Recap: Ducks Fall 2-1 to Canucks at Honda Center

Alex Killorn scored his ninth goal as a Duck, but Anaheim fell short tonight in a 2-1 loss to the first-place Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center.

NHL GAMECENTER | DUCKS STREAM

The loss dropped Anaheim to 22-36-3 on the season and denied the club its third victory in four nights.

Killorn scored Anaheim's lone goal, tying the game at one early in the first period. Max Jones and Urho Vaakanainen added assists. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.

Nils Hoglander and Conor Garland scored for the Canucks, who improved to 39-17-7 on the season and 19-11-4 on the road. Casey DeSmith earned the win in net, turning aside 17-of-18 Anaheim shots.

Both teams got on the board with their first shot of the evening, marking Anaheim's second straight game tied at one just five minutes after puck drop.

Vancouver struck first 97 seconds in, when Hoglander found free space in the Anaheim slot and quickly lifted a wrister up over Dostal's glove.

With the goal, his second in the last three games, the 23-year-old Hoglander matched his career high in points (27). A former second-round pick, Hoglander is now one goal shy of becoming the fourth Canuck to score 20 this season.

Canucks captain Quinn Hughes grabbed the primary assist. His next helper will clinch his third consecutive 60-assist season - tops among active NHL defensemen.

Hughes' defensive partner, Filip Hronek, collected his 40th assist of the season on the goal, tied for eighth among NHL blueliners this year.

Hronek and Hughes are the first pair of Vancouver defenders in franchise history with 40-plus assists in the same season.

Anaheim answered three minutes off the rush, when a blocked shot in the slot turned into a sudden chance for the opportunistic Killorn. After Jones' bid from the top of the circles got knocked down, the carrom went right to Killorn on the way to the net, allowing the veteran winger just enough room to tuck his shot between the post and DeSmith's sliding left leg.

Killorn has three points in his last three outings (2-1=3) and now sits 10 points shy of 500 for his NHL career.

Jones has found the scoresheet in three of his last four games (1-3=4).

Garland restored the Vancouver lead early in the second period with the eventual game-winning goal, tipping home a centering attempt by defenseman Nikita Zadorov seconds after Anaheim had killed consecutive Canuck power plays.

With an assist, Canucks forward JT Miller extending his scoring streak to seven games. Across that two week span, Miller ranks third in the NHL in scoring (13 points).

The Ducks continue a five-game homestand Wednesday against Ottawa.