Miller's 2nd goal gives Canucks OT win against Ducks

VANCOUVER -- J.T. Miller scored his second goal of the game 20 seconds into overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Arena on Wednesday.

Miller skated in on the right wing and fired a wrist shot over the glove of Lukas Dostal from the top of the face-off dot.
"Their guy just kind of gave me a lane and at that point they were flat-footed," Miller said. "You don't get many chances to attack in overtime with a free lane to shoot unless it's turned over or something, so [I] tried to take it in and shoot."

Elias Pettersson had two assists, and Thatcher Demko made 20 saves for the Canucks (27-32-5), who have won three in a row for just the fourth time this season and are 6-2-1 in their past nine games.
"It means a lot; we really struggled with that third game this year," Miller said. "But win or lose tonight, we played the right way the majority of the game and if we can hang our hat on doing that most nights, we're gonna come out with success."
Dostal made 31 saves for the Ducks (21-35-9), who have points in six of their past seven games (4-1-2). Anaheim was playing for the second straight night after a 5-2 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
"We played a [heck] of a game," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "This league, it's always hard to win that second game on a back to back, but we played a really good four-line game. Our goaltending was good and we put ourselves in a spot to at least get a point."

Troy Terry gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 3:40 of the first period. He kicked Mason McTavish's pass into the slot up to his stick, catching Demko moving the wrong way before lifting a backhand over the goalie's extended right pad.
Miller, playing his 700th NHL game, tied it 1-1 short-handed at 14:44, one-timing a pass into the slot over Dostal's blocker shoulder after Pettersson knocked the goalie's pass out of the air behind the net and centered it.
Pettersson leads the NHL with eight short-handed points (four goals, four assists).
"I felt the goalie only had one play and that was to pass through me, and I was able to intercept," Pettersson said. "I had a feeling [Miller] would be there, I looked up and he was wide open. My pass wasn't the best, but he still found a way to score it."

Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 30th goal of the season to put Vancouver ahead 2-1 at 14:23 of the second period. His backhand pass through the crease intended for Pettersson bounced in off the skate of McTavish.
Brock McGinn scored 20 seconds later to tie it 2-2, banging a rebound under Demko's right pad from the side of the net at 14:43. It was McGinn's first goal in his second game with Anaheim since being acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins last Friday for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.
"It's nice to be able come here and get one in the first couple games," McGinn said. "It just helps me settle in a bit and feel more comfortable being able to contribute. Just growing as a line and as a team, it's nice to get one early."

Vancouver's penalty kill was last in the NHL (67.9 percent) entering Wedesday but killed both Anaheim power plays, including a 5-on-3 for 38 seconds, and scored short-handed for the sixth time in nine games.
"The PK has gone through a lot this year and we have so much pride in it," Miller said. "We really want to get the job done and it felt like no matter what we did this year, the puck would find a way to end up in our net. We know we're a better kill then 60-odd percent, so a game like tonight, we didn't get any power plays and we needed the PK to step up and we got it done."
NOTES:Anaheim has points in eight of its past nine games against Vancouver (6-1-2). … Terry has five goals and one assist in his past seven games. … Pettersson has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in his past 16 games. … The Canucks are fourth in the NHL with 10 short-handed goals, and eight have come in the 18 games since Rick Tocchet replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach Jan. 22. … Kuzmenko has eight goals in his past 10 games. … Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes went to the locker room 6:50 into the third period after a deflected puck hit him in the face but returned at 12:10 and assisted on the winner.