*Photo from Yahoo Sports*
Triple digits have arrived. JT Miller had two assists, Dakota Joshua scored two goals, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.
The win snaps a two game losing streak for the Canucks and gives them 100 points on the season, still sitting atop the Pacific Division. Joshua, playing in his second game after an 18 game absence due to injury, scored two goals to pace the Canucks. They clinched a playoff berth on Saturday when the St. Louis Blues lost.
Miller said of the clinch that "We need to focus on the next game more importantly right now and not look ahead because if we play like we did tonight, we're going to lose most games. We need to make sure that we're focused on the present, not worried about the playoffs."
The only goal of the first period came from the Canucks and Brock Boeser, who scored a power play goal 11:26 into the game, his 38th of the season with Miller and Quinn Hughes assisting. Joshua scored on the power play 9:34 into the second period, making it a 2-0 Canucks lead with Filip Hronek and Pius Suter getting assists.
Olen Zellweger scored his first NHL goal 3:37 into the 3rd period, getting the Ducks on the board and cutting the deficit to 2-1. Mason McTavish scored just over a minute later, tying the game 2-2 on his 18th goal of the season. Joshua scored at the 17:47 mark of the period to put the Canucks ahead 3-2 with Miller and Conor Garland assisting.
Joshua talked about his two goal game, saying "That was big. It was nice to get on the score sheet again. Maybe not my overall best game, but nice to see the puck go in."
Getting the start for the Canucks was Arturs Silovs, making his first NHL appearance since March 6, 2023, as he was called up when Thatcher Demko went down with injury. Silovs stopped 20 of the 22 shots the Ducks sent his way, giving him a .909 save percentage to get his first win of the season and 4th of his career.
It was Lukas Dostal who got the start opposite Silovs, taking the loss as his record fell to 11-21-2 in 32 starts. Dostal turned aside 27 out of the 30 shots on goal the Canucks sent his way, recording an even .900 save percentage in the loss.
Both teams get back in action with Tuesday night road games. Casey DeSmith is the likely starting goalie for the Canucks as they take on the Vegas Golden Knights, while John Gibson is expected to get the start for the Ducks against the Calgary Flames.
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