Islanders beat Canucks as Anthony Duclair scores twice

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Anthony Duclair had used the same stick model since his days in junior hockey, but earlier this month, with his offense sluggish, he tried Casey Cizikas’ stick at practice. The next day, he went out and had a career-high five-point game that included a natural hat trick.

Naturally, he kept using Cizikas’ stick. And again on Monday night, Duclair’s shooting confidence helped the Islanders rally from a sluggish start against the struggling, waving-the-white-flag Canucks for a too-close-for-comfort 4-3 win at Rogers Arena.

“It was a must-win for us tonight for sure,” Duclair said after scoring twice to give him seven goals in seven games since that 9-0 win over the Devils on Jan. 6 that preceded this seven-game road trip. “We give up one early, it wasn’t how we wanted it to go. But I’m glad we found our legs, especially in the second period.”

The Islanders (27-17-5), who received 30 saves from Ilya Sorokin, are  3-2-1 on the trip, which concludes on Wednesday in Seattle.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 28 shots for the NHL-worst Canucks (16-28-5), who are in an 0-9-2 spiral and who traded top-six wing Kiefer Sherwood to the Sharks earlier in the day.

“It was an important win for us,” coach Patrick Roy said. “After the first [period], we started to be better in our one-on-one battles. That was the big difference. We gave nine chances in that first period. It was way too many.”

The Islanders were  coming off a 4-2 loss to the so-so Flames in Calgary on Saturday in which they couldn’t capitalize on a strong first period and fell behind by four goals in the second period. The Flames also are in seller’s mode and traded top-pair defenseman Rasmus Andersson to Vegas on Sunday.

“Also, what happened at home against these guys,” Duclair said of the Islanders’ first meeting this season with the Canucks.

That was a 4-1 loss at UBS Arena on Dec. 19 in which Sherwood had a hat trick and the Islanders trailed 3-0 at 15:47 of the first period after failing to score on an early five-on-three power play.

It was one of the Islanders’ worst games of the season. For a long time, it looked as if Monday night’s game would fall into that category as well.

But Duclair, taking Cal Ritchie’s feed from behind the crease, scored on the power play to tie it at 2-2 at 14:34 of the second period. Defenseman Ryan Pulock, from the high slot, gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 15:58.

“Just the confidence in his shot,” linemate Mathew Barzal, who had two assists, said of Duclair’s recent shooting success. “I see him leaning into his shots. I have a problem with leaning in and looking at the net and he has no problem doing that. I love playing with guys like that.”

Defenseman Tony DeAngelo upped the Islanders' lead to 4-2 at 10:15 of the third period before Drew O’Connor’s six-on-five goal at 18:09.

The Islanders had failed to extend their one-goal lead early in the third period on a five-on-three power play that lasted one minute, 39 seconds with Canucks defenseman Marcus Pettersson playing without his stick.

The Islanders were disorganized from the opening faceoff as the Canucks were easily able to exploit seams in the defense. Fourth-liner Max Sasson opened the scoring at 2:49 of the first period as he was left open between the circles with DeAngelo up pressuring near the blue line.

Evander Kane regained a 2-1 lead for the Canucks at 14:48 of the first period as he tipped defenseman Elias Pettersson’s shot after Max Tsyplakov turned the puck over. It came a half-minute after Sorokin had to stop Kane’s breakaway after the puck floated past DeAngelo.

Tsyplakov, a healthy scratch the previous three games and in five of the previous six, sat the rest of the first period and logged only 6:43.

Duclair had tied it at 1-1 at 10:11 of the first period.

“We talked after the first period that we were trying to be too cute,” said Duclair, who has 11 goals and 11 assists in 46 games. “We talked about just keeping things simple.”

Notes & quotes: Sorokin appeared in his 282nd game for the Islanders, matching Glenn “Chico” Resch for third on the franchise list for goalies behind Hall of Famer Billy Smith (674) and Rick DiPietro (318).

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Anthony Duclair clearly articulated an absolute necessity for the Islanders against the struggling, waving-the-white-flag Canucks.

“We know this seven-game road trip, we know where we stand,” Duclair said before Monday night's game. “We definitely want to finish on a good note. [Monday] is one of those games where it’s a must-win. We talk about not losing two in a row all year. It’s a big game for us. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing or where they are in the standings.”

He backed that up with two goals — giving him seven in his last seven games — and dragged the Islanders out of doldrums that lasted into the second period for a too-close-for-comfort 4-3 win at Rogers Arena.

The Islanders (27-17-5), who received 30 saves from Ilya Sorokin, are  3-2-1 on this seven-game road trip, which concludes on Wednesday in Seattle.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 28 shots for the NHL-worst Canucks (16-28-5), who are in an 0-9-2 spiral and who traded top-six wing Kiefer Sherwood to the Sharks earlier in the day. Drew O’Connor’s goal at 18:09 of the third period as they skated six-on-five gave the Canucks a chance to force overtime.

“Every team in this league on any given night can be dangerous,” Kyle MacLean said. “Especially in this room, you know you’ve got to take everybody seriously. You can’t take anybody lightly in this league.”

Yet the Islanders were coming off Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the so-so Flames in Calgary in which they couldn’t capitalize on a strong first period and fell behind by four goals in the second period. The Flames also are in seller’s mode and traded top-pair defenseman Rasmus Andersson to Vegas on Sunday.

“Also, what happened at home against these guys,” Duclair said of the Islanders’ first meeting this season with the Canucks.

That was a 4-1 loss at UBS Arena on Dec. 19 in which Sherwood had a hat trick and the Islanders trailed 3-0 at 15:47 of the first period after failing to score on an early five-on-three power play. It was one of the Islanders’ worst games of the season.

For a long time, it looked as if Monday night’s game would fall into that category as well. But Duclair, taking Cal Ritchie’s feed from behind the crease, scored on a power play to tie it at 2-2 at 14:34 of the second period. Defenseman Ryan Pulock, from the high slot, gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 15:58 of the period.

So while this trip won’t match the 6-1-0 trek they took in November against much harder competition, the Islanders knew they needed a strong finish.

“It’s a long road trip,”  defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who banged in a loose puck at the crease for a 4-2 lead at 10:15 of the third period, said before the game. “We’ve still got a chance to finish it on a high note. We’re .500 [before Monday’s game], so you want to be a little better than that.”

But the Islanders were disorganized from the opening faceoff as the Canucks were easily able to exploit seams in the defense. Fourth-liner Max Sasson opened the scoring at 2:49 of the first period as he was left open between the circles with DeAngelo up pressuring near the blue line.

Evander Kane regained a 2-1 lead for the Canucks at 14:48 of the first period as he tipped defenseman Elias Pettersson’s shot after Max Tsyplakov turned the puck over. It came a half-minute after Sorokin had to stop Kane’s breakaway after the puck floated past DeAngelo.

Tsyplakov, a healthy scratch the previous three games and in five of the previous six, sat the rest of the first period and received sporadic ice time the rest of the way.

Duclair tied it at 1-1 at 10:11 of the first period and Matthew Schaefer, with a patient move operating low in the slot, thought he had tied it at 2-2 at 17:45. But Canucks coach Adam Foote successfully challenged Schaefer was offside before receiving Simon Holmstrom’s feed.

The Islanders had failed to extend their one-goal lead early in the third period on a five-on-three power play that lasted one minute, 39 seconds with Canucks defenseman Marcus Pettersson playing without his stick.

Notes & quotes: Sorokin appeared in his 282nd game for the Islanders, matching Glenn “Chico” Resch for third on the franchise list for goalies behind Hall of Famer Billy Smith (674) and Rick DiPietro (318).

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.