Nikita Tolopilo made 37 saves in his season debut to help the Vancouver Canucks snap a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Max Sasson scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period at Honda Center. The Ducks rallied from a 3-1 deficit but fell short despite strong efforts from Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier.
The Vancouver Canucks (10-12-2) ended a three-game skid and won for the first time in seven outings (1-4-2) by edging the Anaheim Ducks (14-8-1) 5-4 in a back-and-forth contest. Tolopilo, making his second career NHL start, earned the win in his first appearance of the 2025-26 season, stepping in due to injuries to Vancouver's top goalies. "I think I can play better, but the most important thing is we got a win, so I'm happy with that," Tolopilo said.
Vancouver struck first in the opening period. Linus Karlsson swiped a loose puck into the net at 9:49 for a 1-0 lead after a shot from Max Sasson caromed off the end boards. Evander Kane extended the advantage to 2-0 on the power play at 11:47 with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Anaheim responded early in the second. Jackson LaCombe cut the deficit to 2-1 just nine seconds in on a power-play wrist shot from above the right hash marks. The Ducks outshot Vancouver 20-8 in the frame but trailed 3-1 after Conor Garland drove to the net and scored with a backhand at 9:04. Leo Carlsson made it 3-2 at 16:19 on a rebound backhand six seconds after a power play expired, and Mason McTavish tied the game at 3-3 at 18:34 on a 2-on-1 feed from Beckett Sennecke.
In the third, Kiefer Sherwood hit the post on a short-handed two-man breakaway at 4:46. Sasson broke the deadlock at 15:58 when his deflection off Filip Hronek's shot from the point caromed in off Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson for a 4-3 lead. Drew O'Connor added an empty-netter at 18:08 to make it 5-3. Cutter Gauthier scored with seven seconds left to account for the final margin.
"We got the job done," Sasson said. "Big credit to 'Tolo,' big credit to our group and big win to start the road trip." Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville noted the Ducks' inconsistency: "We had some good stretches there, but I thought we were inconsistent with our possession game tonight." Petr Mrazek stopped 23 shots for Anaheim, which hit the crossbar twice early.
Notes: Tolopilo became the third rookie goalie in Canucks history to win each of his first two NHL starts. Vancouver has a power-play goal in eight straight games. Quinn Hughes assisted for his 15th point in nine games (1G, 14A). Sennecke extended his five-game point streak (1G, 4A), the second teenager in Ducks history to do so.