Etem's late goal lifts Canucks past Ducks

ANAHEIM --Emerson Etem scored the tiebreaking goal against his former team with 6:37 remaining in the third period to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at Honda Center.
The loss prevented the Ducks (43-25-10) from retaking first place in the Pacific Division. They trail the Los Angeles Kings by one point.

"It was a game we should've had," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We should've had two points tonight. You need 20 guys playing. We didn't have all 20 going."
Etem, a native of Long Beach, Calif., who made his first appearance in Anaheim since being traded to the New York Rangers in the offseason and then to the Canucks in January, beat defenseman Cam Fowler to a loose puck and swatted it past John Gibson for his fourth goal of the season, breaking a 2-2 tie.

"It was nice to get one in my former arena, for sure," Etem said. "I've had a lot of special moments in this building."
Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves for Vancouver (29-36-13), which won for the second time in as many nights after losing nine in a row. The Canucks host the Kings on Monday.
The Ducks opened the scoring 48 seconds into the game. A breakdown in front of the net resulted in a loose puck in the crease.Andrew Cogliano got control and slid it to Josh Manson, who scored into a wide-open net to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.
The Canucks dominated early in the second period, taking 11 of the first 12 shots and tying the game 1-1 when Bo Horvat scored on a breakaway at 4:22. It was his 14th goal of the season.

"We were just OK in the first. They took the game to us a bit physically," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. "We needed to respond and we responded, and that's the sign of a good team."
Nate Thompson put Anaheim ahead 2-1 at 8:42 of the third period when he banged a rebound past Markstrom. But the Canucks tied the game 2-2 at 11:02 when defenseman Dan Hamhuis scored his third of the season on a sharp-angled wrist shot that went past a screened Gibson.
The Ducks were upset at their inability to hold a third-period lead and don't want that to become a trend as they prepare for the playoffs.
"Any time you get a one-goal lead in the third period, where we're heading, you have to be able to keep them down and win those games," Manson said. "We had spurts of the way we wanted to play, but consistency is the key word. We have to find that. After the first goal, you want to keep pushing and step on teams when we have the lead like that. We have to work on that."

The Canucks dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, then lost two forwards during the second period.Linden Vey left at 10:07 with an upper-body injury, a few minutes after Chris Higgins departed with a lower-body injury.
Desjardins was impressed with how his younger role players have responded to losing key players in the past two games.
"I've always believed in the team," Desjardins said. "It's good to see, because that's playing without a longer bench. A lot of young guys are playing in those situations and I thought they showed well. They played hard, they made smart plays to get pucks out and it was good that they got rewarded."
Gibson finished with 25 saves. Anton Khudobin dressed as his backup; the Ducks announced earlier in the day that Frederik Andersen is out with a concussion sustained Wednesday in an 8-3 win against the Calgary Flames.

Included in that morning announcement was the news that defenseman Hampus Lindholm had been sent home with an illness and forward Rickard Rakell had an appendectomy on Thursday. Left wing David Perron is also out with a separated shoulder.
Forward Brandon Pirri sustained a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return.
Boudreau said the injuries and illnesses shouldn't have been a distraction and that there was no excuse for the Ducks to play the way they did.
"We definitely didn't play a 60-minute game," Boudreau said. "We haven't played a 60-minute game in a while. Our next two opponents are pretty difficult so we'll get a real test on Sunday [against the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars]. We'll either be an eye-opener or we'll rise to the occasion, one of the two."