Emerson Etem scored the tie breaking 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.
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.
Bo Horvat, and Dan Hamhuis also successfully scored for the Canucks, while Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves.
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 for his 5th goal.
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.
Nate Thompson put Anaheim ahead 2-1 at 8:42 of the third period when he banged a rebound past Markstrom.
A few minutes later 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 loss saw the Ducks fail to stay ahead of the Los Angeles Kings who are a point ahead for the Pacific division lead.
In the loss John Gibson made 25 saves.
Up next: The Canucks California road trip continues Monday night with a match up with the Los Angles Kings.
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