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Canucks top Ducks 2-0 thanks to late goals from O’Connor, Blueger

Canucks top Ducks 2-0 thanks to late goals from O'Connor, Blueger | iNFOnews.ca
Vancouver Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo (60) stops Anaheim Ducks' Ryan Poehling (25) as Poehling crashes into him during the first period of an NHL hockey game, in Vancouver, on Thursday, January 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — Drew O’Connor scored the go-ahead goal 10:18 into the third period as the Vancouver Canucks earned their sixth home win of the year defeating the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 on Thursday night at Rogers Arena.

O’Connor opened the scoring for the Canucks (18-31-5) with a one-timer off a Jake DeBrusk pass. Teddy Blueger added an empty-netter with 28 seconds to go.

In net, Nikita Tolopilo got the start after taking on relief duties in the Canucks’ 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. He made 32 saves to improve to 3-3-0 but was denied his first-career NHL shutout after missing 2:11 of action at the beginning of the second period.

Kevin Lankinen made a brief appearance after Tolopilo was pulled for observation in concussion protocol. Lankinen made one save. Goalies cannot share a shutout in the NHL.

For Anaheim (28-23-3), Lukas Dostal made 24 saves and fell to 19-13-2 for the year, losing for the first time in seven games. The 25-year-old is Czechia’s presumed starter at next month’s Winter Olympics.

The Canucks and Ducks were both 0-for-3 on the power play.

Takeaways

Canucks: Both teams were significantly shorthanded due to injuries on Thursday. The Canucks’ Nils Hoglander joined forwards Brock Boeser and Marco Rossi, defenceman Zeev Buium and goaltender Thatcher Demko on the shelf.

Ducks: Winger Troy Terry was expected to re-join the Anaheim lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury, but wasn’t ready to go. His injured teammates included key centres Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish along with left-wing Frank Vatrano.

Key moment

With the Canucks defending their 1-0 lead and Dostal on the bench for the extra attacker, Conor Garland was whistled for slashing with 47.6 seconds to go. Blueger was able to corral the puck and shoot from long range to ice the game.

Key stat

DeBrusk tallied his 15th assist of the year while playing in his 600th NHL game.

Up next

Canucks: Close out their homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Ducks: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.

Canucks top Ducks 2-0 thanks to late goals from O'Connor, Blueger | iNFOnews.ca
Vancouver Canucks’ Tyler Myers (57) and Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Poehling (25) vie for the puck as Vancouver’s Linus Karlsson (94) watches during the second period of an NHL hockey game, in Vancouver, on Thursday, January 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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The Canadian Press

Carol Schram

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

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