins

What's next

Canucks: Home against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, SNV, RDS2, TSN5,
NHL.TV
).
Ducks: At the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, NBCSN,
NHL.TV
).