Zegras’ big game lifts Ducks to 7th consecutive victory with win over Canucks | CBC Sports

Adam Henrique and Sam Steel added goals in the final minute for Anaheim, which has earned a point in nine straight games and scored at least three goals in a franchise-record 11 consecutive games.

Nils Hoglander scored and Jaroslav Halak stopped 33 shots for the Canucks, who have lost four straight and eight of 10.

“Not the team’s best game,” Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers said. “It looked like we were a step behind tonight. We have to realize what kind of game we have to play coming into tonight. It has to be simple. It has to be quick, making the first play. It seemed like they were a step ahead of us tonight.”

WATCH | Zegras leads Ducks to blowout win over Canucks:

Trevor Zegras’ spectacular assist helps Ducks defeat Canucks

Anaheim beats Vancouver 5-1, Trevor Zegras has a beautiful assist on Sonny Milano’s tally and scores two goals. 0:55

Zegras, the Ducks’ promising 20-year-old centre, produced the first multi-goal game of his NHL career while scoring a career-best three points. Zegras got both of his goals on the power play before setting up Milano’s goal with a spectacular spin-o-rama pass midway through the second period.

Zegras had gone scoreless in his previous four games before breaking out against Vancouver.

Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said Zegras is “a wonderful thing to have in your back pocket. Even when the guy maybe hasn’t been producing as much as he would like, Z thinks — and this is what I love about the kid — Z expects that three points every night. That’s a hard thing to do in this league.”

Terry got a secondary assist on Zegras’ second goal to extend his streak while keeping pace with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who scored two points against St. Louis, for the longest points streak in the NHL this season.

Anaheim beat Vancouver for the second time in six days while extending an overall winning streak that started before general manager Bob Murray resigned and announced his intention to enter alcohol abuse treatment earlier this week. The Ducks also improved to 6-2-1 at Honda Center.

A few minutes after Hoglander opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season from the slot, Zegras got his first goal with a blistering one-timer off a pass from Hampus Lindholm in the first period.

Early in the second, Zegras collected a loose puck and flipped it into the top corner of Vancouver’s net through a scrum in the slot.

“Obviously, the [penalty] kill let us down again tonight,” Vancouver coach Travis Green said. “When you’re playing a game like this with four games in six nights, your special teams are probably going to play a part of it. It was a big part of the game.”

Henrique put his sixth goal of his resurgent season into an empty net.

WATCH | 9 mesmerizing NHL solo efforts… in 90 seconds:

9 mesmerizing NHL solo efforts… in 90 seconds

Rob Pizzo breaks down nine scenarios where just one player was more than enough to score. 2:29