Anaheim Ducks rally back in the second period to defeat Vancouver

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After a frustrating 1st period where the Anaheim Ducks gave up two first period goals, they rallied past the Vancouver Canucks in the second period and scored three unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory at home.

Frank Vatrano, Cutter Gauthier, and Ryan Strome all scored in the second period while Jackson LaCombe and Troy Terry scored in the final five minutes of the third period in Thursday's victory.

"The first period wasn't pretty but I thought we had really good energy and good legs so I think that was a good sign for a team coming off a tough road trip." Strome said. "... It was just simplifying our game in the second and third and we just kept rolling them over."

Prior to Thursday's victory, the Ducks were coming off a three game road trip where they went 1-2 including an overtime loss to the Red Wings and a third period meltdown against the Sabres.

As Anaheim came into the first period, Vancouver was looking to continue the current nightmare the Ducks were suffering through after two goals were made by Tyler Myers and Pius Suter.

"I was worried about the start of the game their would be a little bit of sloppiness, a little bit of sluggishness." Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "To their credit they responded to the messages. They played more of a direct game. North/South then our legs started to come alive."

Myers was the first Canucks player to score after coming fresh out of the penalty box with 16:53 left in the first period. His goal came 10 seconds later after nailing a slap shot into Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal's net. Suter's goal happened with 3:08 left in the first period after he picked the puck by Dostal into his net.

After the two early goals, the Ducks eventually woke up from the nightmare and were ready to go.

The Ducks looked like a different team on the ice in the second then they were in the first.

Anaheim was rejuvenated and were focused on putting pressure into Vancouvers zone.

Vatrano was the first member of the Ducks flock of three to score. His goal happened within the the first six minutes of the period after Terry fired a shot that deflected off Vancouver's post. Ryan Strome recovered the puck and quickly passed it to Vatrano.

With nothing but clear ice in front of him, Vatrano fired away and cut the Ducks deficit by 1, keeping them in the game.

Three minutes after Vatrano's goal, it was Gauthier's turn.

Quickly after Dostal made a kill, Gauthier and Isac Lundestrom would race down the ice and created pressure into Vancouver's zone. Lundestrom passed the puck to the speedy Gauthier. After receiving the puck, he quickly fired away and tied the game at two.

It was the second time this week Gauthier has had a game tying goal. It was also his third goal he's scored this week. Gatuhier is now third among NHL rookies for goals after nailing his 12th of the season.

"I think he's a gamebreaker," Strome said. "I think he can kind of look like he's kind of not involved in the game then next thing you know you see his speed and a shot and it's bang he's got that game breaking ability."

With 1:19 left before intermission, it was time for the Ducks to finish riding the momentum wave and take a lead they would never give up.

As Mason McTavish was pacing down the ice alongside Strome and Terry, McTavish received a pass from Terry in the middle of the ice. McTavish gently started sliding towards the right side of the ice and flinged a wrist shot into Vancouver's net to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead.

Vatrano now has 18 goals in the season while Terry continues to lead the Ducks in assists with 28.

The difference for Anaheim between the first and second period came down to bringing intensity on the ice and dictating the pace of play. Once they got in rhythm in the second period, they never looked back.

At the start of the third period, Vancouver attempted to match the Ducks style of play but they were met by a rejuvenated Dostal who had more confidence in the third period then the first.

Playing with a 3-2 lead, Dostal made two critical kills in the first five minutes of the third period that prevented Vancouver from scoring.

Anaheim continued to create pressure in the Canucks Zone and kept them away from theirs

With less than five minutes remaining in the third period, Pavel Mintyukov was sent to the penalty box for a roughing penalty, creating a 4-on-4 matchup between the two teams. With 4:14 left, LaCombe put the game away after scoring his 10th goal of the season. Terry would finish the game with 2:06 left on an empty net goal to give the game its final score.

Following LaCombe's goal, Cronin said that he has seen him grow into a more confident player and credited his athleticism to his style of play.

"Jackson ran the first power play and those guys are getting paid to win. That's a decision you make based upon Jackson's talent," Cronin said. "Last year I think he was towing the water... This is like his sophomore year and he's just been taking off."

Coming into Thursday night, Anaheim faced a must win game as they have aspirations to make the playoffs as a potential wild card team from in the Western Confernce. Following a victory over Vancouver and a Calgary Flames loss, the Ducks are in sixth place in the west right now.

"Everyone wants to be playing important game at this time of year. And obviously the past few years, it sucks when you're out of the playoffs after the All-Star break." Vatrano said. "It's nice for these younger guys to kind of get a taste of what it's like in crunch time and how every point matters and how every play matters and kind of learning how to play the right way."

"The leadership group has done a tremendous job just mentoring the young kids," Croning said. "I think when you win like that and that leadership finally creates a lot of confidence within the group."